Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has lodged FIRs against 11 offending pharmacists across the state for pursuing dual employment and has approached the Maharashtra State Pharmacy Council (MSPC) to cancel their registrations as provisioned under Section 36 of the Pharmacy Act, 1948.
 
The state FDA had filed FIRs against 11 pharmacists in different cases of cheating and impersonation under different sections of CrPC of IPC across Maharashtra over the past four months in order to dissuade pharmacists from renting their licences to drug stores and taking up employment elsewhere.

FIRs have been lodged against pharmacists across Maharashtra with two each in Akola, Nashik, Thane and Mumbai and one each at Parbani, Nanded and Thane have been booked under section 416 for impersonation, 420 for cheating and 199 for violating the affidavit of oath (false statement made in any declaration which is by law receivable as evidence).

Says Sanjay Kale, joint vigilance commissioner, FDA, " "In order to curb the practice of dual employment by registered pharmacists and to set an administrative precedent, we have taken the initiative to lodge FIRs against offending pharmacists. Registrations of the pharmacists should be cancelled as they are violating the law of the land under relevant sections of IPC, Pharmacy Act and Drugs and Cosmetics Act and putting patient's safety at risk."

There is a rising trend of qualified pharmacists renting out their licenses to chemist shops and taking up dual employment either as a medical representative in a pharma company or as a faculty in an educational institution.

"We found that suspension and cancellation of licences by FDA as provisioned under Drugs and Cosmetics Act have failed to make any impact as the drug store owners and pharmacists after getting penalised, succeed in getting a stay on the matter from the appellate authority and continue with their business. We have approached MSPC to take appropriate action to curb the illegal practice as it is criminal in nature," informs Kale.

The State FDA has come across rampant violation of Drugs and Cosmetics (D&C) Act as several chemist shops in the state despite their licences being canceled were found to be operating and dispensing drugs without any qualified pharmacist.   

Says an MSPC official, "Canceling of a pharmacist registration is a legal process which ensures that the offending pharmacist is given a proper hearing before its  registration is canceled. Each case takes almost a year to get resolved by the state council which calls the aggrieved party for explanation, hearing, defense, written submission till final ratification at the Executive Committee meeting held twice a year based on the merits of the case."

MSPC Executive Committee has quasi judicial powers to take action against the offending pharmacists ranging from issuing warning letters to cancellation of registration as per section 36 of the Pharmacy Act, 1948.