The Gujarat High Court has upheld the charges brought against the owner of a pharmaceutical company for allegedly violating the state’s prohibition law by selling intoxicating substances as Ayurvedic medicines, clarifying that the action under the Drugs Act and cosmetics does not exempt a person from prosecution if a case is brought under the Gujarat Prohibition Act, 1949.
bank of Justice Hasmukh D. Suthar pointed out that according to the FSL report, the alcohol level in the medicine sold by the petitioner company was found to be more than 12%, the permissible limit under the Prohibition Act. Thus he observed,
“…the aforementioned procedure [under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act] cannot be equated with the proceeding under the Gujarat Prohibition Act… The object of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act is to control the manufacture and distribution of drugs… As the special provision of section 67A is inserted in the Gujarat Prohibition Act and if the percentage The alcohol level in the muddamal samples is found to be more than 12%, then prima facie an offense is committed.
The petitioner company was reported for selling intoxicating drugs in the guise of Ayurvedic medicine and falsely fixing the stickers below the permissible limit. After an investigation, a charge sheet was filed under Sections 67(A), 65(e) and 81 of the Prohibition Act, naming the petitioner as an accused.
The Court emphasized that proceedings under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act serve the limited purpose of assessing the standard of samples as the Department issues licenses for the manufacture of such products. While the Gujarat Prohibition Act operates in the field to eradicate the menace of alcohol.
In the case before us, the Court pointed out that the articles in question were not solely Ayurvedic medicine; rather, they included spirits. Further, reading the provisions of Section 24A and 59A of the Gujarat Prohibition Act, Section 24A renders the medicinal preparation unfit to be used as intoxicating liquor within the ambit of Section 29A of the Prohibition Act from Gujarat, he said.
The Court further noted that when read in conjunction with Section 59A, Section 24A implies that medicinal preparations are subject to “description” and “limitation”, which means that no more alcohol should be used in its manufacture than is necessary for the extraction, solution of the contained elements and preservation. “If alcohol in excess of the amount prescribed by Article 59A is found in the article, then the crime is declared, whether it is fit or not fit to be used as an intoxicating liquor. Sometimes, it happens that the abnormal consumption of this drug or goods causes so many complications and negatively affect public health,” added the Court.
The Court also said that the State has a duty to raise the standard of living and public health and eradicate the consumption of alcoholic beverages and intoxicating drugs.
Gujarat is a dry state and under Article 47 of the Constitution of India, the guiding principles of state policy, it is the duty of the State to raise the standard of living and improve public health and, for this purpose, banning these intoxicating drugs are made mandatory in the state of Gujarat. The State is committed to the ideas and principles of the Father of the Nation Shri Mahatma Gandhji and the State also has the firm intention to eradicate the menace of consuming liquor or intoxicating drugs to revise the law relating to intoxicating drugs and the total ban in the State and that’s why they also amend. which is done in the Gujarat Prohibition Act.
However, it goes without saying that the observations made in the order are provisional in nature and the learned Magistrate will decide the criminal case on its own merits without being influenced by any of the observations made in this order. the Court emphasized in rejecting the request for annulment.
Case Title: Amod Anil Bhave Vs State of Gujarat
LL Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (Guj) 46
Click here to read the judgment
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