Daily Bulletin

The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare proposed amendments to the Drugs Rules, 1945, on November 3, 2026, to mandate drug manufacturers to formally authorise qualified personnel for the batch release of drugs and maintain prescribed records. These amendments aim to strengthen accountability in the drug manufacturing process by introducing explicit regulatory requirements for personnel responsible for batch release, ensuring traceability of decisions, and enhancing product quality oversight in line with Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP). The proposed framework also includes a new prescribed format for the Batch Release Certificate, with public objections and suggestions invited.

Smt. Punya Salila Srivastava, Secretary, Union Health Ministry, oversaw the selection of part-time members for the National Dental Commission (NDC) and its three Autonomous Boards through a draw of lots on November 3, 2026, in accordance with the National Dental Commission Act, 2023. Ten members representing State/UT Governments and nine representing State Dental Councils were chosen for a two-year tenure, along with second part-time members for the Under-Graduate and Post-Graduate Dental Education Board (Dr. Rajesh Reddy, Telangana), Dental Assessment and Rating Board (Dr. Shiva Sharan K, Karnataka), and Ethics and Dental Registration Board (Dr. Chandresh Kumar Shukla, Madhya Pradesh).

The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has proposed amendments to the Drugs Rules, 1945, to mandate the authorisation of qualified personnel for drug batch release. This initiative aims to enhance accountability in pharmaceutical manufacturing by requiring applicants for manufacturing licences to designate a suitably qualified and experienced person for batch release and maintain corresponding records, alongside introducing a prescribed format for the Batch Release Certificate.

India has implemented several policy measures to bolster green hydrogen production, including a 25-year exemption from Inter-State Transmission System charges for plants commissioned by December 31, 2030, and open access to renewable electricity within 15 days. In August 2023, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) notified India’s Green Hydrogen Standard, defining it as hydrogen with emissions not exceeding 2 kg of CO₂ equivalent per kg of hydrogen, making India one of the first countries globally to formally define green hydrogen. This was followed by the launch of the Green Hydrogen Certification Scheme of India in April 2025 and a dedicated certification portal in June 2026.

The Supreme Court on Monday, November 2, 2026, upheld the conviction of Ramkishan Digambar Jadhav for the murder of his wife, Vimalbai, emphasizing that inmates of a matrimonial home bear the statutory burden under Section 106 of the Evidence Act to explain the unnatural death of a woman in their exclusive company. A bench of Justice Sandeep Mehta and Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya rejected the appellant's false defence of an epileptic seizure, noting its refutation by medical evidence. The Court further observed that the accused failed to rebut the statutory presumption under Section 113B of the Evidence Act, given consistent evidence of persistent dowry demands and cruelty.

The Supreme Court, in Waris v. State of Madhya Pradesh, 2026 LiveLaw (SC) 986, commuted a death penalty to life imprisonment for the remainder of natural life without remission, asserting that imposing a death sentence on the same day as conviction violates Section 235(2) CrPC by denying an effective opportunity for presenting mitigating circumstances. The Court rejected the High Court's flawed 'crime test at 100% and criminal test at 0%' formulation, highlighting the State's failure to prove the accused, who had no prior criminal antecedents and maintained unblemished prison conduct, was beyond reformation.

The Supreme Court, in Bhumika Trust v. Union of India, 2026 LiveLaw (SC) 841, modified its May 20, 2025 judgment regarding the mandatory three-year bar practice for Civil Judge (Junior Division) examinations, introducing a phased transitional model. For advertisements issued between May 20, 2025, and March 31, 2027, all law graduates are eligible with a deemed one-year practice, followed by two years of structured training and clerkship; for notifications on or after April 1, 2027, a mandatory one-year actual practice in District Courts will be required, followed by institutional training and clerkship.

The Supreme Court, in Santosh Associate v. Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd., 2026 LiveLaw (SC) 818, referred to a larger bench the constitutional validity of one-sided pre-deposit conditions in arbitration clauses. A two-Judge Bench questioned the correctness of a previous three-Judge Bench decision, observing that onerous pre-deposit requirements can render the right to sue illusory, deter alternative dispute resolution, and potentially violate Section 18 of the Arbitration Act, Section 28 of the Contract Act, and Article 14 of the Constitution.