Section 32. Cognizance of offences.

The Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940

Bare Act

1 [(1) No prosecution under this Chapter shall be instituted except by--

(a) an Inspector; or

(b) any gazetted officer of the Central Government or a State Government authorised in writing in this behalf by the Central Government or a State Government or by a general or special order made in this behalf by that Government; or

(d) a recognised consumer association whether such person is a member of that association or not.

(2) Save as otherwise provided in this Act, no court inferior to that of a Court of Session shall try an offence punishable under this Chapter.]

(3) Nothing contained in this Chapter shall be deemed to prevent any person from being prosecuted under any other law for any act or omission which constitutes an offence against this Chapter.

Judgments on Section 32

Radhika Agarwal vs Union Of India — Supreme Court of India, 27 Feb 2025. In arrests under special Acts such as the Customs Act, courts may interfere only where there is manifest arbitrariness or gross violation of the statutory safeguards, and not to test the sufficiency of the material…
Directorate Of Revenue Intelligence vs Raj Kumar Arora — Supreme Court of India, 17 Apr 2025. Dealing in a psychotropic substance listed in the Schedule to the NDPS Act is punishable under Section 8 of the NDPS Act even if the substance is not enumerated in Schedule I of the NDPS Rules, and the interpretation in…