In a major victory to professional pharmacists of the country, the Ranchi High Court has upheld the public interest petition filed against the state government of Jharkhand's plan to constitute a registration tribunal to issue fresh registrations to pharmacists in the state. The HC, in its judgement in W.P.(PIL) No.1429 of 2002 expressed surprise over the retrograde step taken by the State Government in constituting Registration Tribunal instead of a State Pharmacy Council.

The judgment has vindicated the stand took by the Pharmacy Council of India (PCI), which had been a party to the case and had argued for the constitution of a state pharmacy council in the state. The PCI had made it clear that no unqualified pharmacist should be allowed to register and registration should be purely based on the qualification of the pharmacist. The Jharkhand government's decision had stirred a hornet's nest among the professional pharmacists across the country. The judgement has finally put an end to all clouds and confusion created by gross misinterpretation of Pharmacy Act.

The Government of Jharkhand had decided to constitute a Registration Tribunal for giving fresh registrations to pharmacists solely based on their experience even if they do not have the necessary educational qualification.

The first register is prepared when there is no registered pharmacist in the state. In case of Jharkhand, there are few thousand registered pharmacists and more than a thousand already in the services of the Health & Family Welfare Department of government of Jharkhand who were in service of government of Bihar.

The state government will now have to bifurcate the register of pharmacists of Bihar State Pharmacy Council as on date immediately before the bifurcation of Bihar, which was actually the register of pharmacists both for Bihar and Jharkhand till the bifurcation as Jharkhand is simply a result of bifurcating Bihar into two states.

The state of Jharkhand should authorize a person to prepare a separate register of pharmacists for the state, which shall be deemed to be the register prepared under the Pharmacy Act. The person authorized by the state government shall adopt the register of pharmacists for the state of Bihar as it existed immediately before the bifurcation and delete the names of the persons who do not reside, or carry on the business or profession of pharmacy in the state of Jharkhand. Before deleting the name of any person from the register, the authorized person shall pass an order in writing, after making such enquiry as he deems necessary, and give an opportunity to the person concerned to make his representation, if any. In case of complaints, the aggrieved should be given time to appeal before the authority and the consequent order of the appellate authority can be considered as final.