You bought a strip of tablets from a chemist for your father’s blood pressure. He took them for two weeks and felt worse, not better. A doctor later told you the medicine was not what the label claimed — it was a fake, or it had something harmful mixed into it. Now your father is in hospital, you are paying bills you never planned for, and the shopkeeper is shrugging and saying “company ka maal hai, hum kya karein.” You feel cheated, scared, and unsure whether the law is even on your side.
It is. A medicine that is fake or contaminated is not just a bad purchase — under Indian law it can be a crime, and the people who made, stored, or sold it can be punished and made to pay. This article explains, in plain language, what your rights are and what you can actually do next.
What Counts as a “Fake” or “Adulterated” Medicine?
The law uses two separate words, and the difference matters for what punishment applies.
The first is spurious goods. The Consumer Protection Act, 2019 — the main law protecting buyers in India — defines “spurious goods” very simply: goods which are falsely claimed to be genuine. So if a medicine is sold as a branded, genuine product but is actually a counterfeit or imitation, it is a spurious good. The strip looks real, the box looks real, but the thing inside is a lie.
The second is an adulterant. The same Act explains an “adulterant” as any material, including extraneous matter, which is employed or used for making a product unsafe. In plain words, an adulterated medicine is one that has had something mixed into it — or substituted — that makes it unsafe to consume. The medicine may even carry the genuine brand, but its contents have been tampered with or diluted.
You do not need to know, as an ordinary buyer, which exact category your medicine falls into. That is something a lab test and a lawyer will sort out. What you need to know is that both situations are taken seriously by the law, and both can lead to criminal punishment for the wrongdoer on top of money compensation for you.
Section 90: Punishment When a Medicine Is Adulterated
The Consumer Protection Act, 2019 contains a specific criminal provision — Section 90 — for anyone who manufactures for sale, stores, sells, distributes, or imports any product that contains an adulterant. This is not a vague rule. The Act lays out punishment in steps, depending on how badly the consumer was harmed:
- If no injury is caused — imprisonment up to six months and a fine up to one lakh rupees.
- If it causes injury, but not grievous hurt — imprisonment up to one year and a fine up to three lakh rupees.
- If it causes grievous hurt — imprisonment up to seven years and a fine up to five lakh rupees.
- If it results in the death of a consumer — imprisonment of not less than seven years, which may extend to imprisonment for life, and a fine of not less than ten lakh rupees.
Notice how the punishment climbs sharply with the harm. The law treats “grievous hurt” the same way the Indian Penal Code does — serious injuries like loss of sight, fractures, or any hurt that endangers life or causes long suffering. And in the two most serious situations — grievous hurt and death — the Act says the offence is cognizable and non-bailable. That means the police can act on it directly and the accused cannot simply walk out on bail as a matter of right.
There is one more bite in Section 90. Even after punishment, the court can suspend the licence of the wrongdoer for up to two years on a first conviction, and cancel the licence on a second or later conviction. For a chemist or a manufacturer, losing the licence is often a bigger blow than the fine.
Section 91: Punishment When a Medicine Is Fake
For fake — spurious — goods, the Act has a separate provision: Section 91. It punishes anyone who manufactures for sale, stores, sells, distributes, or imports spurious goods. Again, the punishment is graded by the harm caused:
- If it causes injury, but not grievous hurt — imprisonment up to one year and a fine up to three lakh rupees.
- If it causes grievous hurt — imprisonment up to seven years and a fine up to five lakh rupees.
- If it results in the death of a consumer — imprisonment of not less than seven years, which may extend to imprisonment for life, and a fine of not less than ten lakh rupees.
As with adulterated products, the offences that cause grievous hurt or death are cognizable and non-bailable. And the same licence consequences follow — suspension for up to two years on a first conviction, cancellation on a repeat conviction.
You will see that Section 91 does not list a separate “no injury” slab the way Section 90 does. The starting point for fake goods is injury that is not grievous. But that does not mean a fake medicine that luckily caused no physical harm leaves you without a remedy — it is still a defective product and a clear case of an unfair trade practice, and your right to compensation through the consumer commission remains fully alive.
Why It Is “CP Act Plus Drugs Act”
Medicines in India are not governed by the Consumer Protection Act alone. There is a separate, older law specifically for drugs — the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 — which the legal commentary on consumer protection records as one of the early laws enacted to protect the public from unsafe products. Drug-control legislation in India goes back even further, to the Drugs Control Act of 1950 and related laws.
What this means for you is that a fake or adulterated medicine can attract action under two streams at once. The Consumer Protection Act gives you, the buyer, a direct route — criminal penalty under Section 90 or 91, plus your separate right to claim compensation as a consumer. The drug-control law operates through the drug regulators and the State machinery that licenses and inspects pharmacies and manufacturers. The two are not in conflict; they run side by side. One protects you as an individual buyer who was wronged; the other protects the public by policing who is allowed to make and sell medicine at all.
This is why the Consumer Protection Act’s own punishment sections talk about suspending and cancelling “any licence issued… under any law for the time being in force.” The Act is consciously linking its criminal penalty to the licensing system that runs under the drug law. A conviction under the consumer law can directly cost the wrongdoer the drug licence granted under the drug law.
Can I Get My Money Back and Compensation Too?
Yes. The criminal punishment under Sections 90 and 91 is about the State punishing the wrongdoer. It is separate from your own claim for compensation, and you are entitled to pursue both.
The Consumer Protection Act, 2019 introduced a strong concept called product liability. The Act defines it as the responsibility of a product manufacturer or product seller to compensate for any harm caused to a consumer by a defective product. A medicine that is spurious or adulterated is, almost by definition, a defective product — it does not do what it is claimed to do, and it can hurt you. Through a product liability action — a complaint filed before the District, State, or National Consumer Commission — you can claim compensation for the harm caused to you: hospital bills, the cost of the medicine, lost income, and the suffering involved.
Importantly, the Act’s definition of a “product manufacturer” is wide. It covers not just the factory that made the medicine, but also a person who puts their own mark on a product made by someone else, or who packages, labels, or markets it. So you are not limited to chasing one faceless factory — the chain of people who handled and sold that fake strip can be answerable. This is the same consumer-commission system people use for everyday disputes, and it overlaps with broader consumer rights every buyer in India should know.
What Proof Do I Need to Keep?
A case under these provisions stands or falls on evidence, and the most useful evidence is the kind that is easy to lose if you do not act quickly.
The single most important thing is the medicine itself — the strip, the bottle, the box, and especially any unused tablets. Do not throw them away. The contents will need to be examined to show that the product was spurious or contained an adulterant. Alongside that, hold on to the bill or cash memo from the chemist; it ties the product to a specific seller on a specific date. Keep the packaging and labels, because batch numbers and manufacturing details printed on them help trace the product back up the chain.
Then comes the medical evidence: the doctor’s prescription, hospital records, diagnosis notes, and discharge summary that connect your harm to the medicine. If a doctor has said in writing that the harm is linked to a contaminated or fake drug, that is powerful. Finally, keep receipts of every expense — hospital, tests, follow-up consultations, travel — because these become the basis of your compensation claim. Photographs of the product and its packaging, taken before you hand anything over, are a sensible backup.
Who Actually Files the Criminal Case?
This is where many consumers feel lost, so it is worth being clear. The serious criminal offences under Sections 90 and 91 — the ones involving grievous hurt or death — are cognizable, which means the police can register and act on them without first needing a court’s permission. So a police complaint is one route, and for a death or a serious injury it is an important one.
Separately, the Central Consumer Protection Authority — a regulator created by the 2019 Act — has its own powers. It can order the recall of goods that are dangerous, hazardous, or unsafe, order reimbursement of the price of those recalled goods to buyers, and order that unfair practices be stopped. When a fake or adulterated medicine has been sold to many people, this class-wide action can do what an individual complaint cannot.
And the consumer commissions — District, State, National — handle your compensation claim. The practical takeaway: you do not have to pick just one door. A police complaint for the criminal wrong, a complaint to the consumer authority, and a consumer commission case for compensation can all be pursued. A lawyer will help you decide which to push first, depending on whether your priority is punishment, a public recall, or getting your money and damages.
What Should I Actually Do Now?
- Stop using the medicine immediately and keep every remaining tablet, the strip, the box, and the label safe and untouched.
- See a doctor and ask them to record, in writing, that the harm may be linked to a fake or contaminated medicine. Collect all hospital and prescription records.
- Find the bill or cash memo from the chemist. If you do not have it, note the shop’s name, address, and the date and time of purchase.
- Photograph everything — the product, batch number, packaging, and the bill — before you hand any of it over to anyone.
- Make a written complaint to the chemist and, if known, the manufacturer, keeping a copy. A clear paper trail helps later.
- Report it to the police if there has been a serious injury or a death — these offences are cognizable and the police can act directly.
- Complain to the drug regulator and the Central Consumer Protection Authority so that a recall or licence action can be considered, especially if others may have bought the same batch.
- File a consumer complaint or product liability action before the appropriate consumer commission to claim compensation for your loss and suffering. If your harm came through a hospital or treatment, it can overlap with a medical negligence claim too.
- Save every expense receipt — treatment, tests, travel — as these directly support the amount you can claim.
- Talk to a lawyer early, before evidence gets lost or thrown away, so the strongest combination of remedies can be chosen for your situation.
Getting Help Without Feeling Overwhelmed
Cases involving fake or adulterated medicine often feel too big to handle alone — there is a sick family member to care for, bills piling up, and a seller who keeps passing the blame up an invisible chain. This is exactly the kind of situation where early, calm legal guidance makes a real difference. The team at Pinaka Legal can help you preserve the right evidence, send the right notices, and decide whether your matter is best driven through a police complaint, a regulator complaint, a consumer commission claim, or a combination of all three. The point is not to drown you in legal steps, but to make sure the people responsible are held to account and that you are compensated for what you have been through.
You Are Not Without a Remedy
A fake or adulterated medicine can feel like a betrayal — you trusted a product that was supposed to heal, and it caused harm instead. But the law does not leave you helpless. The Consumer Protection Act, 2019 makes selling adulterated products (Section 90) and spurious goods (Section 91) a criminal offence, with punishment that rises all the way to life imprisonment where a consumer dies, and with the power to strip the wrongdoer of their licence. The Drugs and Cosmetics Act adds a second layer of public regulation. And your personal right to compensation through a product liability action sits on top of all of it. The strip in your hand is not just a bad buy — it is evidence. Keep it safe, act quickly, and get the right help.
Written by the Pinaka Legal Editorial Team. For queries, call +91 8595704798 or email info@pinakalegal.com.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is selling a spurious or adulterated drug a crime in India, or just a consumer dispute?
It is both. Under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, selling, storing, or distributing an adulterated product (Section 90) or spurious goods (Section 91) is a criminal offence carrying imprisonment and fine. At the same time, it is a defective product, so you also have a separate civil right to claim compensation through a consumer commission. The two run together — criminal punishment for the wrongdoer, and compensation for you.
What is the punishment if a fake medicine caused a death?
Both Section 90 (adulterated products) and Section 91 (spurious goods) of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 say that if the act results in the death of a consumer, the punishment is imprisonment of not less than seven years, which may extend to imprisonment for life, along with a fine of not less than ten lakh rupees. These offences are also cognizable and non-bailable, meaning the police can act directly and bail is not automatic.
What is the difference between a 'spurious' and an 'adulterated' medicine?
A spurious good is one that is falsely claimed to be genuine — basically a counterfeit or fake. An adulterant is any material mixed into a product that makes it unsafe, so an adulterated medicine is one whose contents have been tampered with or contaminated. Spurious goods are punished under Section 91 and adulterated products under Section 90 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019. As a buyer, you do not need to classify it yourself — testing and a lawyer will.
Can I claim compensation for my hospital bills after taking a spurious drug?
Yes. The Consumer Protection Act, 2019 created the concept of product liability — the responsibility of a manufacturer or seller to compensate a consumer for harm caused by a defective product. A spurious or adulterated medicine is a defective product. By filing a product liability action before a District, State, or National Consumer Commission, you can claim compensation for hospital bills, the cost of the medicine, lost income, and suffering.
Whom can I hold responsible — only the factory, or also the chemist?
Potentially the whole chain. The Consumer Protection Act, 2019 defines a product manufacturer widely — it includes not just the factory, but anyone who puts their own mark on the product, or who packages, labels, or markets it. Sections 90 and 91 themselves punish anyone who manufactures for sale, stores, sells, distributes, or imports the product. So the chemist who sold it, a distributor who stored it, and the manufacturer can all be answerable.
Do I need to go to the police, or to the consumer commission?
It depends on what you want. For a serious injury or a death, the offences under Sections 90 and 91 are cognizable, so the police can register and act on a complaint. For compensation, you go to the consumer commission. The Central Consumer Protection Authority can also order a recall of unsafe goods. You can pursue more than one of these together — a lawyer can help you decide the order based on your priority.
What evidence should I keep if I think I was sold a fake medicine?
Keep the medicine itself — the strip, box, unused tablets, and labels with the batch number. Keep the bill or cash memo from the chemist. Keep all medical records: prescription, diagnosis, hospital notes, discharge summary. Keep every expense receipt for treatment, tests, and travel. Photograph the product and packaging before handing anything over. The medicine and its contents are the core proof, so never throw them away.
Can the chemist or manufacturer lose their licence?
Yes. Both Section 90 and Section 91 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 say that, on top of imprisonment and fine, the court can suspend any licence issued under any law for up to two years on a first conviction, and cancel the licence on a second or subsequent conviction. For a chemist or manufacturer, this licence consequence is often a more serious deterrent than the fine itself.
How does the Drugs Act fit in alongside the Consumer Protection Act?
Medicines are also governed by the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, which operates through drug regulators who license and inspect manufacturers and pharmacies. The Consumer Protection Act, 2019 gives you, the individual buyer, criminal penalty and compensation routes. The drug law protects the public by controlling who can make and sell medicine. They run side by side — which is why the consumer law lets a court suspend or cancel licences granted under the drug law.
What if the fake medicine luckily did not cause me any physical harm?
You still have a remedy. Section 90 covers even the situation where an adulterated product causes no injury, with imprisonment up to six months and fine up to one lakh rupees. Even where the criminal slab does not squarely apply, a fake or substandard medicine is a defective product and a clear unfair trade practice, so your right to a refund and compensation before the consumer commission remains fully available.
For more articles on Indian law, visit the Pinaka Legal Blog.