Adulteration of Drugs Under the BNS (Section 276): IPC 274 Mapping (2026)

Explainer · New Criminal Code · BNS

Updated for 2026 · Claw Editorial

Medicine is taken on trust. A patient assumes the drug is what the label says and will work as it should. When a drug is adulterated, so that it loses strength, changes effect, or turns harmful, that trust is broken and lives are put at risk. Under the new criminal code, adulteration of drugs is Section 276 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, which replaced Section 274 of the old Indian Penal Code. This explainer sets out what the section covers, the exact old to new mapping, the punishment, and how the related sale offences fit in. Last verified October 2026.

01The problem: medicine you cannot trust

A drug works only if it is what it claims to be. If it is watered down, mixed with something else, or spoiled, it may fail when a patient needs it most, or it may cause direct harm. The danger is hidden, because the patient cannot see the change.

The law answers this by making the adulteration of a drug an offence in itself, before any sale takes place. Section 276 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 punishes the act of adulterating a drug or medical preparation, when it is intended or known to be likely sold or used for a medicinal purpose as if it were unchanged.

It is one of a small cluster of offences in the new code that protect public health from unsafe drugs, the others being the sale of adulterated drugs and the sale of one drug as another.

02What Section 276 says

Section 276 of the BNS punishes a person who adulterates a drug or medical preparation so as to lessen its effect, change its operation, or make it harmful, intending that it be sold or used for a medicinal purpose, or knowing it is likely to be sold or used that way, as if it had not been adulterated.

The punishment is imprisonment of either description up to one year, or a fine up to five thousand rupees, or both.

03Old to new: IPC 274 to BNS 276

Section 274 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, is now Section 276 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. The offence is the same, but the punishment is heavier.

So the substantive change is the heavier punishment. The maximum prison term doubled from six months to one year, and the maximum fine rose from one thousand to five thousand rupees. The core act is unchanged, so case law on the old Section 274 remains useful.

04The related sale offences

Section 276 is about the act of adulteration. The new code deals with the sale side separately. It helps to know the whole cluster, so you cite the right section.

Note the number overlap that can trip people up. The old Section 276 of the IPC, which was about selling one drug as another, is now Section 278 of the BNS. The new Section 276 is a different offence, the adulteration itself.

05The ingredients of the offence

• A drug or medical preparation. The thing adulterated must be a drug or medical preparation.
• Adulteration with an effect. The act must lessen the effect, change the operation, or make the drug harmful.
• Intent or knowledge about sale or use. The person must intend, or know it likely, that the drug will be sold or used for a medicinal purpose as if unchanged.

Section 276 punishes the act of spoiling a medicine before it ever reaches a patient. The harm is in the risk, not only in a sale.

06Practical points

• Separate the act from the sale. Adulteration is Section 276. Selling an adulterated drug is Section 277. Selling one drug as another is Section 278. Cite the right one.
• Prove the effect. The adulteration must lessen the effect, change the operation, or make the drug harmful. A test report usually matters here.
• Check the special drug laws. Drug safety laws may apply to the same facts and can run alongside the BNS. Read the full set of charges.
• Mind the number overlap. The old IPC 276 is now BNS 278, not BNS 276. Searching by the wrong number leads to the wrong offence.
• Read the current text. Check the section and classification on the day you advise or file.

For related offences affecting public health and safety, see negligently or malignantly spreading infection and fouling water and making the air noxious.

07Where Claw fits

Claw is an all-in-one legaltech platform for Indian advocates, law firms, and corporate legal teams, combining AI-based case search, an AI legal assistant (Legal GPT), case management, and compliance automation across all Indian courts and tribunals.

A drug adulteration charge usually stands or falls on test evidence and on how courts have read the cluster of Sections 276 to 278, so the groundwork is finding the right rulings and then following the live matter. Claw does both. You can search more than 30 crore judgments across the High Courts and the Supreme Court, back to 1990 and 1950 respectively, with court-ready citations returned in under five seconds, and you can keep track of orders and hearings by party or advocate name across 9,102 courts, benches and forums. Claw does not use customer case documents to train AI models.

Create a free Claw account to pull these drug-offence authorities and watch your own matters. To search across the court system, see our hub on case search across Indian courts.

08Sources and further reading

• India Code (official text of central Acts): indiacode.nic.in
• Ministry of Home Affairs (new criminal laws): mha.gov.in
• Annotated BNS, Section 276: devgan.in
• Claw: clawlaw.in

This explainer is general information, not legal advice. The BNS can be amended and courts interpret it over time, so check the current text and take advice from counsel before you act.

09Frequently asked questions