Madras High Court stays ban on online sale of medicine

CHENNAI: Madras High Court stays ban on online sale of medicine

A Division Bench of the Madras High Court on Wednesday stayed an order passed by a single judge on December 17 that banned the sale of medicines online. The interim stay will be in place until the centre notifies statutory rules for online trade of medicines.

The court’s ruling came following an appeal filed by e-pharmacy companies affected by the ban. The court clarified that final hearing on the matter would take place on January 24.


On December 17, Justice Pushpa Sathyanarayana in her order directed e-pharma companies to apply for licences as described in the rules (to be notified by the Centre by the end of January) within two months of the date of the notification. The judge had ordered that online trade in drugs and cosmetics should not proceed until notification of the regulatory draft rules.

The ban was originally imposed following a petition filed by the Tamil Nadu Chemists and Druggists Association, which was opposed to the sale of medicines online and through mobile phone applications even as the amendments to Drugs and Cosmetics Rules of 1945 were in draft stage.

Pradeep Dadha, Founder and CEO, Netmeds, in response to the stay order on Wednesday said “We are happy and pleased with the order posted by the Division Bench of the Madras High Court staying the sale of online medicines till further orders.”

He added “As part of the observations, the bench recognized that mechanisms are in place to prevent any real abuse of process by the online pharma sector. One of the most pertinent observations made was that the Central Government is not opposed to online pharmacies, and is actively putting in place systems for regulating the sales.”

E pharma firms contended that a sudden ban would inconvenience people dependent on online sale and home delivery of drugs.