Jibesh Kumar Mishra, a BJP Minister from Bihar, was convicted in a fake medicine case in June 2025.
Slapped with a meagre fine, he continues to walk free and maintains his seat in the State Cabinet.
Opposition parties have demanded a probe and Mishra's resignation.
On 4 June 2025, Bihar Urban Development Minister Jibesh Kumar Mishra was convicted in a 15-year-old fake medicine case. A Rajasthan court found Mishra guilty of manufacturing and distributing adulterated and substandard medication. Yet he continues to be a part of Bihar’s Assembly Cabinet.
Mishra is a BJP MLA from Jaale, in Bihar’s Darbhanga district. He is also the director of Alto Health Care Pvt. Ltd., the pharmaceutical company accused in the 2010 case. He was found guilty along with eight others but on 1 July 2025, he was spared from serving a jail sentence for his crime. He was instead made to pay a fine of only ₹7,000 and released on probation.
The case dates back to September 2010, when a drug inspection was conducted at Kansara Drugs Distributors in Rajasthan’s Rajsamand. Samples taken for analysis revealed that tablets of Ciproline-500, used to treat bacterial and parasitic infections, had been adulterated and were of substandard quality. It was discovered that the tablets had been supplied by three firms – one of them was the Delhi-based Alto Health Care.
The incident has raised questions of accountability within the government. After the news broke in July 2025, Opposition leaders in Bihar raised questions on the incident against the ruling NDA alliance in the state. The Congress demanded a full investigation into the matter to uncover any unknown links Mishra might have to a larger fake medicine network.
They further demanded that Mishra be expelled from the party and be stripped of his ministerial position. “There was a time when a Minister used to resign merely when their name was mentioned in an allegation,” said Supriya Shrinate, national chair of the party’s Social Media and Digital Platforms, “Public life demands dignity and morality, but in the ‘double engine government’, this guilty person roams freely and fearlessly as a Minister.”
Another question is whether ministers and government officials are above the law?
Mishra, even today, continues to enjoy his position as a state minister. He has since been accused by the opposition RJD of assaulting a YouTube journalist for questiong him on the state of roads in the state.
“Jibesh Mishra was not punished, but was released through probation and fine. What is the human side of this?” asked Shrinate. “Can anyone do business at the cost of life? Can a person holding a ministerial position escape this crime of public trust by calling it a ‘first-time offence’? Were the lives of those whose family members took such medicines jeopardised or not?”
One of her comments is especially relevant in light of the recent Coldrif Cough Syrup incident in Madhya Pradesh: “Today, when there are concerns about the quality of medicines in the country, this case will set a precedent – either accountability will be fixed, or the business of adulterated medicines will continue to flourish under the shield of politics.”
The Coldrif case, along with this earlier one, point to a larger pattern in the country’s drug regulation mechanisms – both situations only came to light following investigations; and in the case of the Coldrif incident, it took the deaths of over 14 children for action to be taken.
Shrinate, in this context, makes a compelling point: how long will common people suffer at the hands of profit-minded companies? Will these companies continue to function above the law thanks to political backing? Will those in power continue to escape accountability for their actions? Will consequences only came after-the-fact, when it become a PR problem, with no moral impetus? [Rh/DS]
