Section 274 IPC: Adulteration of Drugs and Punishment
Section 274 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 dealt with adulteration of drugs and medical preparations intended to be sold or used for medicinal purposes. This article explains the provision and its ingredients under the criminal law applicable before the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 came into force on 1 July 2024.
What was Section 274 of the Indian Penal Code?
Section 274 IPC was titled "Adulteration of drugs." It addressed deliberate adulteration of a drug or medical preparation where the adulteration affected its efficacy, operation or safety and the offender intended, or knew it was likely, that the adulterated product would be sold or used for a medicinal purpose as though it had not been adulterated.
Section 274 IPC - Adulteration of drugs
In substance, the provision applied where a person adulterated a drug or medical preparation so as to lessen its efficacy, change its operation, or make it noxious, intending that it be sold or used for a medicinal purpose, or knowing that such sale or use was likely, as if the product had not undergone the adulteration.
Essential ingredients of the offence
For Section 274 IPC to be attracted, the facts had to establish the statutory elements of the offence. The principal ingredients were:
- A drug or medical preparation: the subject matter had to be a drug or medical preparation.
- Adulteration: the accused had to adulterate that drug or preparation.
- Specified effect: the adulteration had to lessen efficacy, change the operation of the drug or preparation, or make it noxious.
- Medicinal sale or use: there had to be an intention that the adulterated article would be sold or used for a medicinal purpose, or knowledge that such sale or use was likely.
- Use as unadulterated: the contemplated sale or medicinal use had to be as if the drug or preparation had not undergone adulteration.
Meaning of important expressions
Adulteration
For the purpose of Section 274, the relevant adulteration was not merely any alteration of a product. The alteration had to produce one of the consequences identified in the section: reducing efficacy, changing operation, or making the drug or medical preparation noxious.
Lessening efficacy
This refers to adulteration that reduces the effectiveness of the drug or medical preparation for its intended medicinal function.
Changing operation
The provision also covered adulteration that changed the manner in which the drug or medical preparation operated, even where the product was not necessarily rendered wholly ineffective.
Making the preparation noxious
"Noxious" in this context concerns a drug or medical preparation rendered harmful or injurious by adulteration. Whether a preparation satisfied this requirement depended on the evidence and circumstances of the particular case.
Intention or knowledge under Section 274 IPC
Section 274 contained an express mental element. It was not enough merely to establish a physical alteration of a drug. The adulteration had to be accompanied by the statutory intention that the product would be sold or used for a medicinal purpose, or knowledge that such sale or use was likely, while being treated as though no adulteration had occurred.
Punishment under Section 274 IPC
| Provision | Central IPC punishment before BNS |
|---|---|
| Section 274 IPC | Imprisonment of either description for a term which could extend to six months, or fine which could extend to Rs. 1,000, or both. |
State amendments could alter the punishment or application of IPC provisions in a particular State. The applicable State law and amendments should therefore be checked for the place and date of the alleged offence.
Section 274 and related IPC provisions
Section 274 dealt with the act of adulterating a drug or medical preparation. The neighbouring provisions addressed related conduct. Section 275 IPC dealt with sale of adulterated drugs, while Section 276 IPC dealt with sale of a drug as a different drug or preparation. The precise section depended on the alleged conduct and evidence.
Other laws relating to drugs
Section 274 IPC formed part of the general criminal law. Drug manufacture, quality, sale, distribution and related regulatory matters could also be governed by specialised legislation. Liability under a specialised statute depended on its own definitions, standards, prohibitions, procedures and penalties. The applicability of one provision should therefore not be assumed to exclude another without examining the facts and governing law.
Position after commencement of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023
The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 came into force on 1 July 2024 (except the provision specifically excluded from the commencement notification). Accordingly, Section 274 IPC should be read in its proper temporal context. For an alleged act committed before that transition, the date of occurrence and applicable saving and transition provisions are important; for later conduct, the current statutory framework must be examined.
Frequently asked questions
What did Section 274 IPC punish?
It punished adulteration of a drug or medical preparation in the manner specified by the section where the required intention or knowledge concerning medicinal sale or use was present.
Was actual sale necessary for Section 274 IPC?
The language of Section 274 focused on the act of adulteration combined with the specified intention or knowledge. The separate offence concerning sale of an adulterated drug was addressed by Section 275 IPC.
What was the maximum central punishment?
Under the central IPC text, the maximum was six months' imprisonment, fine up to Rs. 1,000, or both, subject to any applicable State amendment.