KembaraXtra - Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita - Section 278: Sale of Drug as a Different Drug or Preparation

Introduction

Section 278 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS) punishes a person who knowingly sells, offers, exposes for sale, or issues from a dispensary for medicinal purposes a drug or medical preparation as though it were a different drug or medical preparation.

The section protects patients and consumers from deliberate misrepresentation concerning the identity of medicines.

Its focus is not merely on defective medicine. The essential wrong is that one drug or medical preparation is knowingly represented or supplied as another.

Basic Formula

Drug/medical preparation + knowingly supplied or offered + represented as a different drug/preparation = Section 278

Q1. What does Section 278 provide?

Answer:

Section 278 punishes whoever knowingly:

• Sells;
• Offers for sale;
• Exposes for sale; or
• Issues from a dispensary for medicinal purposes

any:

• Drug; or
• Medical preparation

as a different drug or medical preparation.

The punishment is:

• Imprisonment of either description up to six months; or
• Fine up to ₹5,000; or
• Both.

Q2. What is the object of Section 278?

Answer:

The object is to protect public health and medicinal safety by ensuring that drugs are not knowingly supplied under a false identity.

A patient may rely heavily upon:

• The name of the medicine;
• The nature of the preparation;
• The medicine prescribed;
• The medicine dispensed.

Knowingly substituting one drug for another may create serious health risks.

Q3. Which IPC provision corresponds to Section 278 BNS?

Answer:

According to the supplied comments:

Section 278 BNS → Section 276 IPC

The language remains unchanged.

The principal BNS change concerns the amount of fine.

Q4. What change has been made to the fine?

Answer:

According to the supplied comments:

Under IPC Section 276

Maximum fine = ₹1,000

Under BNS Section 278

Maximum fine = ₹5,000

Memory Formula

₹1,000 → ₹5,000

Q5. What are the essential ingredients of Section 278?

Answer:

The prosecution must broadly establish:

1.     There was:

o    A drug; or

o    A medical preparation.

2.     The accused:

o    Sold it;

o    Offered it for sale;

o    Exposed it for sale; or

o    Issued it from a dispensary for medicinal purposes.

3.     The drug or preparation was supplied or represented as a different drug or medical preparation.

4.     The accused acted knowingly.

Formula

DRUG + SALE/OFFER/EXPOSURE/DISPENSING + FALSE IDENTITY + KNOWLEDGE = SECTION 278

Q6. What is the most important mental element under Section 278?

Answer:

The section expressly requires that the accused act:

Knowingly

This is an essential ingredient.

A purely accidental substitution, without the required knowledge, would not satisfy the statutory wording of Section 278.

Q7. Why is the word “knowingly” important?

Answer:

Because the offence is directed at conscious misrepresentation or substitution.

The prosecution must establish that the accused knew that:

• The drug actually supplied was one drug or preparation; but
• It was being sold, offered, exposed or issued as a different one.

Memory

Mistake alone ≠ Section 278

Knowing substitution = Section 278

Q8. Must the accused intend to injure the patient?

Answer:

No.

The section does not expressly require an intention to:

• Poison;
• Injure;
• Cause illness; or
• Cause death.

The central mental requirement is knowledge that one drug or medical preparation is being supplied as another.

Q9. What kinds of medicinal articles are covered?

Answer:

The section covers:

• Any drug; and
• Any medical preparation.

The wording is broad and is not confined to any one type of medicine.

Q10. Does the provision apply only to drugs sold in shops?

Answer:

No.

It covers several forms of distribution.

The accused may:

• Sell;
• Offer for sale;
• Expose for sale; or
• Issue from a dispensary for medicinal purposes.

Thus, the provision extends beyond a completed retail sale.

Q11. What does “sells” mean in this context?

Answer:

It refers to a completed transaction in which the drug or medical preparation is supplied as another drug or preparation.

The offence may arise where the seller knowingly misrepresents the identity of the medicine.

Q12. What does “offers for sale” mean?

Answer:

It covers a situation where the accused presents a drug or preparation as available for purchase under a false medicinal identity.

A completed sale is therefore not necessary in every case.

Q13. What does “exposes for sale” mean?

Answer:

It broadly refers to displaying or presenting the drug for sale as though it were a different drug or preparation.

Exam Point

A completed purchase is not always necessary.

The statute expressly covers exposure for sale.

Q14. What does “issues from a dispensary for medicinal purposes” mean?

Answer:

It refers to supplying or dispensing medicine from a dispensary for treatment or medicinal use.

Therefore, Section 278 also applies where a drug is knowingly dispensed as another medicine even though the transaction is not described simply as a sale.

Q15. Why does Section 278 separately mention dispensaries?

Answer:

Because medicines may reach patients through dispensing systems rather than ordinary commercial sale.

The law therefore covers the medicinal supply chain as well as ordinary sale.

Memory

Shop sale + dispensary issue both covered

Q16. Must money actually change hands?

Answer:

Not necessarily in every form of the offence.

The section includes:

• Offers for sale;
• Exposure for sale; and
• Issue from a dispensary.

Therefore, a completed paid transaction is not always required.

Q17. What does “as a different drug or medical preparation” mean?

Answer:

It means that the actual medicine supplied is represented, presented or issued as though it were another drug or preparation.

Example

Drug A is knowingly supplied to a patient as Drug B.

That is the basic type of conduct Section 278 addresses.

Q18. Must the substituted drug itself be harmful?

Answer:

The supplied wording does not require the substituted drug itself to be harmful or poisonous.

The core wrong is the knowing substitution or misrepresentation of medicinal identity.

Exam Point

Different drug is enough; inherent harmfulness is not expressly required.

Q19. Must the patient suffer injury?

Answer:

No.

Actual injury is not an ingredient in the supplied wording.

The offence focuses upon the knowing sale or dispensing of one drug as another.

Q20. Must the patient actually consume the drug?

Answer:

No.

The section may be attracted at earlier stages such as:

• Offering for sale;
• Exposing for sale;
• Issuing from a dispensary.

Actual consumption is therefore unnecessary.

Q21. Is the offence preventive in nature?

Answer:

Yes.

The law seeks to intervene before a falsely identified drug necessarily causes:

• Treatment failure;
• Adverse reaction;
• Injury; or
• Death.

It protects the reliability of medicinal supply itself.

Q22. Give a simple example of a sale covered by Section 278.

Answer:

A pharmacist knows that a bottle contains Drug A but knowingly sells it to a customer as Drug B.

If the other statutory requirements are satisfied, Section 278 may apply.

Q23. Give an example involving a dispensary.

Answer:

A person working in a dispensary knows that a patient has been given one medicine but deliberately issues it as though it were another medicine.

That conduct may fall within Section 278.

Q24. Give an example involving exposure for sale.

Answer:

A knowingly places Drug A on display with it represented as Drug B and makes it available for purchase.

Even before anyone actually buys it, the conduct may fall within the statutory phrase “exposes for sale.”

Q25. What if the wrong drug is supplied accidentally?

Answer:

A genuine accidental mix-up would not automatically establish Section 278 because the provision requires the accused to act knowingly.

Memory Rule

Accidental error ≠ necessarily Section 278

Q26. What if the accused does not know the drug is different?

Answer:

If the required knowledge cannot be established, the specific mental element of Section 278 would be absent.

The prosecution must prove knowing conduct.

Q27. Must the drug be falsely labelled?

Answer:

Not necessarily.

False labelling may be one possible method, but the section is broader.

The offence concerns knowingly supplying or presenting one drug as a different drug or medical preparation.

The misrepresentation may arise through the manner of sale or dispensing.

Q28. Is mere possession of a wrongly labelled drug sufficient?

Answer:

Not under the wording of Section 278 by itself.

The section requires one of the specified acts:

• Selling;
• Offering;
• Exposing for sale; or
• Issuing from a dispensary.

Memory

Possession alone ≠ Section 278

Q29. What must the prosecution prove about the identity of the medicine?

Answer:

It must establish that:

• The actual drug or medical preparation was one thing; and
• It was knowingly supplied or represented as a different drug or preparation.

The difference in identity is therefore fundamental.

Q30. What must the prosecution prove about the accused's knowledge?

Answer:

It must show that the accused knew of the discrepancy.

In simple terms:

The accused knew what the medicine actually was and nevertheless supplied or presented it as something else.

Q31. Is negligence enough under Section 278?

Answer:

No.

The statute uses the express word “knowingly.”

Therefore, mere carelessness does not by itself satisfy the specified mental element.

Exam Distinction

278 = KNOWING substitution

not merely

careless substitution

Q32. Why is Section 278 particularly important in medical contexts?

Answer:

Medicines are selected according to:

• Diagnosis;
• Dosage;
• Patient condition;
• Expected therapeutic effect.

Supplying the wrong medicine under a false identity may therefore undermine treatment and expose patients to serious health risks.

Q33. What is the central public-health principle behind Section 278?

Answer:

Patients and consumers must be able to rely upon the identity of medicines supplied to them.

Simple Principle

A medicine must be supplied as what it actually is.

Q34. What is the punishment under Section 278?

Answer:

The offender may be punished with:

• Imprisonment of either description up to six months; or
• Fine up to ₹5,000; or
• Both.

Punishment Formula

6 months / ₹5,000 / both

Q35. What does “imprisonment of either description” mean?

Answer:

It means the imprisonment may be:

• Simple; or
• Rigorous.

The maximum period is six months.

Q36. What is the classification of Section 278?

Answer:

According to the supplied classification, Section 278 is:

• Non-cognizable
• Bailable
• Triable by any Magistrate

Classification Formula

Non-cognizable + Bailable + Any Magistrate

Q37. What is the principal BNS change from IPC Section 276?

Answer:

According to the supplied comments:

• The language remains unchanged.
• The fine has increased from ₹1,000 to ₹5,000.

Memory

₹1,000 → ₹5,000

Q38. Has the imprisonment term changed according to the supplied comments?

Answer:

No change in imprisonment is identified in the supplied comments.

The stated change concerns only the increase in the maximum fine.

Q39. How does Section 278 differ from Section 279?

Answer:

Section 278

Deals with:

• Drug or medical preparation;
• Knowing substitution or misrepresentation.

Section 279

Deals with:

• Public spring or reservoir;
• Voluntary fouling of water;
• Water rendered less fit for ordinary use.

Memory

278 = MEDICINE

279 = WATER

Q40. What is the main mental-element distinction between Sections 278 and 279?

Answer:

Section 278

Requires:

Knowingly

Section 279

Requires:

Voluntarily

Memory

278 = KNOWING FALSE MEDICINE

279 = VOLUNTARY WATER FOULING

Q41. Is Section 278 concerned with the quality or the identity of the drug?

Answer:

Its primary focus is the identity of the drug.

The offence arises because one drug or preparation is knowingly supplied as a different drug or preparation.

This distinguishes it from provisions that may concern deterioration, adulteration or harmful quality.

Q42. What is the quickest way to identify Section 278 in an exam problem?

Answer:

Look for four ideas:

1.     Drug or medical preparation

2.     Sale/offer/exposure/dispensing

3.     Represented as a different medicine

4.     Knowledge

Formula

MEDICINE + FALSE IDENTITY + KNOWING SUPPLY = 278

Q43. What are the key statutory verbs to remember?

Answer:

Remember:

• Sells
• Offers
• Exposes
• Issues

Memory Formula

SELL – OFFER – EXPOSE – ISSUE

Q44. What are the most important statutory words in Section 278?

Answer:

The key words are:

• Knowingly
• Sells
• Offers
• Exposes for sale
• Issues from a dispensary
• Medicinal purposes
• Drug or medical preparation
• As a different drug or medical preparation

These words contain the entire structure of the offence.

Q45. Can Section 278 apply before a patient is actually endangered?

Answer:

Yes.

Because actual injury or consumption is not required, the law can intervene at the stage of:

• Offer;
• Exposure for sale;
• Sale; or
• Dispensing.

This makes the provision preventive.

Key Provisions (Study Notes)

1. Subject Matter

Section 278 concerns:

Drug

or

Medical preparation

2. Prohibited Acts

The accused may:

Sell

Offer for sale

Expose for sale

Issue from a dispensary for medicinal purposes

Any one of these may potentially satisfy the conduct requirement.

3. Core Wrong

The drug or preparation must be supplied:

As a different drug or medical preparation

This false identity is the essence of the offence.

4. Mental Element

The conduct must be:

Knowing

Negligence alone is not enough under the supplied wording.

5. Actual Harm

The section does not expressly require:

• Actual consumption;
• Actual illness;
• Actual hurt;
• Actual injury;
• Actual death.

The knowing medicinal substitution itself is the prohibited conduct.

IPC Equivalent and BNS Change

IPC Equivalent

Section 278 BNS = Section 276 IPC

Language

According to the supplied comments:

Unchanged

Fine

₹1,000 → ₹5,000

Punishment Study Note

Imprisonment

Either description up to 6 months

Fine

Up to ₹5,000

Alternative

Both may be imposed.

Classification Study Note

Section 278 is:

Non-cognizable

Bailable

Any Magistrate

Sections 278–291: Rapid Note-Form Revision

Section 278 — Medicine

Knowingly selling/dispensing one drug as another

Punishment:

6 months / ₹5,000 / both

Classification:

Non-cognizable, bailable, any Magistrate

Section 279 — Water

Voluntarily fouling public spring/reservoir

Punishment:

6 months / ₹5,000 / both

Section 280 — Air

Voluntarily making atmosphere noxious to health

Punishment:

Fine up to ₹1,000

Section 281 — Road

Rash/negligent driving or riding on public way

Punishment:

6 months / ₹1,000 / both

Section 282 — Navigation

Rash/negligent navigation of vessel

Punishment:

6 months / ₹10,000 / both

Section 283 — False Signal

False light/mark/buoy + intention/knowledge to mislead navigator

Punishment:

Up to 7 years + minimum ₹10,000 fine

Section 284 — Unsafe Vessel

Conveying person by water for hire in unsafe/overloaded vessel

Punishment:

6 months / ₹5,000 / both

Section 285 — Public Way Obstruction

Danger/obstruction/injury in public way or public line of navigation

Punishment:

Fine up to ₹5,000

Section 286 — Poison

Negligent conduct with poisonous substance

Punishment:

6 months / ₹5,000 / both

Section 287 — Fire

Negligent conduct with fire or combustible matter

Punishment:

6 months / ₹2,000 / both

Section 288 — Explosive

Negligent conduct with explosive substance

Punishment:

6 months / ₹5,000 / both

Section 289 — Machinery

Negligent conduct with machinery

Punishment:

6 months / ₹5,000 / both

Section 290 — Building

Negligent conduct concerning building work

Punishment:

6 months / ₹5,000 / both

Section 291 — Animal

Negligent conduct with animal

Punishment:

6 months / ₹5,000 / both

Quick Revision Notes

Section

278 BNS

Title

Sale of drug as a different drug or preparation

IPC Equivalent

276 IPC

Subject

Drug / medical preparation

Acts

Sell / offer / expose for sale / issue from dispensary

Mental Element

Knowingly

Core Wrong

One medicine supplied as another

Actual Consumption Required?

No

Actual Injury Required?

No

Negligence Enough?

No, not under the supplied wording

Punishment

Up to 6 months / ₹5,000 / both

Classification

Non-cognizable + Bailable + Any Magistrate

BNS Change

Fine increased:

₹1,000 → ₹5,000

Exam Traps

Trap 1 — Forgetting knowledge

The accused must act knowingly.

Trap 2 — Assuming an actual sale is always necessary

Incorrect.

The provision also covers:

• Offering;
• Exposure for sale;
• Issue from a dispensary.

Trap 3 — Assuming actual injury is necessary

Incorrect.

The offence focuses on knowing substitution.

Trap 4 — Assuming the wrong medicine must itself be poisonous

Incorrect.

The supplied provision requires it to be a different drug or medical preparation, not necessarily a poisonous one.

Trap 5 — Confusing false identity with poor quality

Section 278 principally concerns:

One medicine being represented as another.

Trap 6 — Treating accidental dispensing error as automatically sufficient

Incorrect.

The section expressly requires knowledge.

Trap 7 — Confusing Section 278 with Section 279

278 = MEDICINE

279 = WATER

Ultimate Memory Formula

SECTION 278

DRUG / MEDICAL PREPARATION

+

KNOWINGLY

+

SELLS / OFFERS / EXPOSES / ISSUES FROM DISPENSARY

+

AS A DIFFERENT DRUG OR PREPARATION

=

SECTION 278

Fourteen-Section Memory Chain

278 = MEDICINE

279 = WATER

280 = AIR

281 = ROAD

282 = NAVIGATION

283 = FALSE SIGNAL

284 = UNSAFE VESSEL

285 = WAY OBSTRUCTION

286 = POISON

287 = FIRE

288 = EXPLOSIVE

289 = MACHINE

290 = BUILDING

291 = ANIMAL

Rapid Sequence

MEDICINE → WATER → AIR → ROAD → NAVIGATION → SIGNAL → VESSEL → WAY → POISON → FIRE → EXPLOSIVE → MACHINE → BUILDING → ANIMAL

Key Takeaway

Section 278 BNS punishes the knowing sale, offer, exposure for sale or dispensing of a drug or medical preparation as though it were a different drug or preparation.

The essence of the offence is:

KNOWING MEDICINAL MISIDENTIFICATION OR SUBSTITUTION

Actual consumption, illness or injury need not occur under the supplied wording.

Section 278 corresponds to Section 276 IPC, and according to the supplied comments the substantive language remains unchanged, while the maximum fine has increased:

₹1,000 → ₹5,000

Rapid Revision

278 = KNOWINGLY SUPPLY ONE DRUG AS ANOTHER

Punishment = Up to 6 months / ₹5,000 / both

Classification = Non-cognizable + Bailable + Any Magistrate

The Section 279 text repeated at the end of the supplied material is the same provision already covered separately; the present notes therefore focus on Section 278.