Rs 1,30,000 billed for a chemotherapy injection with a dealer price of Rs 11,000: the Supreme Court asked the Centre on Tuesday to explain that cancer drug mark-up, and reserved its verdict on a PIL seeking caps on essential drug prices.
New Delhi: After observing that a cancer drug mark-up of up to 1,000% by hospitals could not be justified, the Supreme Court on October 27, 2026 reserved its verdict on a public interest litigation seeking mandatory generic prescriptions, strict initial price controls on medicines outside the schedule and statutory margin caps on medical devices [Kishan Chand Jain v. Ethics and Medical Registration Board (Erstwhile Medical Council of India) and Others].
Appearing before a Bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta were Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati for the Centre and Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi for private hospitals.
The figures that troubled the Bench
Exorbitant margins on cancer treatment were “loot” and “dacoity” that hit vulnerable patients, the Bench said. It pointed to a patient undergoing cancer treatment who was charged Rs 1,30,000 for a chemotherapy injection with a dealer price of Rs 11,000, and asked the Centre to justify the gap. It also flagged a saline drip line priced at Rs 15 to the retailer but billed to patients at Rs 250.
The Centre’s approach to pricing, the Bench said, was too wayward to be called calibration. It noted that about 90% of medicines remain outside the DPCO and asked why the Order exists if the situation is allowed to continue, and it also noted that Ayushman Bharat cover is capped at Rs 5 lakh. Before reserving the verdict, it told the Centre:
There is no balancing at all
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The Centre’s answer and the hospitals’ case
ASG Bhati submitted that the government has been constantly calibrating its pricing policies and had recently capped trade margins on anti-cancer drugs at 30%. Senior Advocate Rohatgi argued that private healthcare fills gaps left by an overstretched public system, that hospitals must run facilities around the clock and bear those costs, and that forced margin cuts could lead to institutional collapse. The Bench did not accept that justification, observing that hospitals can survive through other means and not through such mark-ups. These are oral observations and arguments at the hearing; the Court’s final ruling is awaited.
The PIL and where it stood
Advocate Kishan Chand Jain filed the PIL. It asks the Court to direct mandatory generic prescriptions, strict initial price controls on non-scheduled medicines, and statutory caps on trade margins on medical devices under the Drug Price Control Order (DPCO). At an earlier hearing the Centre told the Court that trade margins on anti-cancer drugs had been capped at 30% of MRP, and the Court had earlier asked why medicine MRP should not be capped at a fixed percentage above the retailer price.
ALSO READ: Why Not Cap Medicine MRP At 16% Above Retailer Price? Supreme Court Questions Centre
Case Title: Kishan Chand Jain v. Ethics and Medical Registration Board (Erstwhile Medical Council of India) and Others
Bench: Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta, Supreme Court of India
Date of Hearing: October 27, 2026 (verdict reserved)
Appearances: ASG Aishwarya Bhati for the Centre; Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi for private hospitals.