The Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisement) Act, 1954

S.4 Prohibition of misleading advertisements relating to drugs.

Subject to the provisions of this Act, no person shall take any part in the publication of any advertisement relating to a drug if the advertisement contains any matters which--

(a) directly or indirectly gives a false impression regarding the true character of the drug; or

(b) makes a false claim for the drug; or

S.5 Prohibition of advertisement of magic remedies for treatment of certain diseases and disorders.

No person carrying on or purporting to carry on the profession of administering magic remedies shall take any part in the publication of any advertisement referring to any magic remedy which directly or indirectly claims to be efficacious for any of the purposes specified in section 3.

S.6 Prohibition of import into, and export from, India of certain advertisements.

No person shall import into, or export from, the territories to which this Act extends any documents containing an advertisement of the nature referred to in section 3 or in section 4 or section 5, and any document containing any such advertisements shall be deemed to be goods of which the import or export has been prohibited under section 19 of the Sea Customs Act, 1878 (8 of 1878), and all the provisions of that Act shall have effect accordingly, except that section 183 thereof shall have effect as if for the word 'shall' therein the word 'may' were substituted.

S.7 Penalty.

Whoever contravenes any of the provisions of this Act ¹[or the rules made thereunder] shall, on conviction, be punishable--

(a) in the case of the first conviction, with imprisonment which may extend to six months, or with fine, or with both;

(b) in the case of a subsequent conviction, with imprisonment which may extend to one year, or with fine, or with both.

S.8 Powers of entry, search, etc.

¹[8. Powers of entry, search, etc.--(1) Subject to the provisions of any rules made in this behalf, any Gazetted Officer authorised by the State Government may, within the local limits of the area for which he is so authorised,--

(a) enter and search at all reasonable times, with such assistants, if any, as he considers necessary, any place in which he has reason to believe that an offence under this Act has been or is being committed;

(b) seize any advertisement which he has reason to believe contravenes any of the provisions of this Act:

Provided that the power of seizure under this clause may be exercised in respect of

S.9 Offences by companies.

(1) If the person contravening any of the provisions of this Act is a company, every person who, at the time the offence was committed, was in charge of, and was responsible to, the company for the conduct of the business of the company as well as the company shall be deemed to be guilty of the contravention and shall be liable to be proceeded against, and punished accordingly:

Provided that nothing contained in this sub-section shall render any such person liable to any punishment provided in this act if he proves that the offence was committed without his knowledge or that he exercised all due diligence to prevent the commission of such offence.

(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1) where an offence under this Act has been committed by a company and it is proved that th

S.9A Offences to be cognizable.

¹[9A. Offences to be cognizable.--Notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 (5 of 1898), an offence punishable under this Act shall be cognizable.]

S.10 Jurisdiction to try offences.

No Court inferior to that of a Presidency Magistrate or a Magistrate of the first class shall try any offence punishable under this Act.

S.10A Forfeiture.

¹[10A. Forfeiture.-- Where a person has been convicted by any Court for contravening any provision of this Act or any rule made thereunder, the Court may direct that any document (including all copies thereof), article or thing, in respect of which the contravention is made, including the contents thereof where such contents are seized under clause (b) of sub-section (1) of section 8, shall be forfeited to the Government.]

S.11 Officers to be deemed to be public servants.

Every person authorized under section 8 shall be deemed to be a public servant within the meaning of section 21 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860).

S.12 Indemnity.

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.

S.13 Other laws not affected.

The provisions of this Act are in addition to, and not in derogation of the provisions of any other law for the time being in force.

S.14 Savings.

¹[14. Savings.--Nothing in this Act shall apply to--

(a) any signboard or notice displayed by a registered medical practitioner on his premises indicating that treatment for any disease, disorder or condition specified in section 3, the Schedule or the rules made under this Act is undertaken in those premises; or

(b) any treatise or book dealing with any of the matters specified in section 3 from a bonafide scientific or social standpoint; or

(c) any advertisement relating to any drug sent confidentially in the manner prescribed under section 16 only to a registered medical practitioner; or

If, in the opinion of the Central Government, public interest requires that the advertisement of any specified drug or class of drugs ¹[or any specified class of advertisements relating to drugs] should be permitted, it may, by notification in the Official Gazette, direct that the provisions of sections 3,4,5 and 6 or any one of such provisions shall not apply' or shall apply subject to such conditions as may be specified in the notification to or in relation to the advertisement of any such drugs or class of drugs ¹[or any such class of advertisements relating to drugs].

S.16 Power to make rules.

(1) The Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, make rules for carrying out the purposes of this Act.

(2) In particular and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power; such rules may--

(a) specify any ¹[disease, disorder or condition] to which the provisions of section 3 shall apply;

(b) prescribe the manner in which advertisements of articles or things referred to in clause (c) of ²* * * section 14 may be sent confidentially.

³[(3) Every rule made under this Act shall be laid as soon as may be after it is made, before each House of Parliament while it is

S.2 Definitions.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,--

(a) 'advertisement' includes any notice, circular, label, wrapper or other document, and any announcement made orally or by any means of producing or transmitting light, sound or smoke;

(b) 'drug' includes--

(i) a medicine for the internal or external use of human beings or animals;

(ii) any substance intended to be used for or in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment or prevention of disease in human beings or animals;
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S.3 Prohibition of advertisement of certain drugs for treatment of certain diseases and disorders.

Subject to the provisions of this Act, no person shall take any part in the publication of any advertisement referring to any drug in terms which suggest or are calculated to lead to the use of that drug for--

(a) the procurement of miscarriage in women or prevention of conception in women; or

(b) the maintenance or improvement of the capacity of human beings for sexual pleasure; or

¹[(d) the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment or prevention of any disease, disorder or condition specified in

S.1 Short title, extent and commencement.

(1) This Act may be called the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisement) Act, 1954.

(2) It extends to the whole of India ¹***, and applies also to persons domiciled in the territories to which this Act extends who are outside the said territories.

(3) It shall come into force on such date² as the Central Government may, by Notification in the Official Gazette, appoint.