Times News NetworkNagpur: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Maharashtra on Saturday took major action against a private hospital by seizing medicines worth Rs20 lakh stored without a licence in a basement room of its attached pharmacy at Telephone Exchange Chowk. The hospital authorities stated they were in the process of shifting the consignment to their pharmacy.Acting swiftly on a tip-off, an FDA team raided the premises on June 27 and found various medicines kept for sale without a valid sales licence or proper purchase and sale documents.Two samples were drawn for laboratory analysis, while the remaining stock was seized under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, and Rules, 1945.During the inspection, officials also found that the hospital was forcing patients and relatives to buy medicines from its pharmacy through computer-generated indents from the inpatient department without providing doctor prescriptions. This practice violates the Maharashtra FDA Commissioner’s clear order dated June 12, 2026, which states that patients cannot be compelled to buy medicines from hospital-affiliated stores. The hospital authorities have refuted the allegations.No mandatory display board informing patients of their right to buy medicines elsewhere was found at the premises.Further violations include the absence of “Chemist and Druggist” mention on the nameplate, lack of a designated system to store expired medicines separately, discrepancies between records and stock of Schedule H-1 drugs, and non-availability of the inspection book in Form 35.The FDA has initiated further legal proceedings and will issue a show-cause notice to the hospital management.
