Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023
Section 276
Adulteration of drugs
Whoever adulterates any drug or medical preparation in such a manner as to lessen the efficacy or change the operation of such drug or medical preparation, or to make it noxious, intending that it shall be sold or used for, or knowing it to be likely that it will be sold or used for, any medicinal purpose, as if it had not undergone such adulteration, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to one year, or with fine which may extend to five thousand rupees, or with both.
Why this exists
Medicines are trusted precisely because patients and doctors assume they contain what they claim to, in the strength they claim to. Tampering with drugs before they reach patients can undermine treatment or cause direct harm, which is why this section, continuing the old IPC Section 274, criminalises the adulteration itself, regardless of whether harm has already occurred by the time it's discovered.