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The Andhra Pradesh Pharma Joint Action Committee (AP Pharma JAC) has submitted a comprehensive emergency representation to the principal secretary of the health, medical and family welfare department, demanding an immediate investigation into alleged administrative corruption and malpractices within the Andhra Pradesh Pharmacy Council (APPC).
Signed by AP Pharma JAC state chairman Dr Singanamalla Suman Modi, the petition challenges a series of public notices issued by the Council in July 2026, which threatened mass penal action against registered pharmacists under Section 42 of the Pharmacy Act, 1948.
The action committee highlighted the APPC’s introduction of an arbitrary ‘fine slab system’ ranging from Rs. 2,500 to Rs. 25,000 as an unauthorized prerequisite to process long-pending registration renewals. "These fines are being selectively levied against registered certificate holders accused of 'two places working' without due legal process," Dr Singanamalla Suman Modi told Pharmabiz. He asserted that the Council registry has illegally usurped judicial authority, effectively functioning as a parallel court despite lacking constitutional powers to directly impose criminal penalties.
In its submission, the JAC drew a sharp legal distinction between active criminal participation and professional misconduct. While Section 42 targets unregistered individuals caught physically dispensing medicines on-site (and medical shop owners facilitating them), renting out a registration certificate or working across institutions is strictly defined as ‘professional misconduct’ under Chapter 8, Regulation 13 of the Pharmacy Practice Regulations, 2015. The action committee emphasized that the statutory framework prescribes no financial penalties for such misconduct, the sole legal remedy is temporary suspension or permanent removal of registration, a power vested exclusively in the Council's Executive Committee and non-transferable to administrative staff.
Exposing the root cause of these professional deviations, the JAC pointed out that the APPC has comprehensively failed in its statutory duty to appoint Pharmacy Inspectors across Andhra Pradesh. Because of this systemic enforcement failure, medical store owners routinely employ unqualified personnel to avoid paying legitimate salaries, leaving qualified pharmacists without sustainable job opportunities and forcing many into certificate-renting simply to survive.
Adding to the crisis, many ‘two places working’ alerts are simply caused by technical glitches in the Drugs Control Administration (DCA) online portal, where the system fails to update when a pharmacist leaves a job. Instead of fixing these software errors, the Council’s office staff has kept renewal applications blocked for up to ten years, according to Dr Modi. He pointed out that unfairly holding back these files for a decade amounts to an illegal, hidden ban that has stripped qualified pharmacists of their basic right to earn a living.
According to Dr. Modi, the petition strongly opposes applying heavy penalties to past violations. The Council has allegedly threatened pharmacists with enhanced fines reaching up to Rs. 20,00,000 under the newly enacted Jan Vishwas Act, which took effect on December 31, 2024. Applying these enhanced criminal provisions to past infractions violates fundamental protections under Article 20(1) of the Indian Constitution, while certain staff members face accusations of intentionally delaying applications to demand bribes," he told Pharmabiz.
Dr Modi urged the state government to adopt a rehabilitative approach by pardoning ‘two places working’ as a first-time offense, issuing strict warnings against future repetition, and immediately clearing all pending renewals without financial exactions. The AP Pharma JAC has called for the immediate revocation of all penal notices, the suspension of accused officials, and a full forensic audit of the council by the Vigilance and Enforcement department and the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB).
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