On 29 September 2026, a Supreme Court bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta heard petitions on drug pricing and sharply criticised mark-ups on medicines sold through hospitals, according to Verdictum’s report of the hearing. This is a recent development rather than breaking news, and the matter was listed for further hearing on 12 October, so check for the latest order.
What was reported
The court reportedly cited a cancer drug with an MRP of Rs 27,000 that was said to be supplied to retailers for Rs 2,700. It criticised corporate hospitals for requiring patients to buy medicines from in-house or designated pharmacies, and floated a uniform 16 per cent margin across medicines. The Solicitor General, appearing for the Centre, was asked to examine hospitals mandating purchases from their own pharmacies and sought two weeks to respond. The petitions concern price regulation and generic prescribing under the Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 2013.
These are the court’s remarks at a hearing, not a final ruling or a new rule.
What this means for your clinic
One concrete check: if your clinic or hospital runs an in-house pharmacy, look at how patients are told about it. Make sure your prescriptions and patient communication make clear that patients are free to buy from any licensed pharmacy, and that nothing on your website, WhatsApp scripts or front-desk process suggests otherwise.
It is also sensible to keep your pharmacy pricing records tidy, since scrutiny of this area appears to be rising. Your legal adviser can tell you what applies to your setup.
This post is general information and is not legal or medical advice.
Sources: Verdictum: Apex Court on markup of ten times on cancer drugs; Business Standard, 12 October 2026
