The Karnataka state government has terminated the Karnataka State Pharmacy Council (KSPC) and entrusted an administrator with its responsibilities. The decision was taken after several complaints and a detailed government inquiry exposed serious irregularities, misuse of power, and failure to conduct timely elections.
According to a report submitted by the Commissioner of Food Safety and Drug Administration (FDA), the KSPC has not conducted proper elections in nearly two decades. While the council is about 16 years old, two elected members have held office for around 20 years without reelection. Similarly, five members nominated by the government have continued to remain in power despite their term ending in 2021, without any fresh order to extend their appointments.
As per a government order dated January 28, 2022, the KSPC had been allowed to recruit 10 pharmacy inspectors on contract for 11 months, with 15 specific conditions. However, the chairman and the registrar ignored these conditions and hired people without consulting the drug controller for salary approvals, and they did not follow the reservation policy while appointing inspectors. Additionally, Dr Kranti Kumar Sirse, who is currently working in a senior position in the council, was appointed without government permission.
“The KSPC also failed in its core responsibilities. It is supposed to maintain a list of licensed pharmacists and prevent unqualified individuals from handling drugs. However, it failed to do so. The government had tried multiple times in 2016, 2017, and again in 2022 to conduct elections by appointing election officers. But it didn’t cooperate or provide the required information to hold the elections. Because of this, the government could not form a new governing body, leaving the same members in charge for years,” a report submitted by the FDA commissioner said.
