To think that thinking persons should think so wrongly! …"All persons make mistakes, but a good person yields when he/she knows his/her course is wrong, and repairs the evil. The only crime is pride."
—Sophocles (5th century BCE), one of the three great tragedians of ancient Greece, along with Aeschylus and Euripides in Antigone
In Pharmacy Council of India vs. State of Bihar & Ors. (2025), Acting Chief Justice Ashutosh Kumar and Justice Partha Sarthy delivered a 72-page long judgement disposed all the writ petitions were disposed of without relief to the petitioners.
The judgement was authored by Justice Kumar. He concluded: "No doubt, graduate and post-graduate degrees in Pharmacy are higher qualification but when the essential/minimum qualification of Diploma in Pharmacy has been fixed in the cadre rules, it cannot be tinkered with only on the ground of the same not being wise or sound or as suggested, arbitrary. The prescriptions of course study for Pharmacist under the Pharmacy Act of 1948 and the Regulations of 2015, referred to above, are only with respect to the eligibility of such graduates, post-graduates and diplomates to practice Pharmacy, subject to their registration with the respective Pharmacy Councils of States but that does not pertain to the matters of recruitment, which are in the exclusive domain of the appropriate Governments."
The petitioners had challenged the validity of Rule 6 (1) of Bihar Pharmacists Cadre Rules, 2014 (as amended) (impugned Rules of 2014), in which, it has been stipulated that for appointment by direct recruitment to the basic category posts of Pharmacists, minimum educational qualification shall be Intermediate/10+2 (Science) and passing in all parts (Part-I, II & III) of Diploma in Pharmacy from the Institutions recognized by the Government and a certificate to that effect would be necessary, as being violative of and repugnant to the Pharmacy Practice Regulations, 2015 (Regulations of 2015) framed by the Pharmacy Council of India (PCI) under Section 10 of the Pharmacy Act, 1948, which, inter alia, provides that the basic qualification of Diploma in Pharmacy and Bachelor Degree in Pharmacy would be necessary for the profession of Pharmacists. Rule 6(1) of the impugned Rules of 2014 was challenged by the petitioners for being arbitrary and irrational.
They had prayed also for declaration of the note provided in Rule 4 of the Bihar Pharmacist Cadre (Amendment) Rules, 2024 stipulating that B. Pharma and M. Pharma certificate holders would also be eligible for applying for the posts of Pharmacists, provided they possess the qualification of Diploma in Pharmacy.
The respondents were:The State of Bihar through the Chief Secretary, Government of Bihar, Additional Chief Secretary, Health Department, Union of India, through Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Pharmacy Council of India, Registrar, Pharmacy Council of India, Bihar Technical Service Commission through its Secretary and Others.
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