Against the order of the principal health secretary of Kerala directing the state pharmacy council to withdraw the legal action taken against six unqualified and unregistered pharmacists, the Kerala Pharmacy Council has approached the state health minister requesting to cancel the secretary’s order.

The health secretary’s order says that the cases should be withdrawn with the permission of the court.

The first class judicial magistrate court in Palakkad district had convicted one of the six accused persons and sentenced him to pay a fine of Rs. 1500 under sections 41and 42 of the Pharmacy Act for a violation case filed by the council after an inspection conducted by it.

The inspection had found that the six persons were serving as registered pharmacists in medical shops without having required qualification and registration with the pharmacy council, which forced the council to initiate legal action against them citing violation of sections 41 and 42 of the Pharmacy Act 1948. They were working on a licence issued by the drugs control department approving them as ‘qualified persons’. The pharmacy council inspector later filed the case with the magistrate court in Palakkad and the court pronounced its judgment on one of the cases.

Following the court order, the convicted person and the five other accused persons submitted an appeal before the government requesting to withdraw the legal action taken against them by the Pharmacy Council claiming that they are ‘qualified persons’ certified by the drug control authorities. The petitioners in their appeal informed the health secretary that they were aged more than 60 years and as per Drugs & Cosmetics Rules, 1945 those persons already approved as qualified persons on or before December 31, 1969, did not need registration from the Pharmacy Council.

The health secretary, after analysing the case, wrote to the Registrar of the council that the persons who were already approved as ‘qualified persons’ by the licensing authority on or before December 31, 1969 need not be a registered pharmacist as defined in Clause (i) of Section (2) of the Pharmacy Act 1948. He further said since the petitioners are qualified before 1969 the case filed against them for violation of sections 41 and 42 of the pharmacy act of 1948 could be withdrawn.

Against this direction of the health secretary, the council has now sought the intervention of the health minister to get the pharmacy act implemented properly in the state.

According to B Rajan, president of the Pharmacy Council, the drugs control department had approved certain persons as “qualified persons” for the purpose of doing retail sale of drugs on the basis of a provision in the D&C Act which was valid upto December 31, 1969. As per the amendment of the Pharmacy Act in 1976, it was mandated that the drug control licence holders must obtain pharmacy council registration within two years to continue practice. The Kerala state pharmacy council had given a time period of two years, upto September 1, 1978 to those who were practising on licences issued by the state drug control authorities and many such persons got registered with the council. Again the deadline was extended upto September 1, 1981 as per another amendment. But so far, the six persons did not register with the council, he said.

Since the drugs control department is strictly implementing sections 41 and 42 of the Pharmacy Act, it has started inspections in all the medical shops separately, and legal action is initiated for all kinds of violations.

The registrar of the council in reply to the government order wrote to the health secretary that as per the D&C Act of 1940, the drugs control department issued licence to unqualified people to act as supervisors in medical stores based on their prolonged experience in the drug shops. But the amendment of Pharmacy Act in 1981 stipulates that only those who possess a diploma or degree in pharmacy can serve as registered pharmacist after obtaining registration from the state pharmacy councils concerned, and those continue the practice violating the Act are liable for punishment.