India’s Supreme Court directed the government to set up an expert committee within two weeks to examine rules on drug promotion and safeguards against pharmaceutical companies’ influence on doctors.
The committee must consult stakeholders and specialists, then submit recommendations to the government within two months of its first meeting. A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta also told the authorities to make a reasoned decision on the recommendations and report back to the court.
The case concerns whether existing rules are sufficient to curb practices that may influence doctors’ prescribing decisions. Petitions by the Federation of Medical and Sales Representatives’ Associations of India and others allege that companies use expensive gifts, foreign trips and other benefits to encourage doctors to prescribe particular medicines. The petitioners say such practices can harm public health, including by increasing the risk of adverse drug reactions and antimicrobial resistance.
The court said material before it indicated that the current framework had not fully curbed unethical practices. The government has acknowledged difficulties in relying on existing drug and essential commodities laws to impose binding rules on pharmaceutical companies. The Uniform Code for Pharmaceutical Marketing Practices, introduced in 2024, mainly regulates the conduct of medical practitioners.
Government representatives have said a separate mechanism may be needed to proceed against pharmaceutical companies accused of influencing prescriptions. The court said it was not seeking to formulate policy itself. It wants the committee to conduct a meaningful consultation and produce concrete proposals that balance public-health considerations with the pharmaceutical industry’s interests.
The matter is scheduled for a further hearing on Jan. 29, 2027. The court will assess compliance with its directions then.
In 2022, the government formed a high-level panel led by V.K. Paul, a former health member of NITI Aayog, to study international practices and whether pharmaceutical marketing rules should be made legally enforceable. That panel recommended strengthening the voluntary code through independent scrutiny, better complaint monitoring and greater disclosure, rather than immediately giving it statutory force.