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Section 37 of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act 1940 - Protection of Action Taken in Good Faith

Section 37 of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 provides statutory protection against a suit, prosecution or other legal proceeding for an act done, or intended to be done, in good faith under the Act.

Text of Section 37

37. Protection of action taken in good faith. - No suit, prosecution or other legal proceeding shall lie against any person for anything which is in good faith done or intended to be done under this Act.

Meaning and Scope of Section 37

The provision is a protective clause. Its purpose is to protect a person from legal proceedings where the impugned act was done, or was intended to be done, in good faith while acting under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940.

The protection is not expressed as a general immunity for every act of an officer or other person connected with drug regulation. The statutory condition is important: the act must be connected with the Act and must have been done or intended to be done in good faith. Whether that condition is satisfied depends on the facts and the applicable legal principles.

What Does Good Faith Mean?

The Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 does not separately define the expression "good faith" for Section 37. For Central Acts, the General Clauses Act, 1897 provides the general definition of "good faith": a thing is deemed to be done in good faith where it is in fact done honestly, whether it is done negligently or not. The application of a general definition remains subject to the context and the particular statutory provision.

Practical point: Section 37 focuses on the character and statutory basis of the act. A person relying on the provision must be able to bring the challenged conduct within the protection created by the section; the words "under this Act" and "in good faith" are therefore central to its operation.

Legal Effect of Section 37

It covers a suit, prosecution or other legal proceeding.
It applies to an act actually done as well as an act intended to be done.
The protected conduct must be referable to action under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940.
Good faith is an essential statutory requirement for the protection.
The provision should be read with the facts of the particular case and other applicable provisions of law.

Place of Section 37 in the Act

Section 37 appears in Chapter V, titled "Miscellaneous", of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940. It follows provisions dealing with offences, Special Courts and related procedure, and is followed by Section 38 concerning rules to be laid before Parliament.

Official Legal Sources

For the authoritative statutory text and regulatory material, readers should verify the current law from official Government of India sources.

India Code - Drugs and Cosmetics Act 1940 CDSCO - Drugs and Cosmetics Act India Code

Summary

Section 37 protects action taken or intended to be taken in good faith under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 from a suit, prosecution or other legal proceeding. The protection is tied to the statutory requirements of good faith and action under the Act; it is therefore not a blanket exemption from legal accountability.

This page is intended as a general legal reference. For a dispute involving Section 37, the statutory text, amendments, facts of the case and applicable judicial decisions should be examined together.