Punjab suspends 520 chemist licences and seizes Rs 20.64 crore of medicines

Drug regulators in Punjab suspended the licences of 520 chemists and cancelled 22 more between 1 April 2025 and 30 September 2026, according to an official statement issued on Thursday 15 October 2026 and reported by the Press Trust of India, as carried by Medical Dialogues. Over the same period the Drugs Wing of the state’s Food and Drugs Administration carried out 16,788 inspections and seized medicines worth Rs 20.64 crore from 214 licensed and unlicensed firms, the statement said.

The statement said the violations were under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 and the Drugs Rules, 1945. During the period, according to the report, 54 court cases were instituted against defaulters and 35 cases ended in convictions with fines. Separately, 650 cases are under trial in district courts across the state. The report did not break the figures down by district, by type of violation or between retail and wholesale licences, and did not name any of the firms involved.

The inspections were carried out as directed by the state’s Health and Family Welfare Minister, Balbir Singh, according to the report.

Pregabalin, e-pharmacies and pricing

The statement, as reported, noted that the Government of India has added pregabalin to Schedule H1 of the Drugs Rules, 1945, through notification G.S.R. 377(E) dated 13 May 2026; the Punjab statement gives 12 November 2026 as the date it takes effect. The drug was previously not scheduled, and Punjab said it had pressed the Centre on the change for some time. The notification itself, in a copy of the Gazette of India Extraordinary issue dated 20 May 2026 published by Medical Dialogues, does not give a calendar date. It says the rules come into force 180 days after publication in the Official Gazette.

According to the report, the statement said Punjab has also raised with the Union health minister the absence of rules regulating the online sale of medicines through e-pharmacies, and that medicines that can be misused for intoxication remain available online. The state has restricted the stocking for sale of eight types of drug formulations; the report did not name them or say when the restrictions began.

On pricing, the statement said, as reported, that the Centre had taken no effective steps on high prices and wide price variations between products with the same active ingredient made by different companies until recent directions from the Supreme Court. The report did not set out those directions.

Central rules in the pipeline

The Union Health Ministry has separately proposed making CCTV surveillance mandatory at retail medical stores. A draft amendment to the Drugs Rules, G.S.R. 791(E) dated 8 September 2026, would require prescription sales other than wholesale dealing to take place under a CCTV system at the licensed premises, with recordings kept for at least three months, Indian Pharma Post reported on 19 September. The draft is aimed at curbing unauthorised sale of Schedule H, H1 and X drugs and gave stakeholders 30 days to object.

Our reading

• The Healthcare Daily’s reading: the figures describe a sustained enforcement programme over 18 months rather than a single raid. For retail and wholesale licensees in Punjab, suspension is a live operating risk where inspectors find breaches of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act.
• The Punjab statement puts pregabalin’s move to Schedule H1 at 12 November 2026, less than a month away, while the notification counts 180 days from Gazette publication. Either way, manufacturers, distributors and chemists that supply the drug have weeks rather than months to align stock and sales processes with the stricter category, and should confirm the exact start date with the regulator.
• Punjab’s complaint about e-pharmacies points to a gap that state inspectors cannot close alone. Until the Centre issues rules for online sale, state enforcement pressure falls mainly on physical chemists that licensing authorities can inspect.