K L CHATURVEDI Vs. STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This petition under Article 226 of the Constitution is founded on the contention that the Drugs Act, 1940, as amended by the Drugs (Amendment) Act, 1955, was unconstitutional and void, as it unreasonably restricted the fundamental right of the petitioner to manufacture and sell his patent and proprietary medicine, 'Germs Killer' without disclosing on the carton or label of the drugs its true formula or list of ingredients.

(2.) The relevant facts may shortly be stated as Follows: The petitioner is the manufacturer of a medicinal preparation which he manufactures, stocks, exhibits, distributes and sells under an invented proprietary name 'Germs Killer' since before the year 1928. The name 'Germs Killer' at the said medicine has been registered under the Trade Marks Act. The medicine is manufactured and sold by the petitioner for the external treatment of skin diseases.

(3.) It is not disputed that the said medicinal preparation is a drug within the meaning of Section 3(b) of the Drugs Act of 1940 (Act XXIII of 1940), wherein the word 'drug' is defined to include