GUWAHATI: The Supreme Court expressed strong disapproval over the failure of States to take action against misleading medical advertisements on Monday, February 24, urging them to enforce the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable s) Act, 1954 in both letter and spirit.
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The Bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan emphasised that States must adopt a proactive approach rather than merely responding to complaints. The Court particularly questioned the State of Jharkhand, which claimed that no advertisements had been published under Rule 170 of the Act. However, it failed to clarify whether misleading advertisements were being circulated in the State.
The Court will now review compliance affidavits submitted by the States and Union Territories to assess the effectiveness of regulatory measures in tackling misleading medical advertisements. It will also consider additional steps to ensure strict enforcement of the law.
The Amicus Curiae has been directed to submit a detailed note outlining an implementation framework, which will assist the Bench in formulating further directives to strengthen regulatory enforcement.