The Supreme Court on Tuesday (October 27, 2026) said “economic policy” could not take precedence over the lives of citizens as it questioned the Centre over its approach to regulating the prices of essential medicines and medical products.
“Is this a matter in which economic policy will weigh supreme over the lives of citizens at large?… NPPA [was] conspicuously silent… For so many years, why were you silent? Suddenly, you decided to cap trade margins of cancer drugs?… Don’t force us to ask harsh questions,” the Bench remarked. Ms. non-scheduled medicines remain outside this framework, even where substantial markups may be involved While scheduled formulations are subject to government-fixed price ceilings. “There are pending recoveries from the manufacturers by the government. There was a news item on this recently… “Of the amount I bill, I receive only a portion from insurance or the government. I have to subsidise those bills… If I don’t get the difference, it will lead to an increase in [charges for] other facilities,” Mr.
Earlier this month, the NPPA, the government’s drug-price regulator, capped trade margins on 137 non-scheduled anti-cancer medicines at 30% of their maximum retail price (MRP). The revised prices are set to take effect from November 9. The Bench also questioned why the 16% retailer margin prescribed under the DPCO should not apply to all essential medicines and sought the basis for classifying drugs as scheduled or non-scheduled. If this is brought down to 10% or 20%, hospitals will collapse.
Bhati, however, told the Bench that “complete government control” over essential medicines could adversely affect the market. She said the government favoured a “calibrated approach”, striking a balance between ensuring essential medicines are available at reasonable prices and the need to encourage innovation and competition in the pharmaceutical industry. The patients and their families have to sell ornaments, houses to get the treatment, which, if the proper control was there… would be one-fourth the cost,” Justice Mehta said. Rohatgi said.
