Bihar: On October 6, many B. Pharma graduates in Bihar started an indefinite hunger strike demanding inclusion in Bihar’s Pharmacist recruitment process.
The graduates demanded a change in the 2024 eligibility criteria that excluded degree holders without a D.Pharm qualification from applying for the 2,473 government pharmacist posts.
According to reports on October 9, the police detained the protesting graduates ahead of a planned march to the chief minister’s residence.
The candidates said that this protest is not against anyone but just a demand for their better rights.
On 9th October, B.Pharma graduates gathered near Gandhi Maindan to march on foot to the chief minister’s house. However, Patna Police was already deployed in the area, and they tried to stop the protesters.
The candidates said that since their demands were not heard by the administration and the government, they decided to speak to the chief minister about it.
According to the reports, the same candidates also carried out a candlelight march at the protest site.
The focus of the demand from the B.Pharma graduates is to amend the Pharmacist Recruitment rules of the Health Department of Bihar.
In addition to this, the B.Pharma graduates also want changes in the Pharmacist Recruitment rules of the Labour Department and the Home Department, so that there are more posts available in the said departments.
The protesters have also demanded the implementation in Bihar of the Pharmacist Recruitment, Promotion and Service Regulations, 2025, published in the Gazette of India. They have sought the creation of posts such as Pharmacy Officer and Drug Information Officer for B.Pharm graduates. These are demands raised by the protesters, and their legal applicability to Bihar's recruitment rules requires verification.
According to the reports, Bihar needs to fill 2,624 pharmacist posts in government hospitals. This includes 1,603 vacancies that are pending, as the recruitment process is still ongoing.
According to the Department of Diploma Pharmacist Organization Union, 1,021 new posts were created.
The Bihar Technical Service Commission (BTSC) has appointed 870 diploma pharmacists out of a planned 2,473 vacancies. Hiring for the remaining 1,603 positions is currently pending.
Under the Bihar Pharmacists Cadre Rules, 2014, the candidates who are directly applying for the basic category pharmacist posts must pass Class 12 with science. It also states that the candidates applying for the position must also complete all parts of the Diploma in Pharmacy (D.Pharm) from a recognized institution.
According to the reports, the original rules stated that B.Pharm and M.Pharm students could also apply for pharmacist positions in the state of Bihar.
The changed eligibility criteria for Bachelor of Pharmacy and Master of Pharmacy graduates became the subject of litigation because, on October 24, 2024, the Bihar government issued a notification stating that Pharmacy degree holders could only apply to the pharmacist position if they possessed a D.Pharm qualification.
On April 10, 2025, the Patna High Court upheld Bihar’s new eligibility criteria for B.Pharm and M.Pharm candidates.
On January 16, 2026, the Supreme Court dismissed appeals against the ruling, holding that the state could require a D.Pharm qualification from anyone applying for pharmacist posts.
As a result of the 2024 amendment, approximately 25,000 B.Pharm graduates from Bihar could not participate in the recruitment process.
Arjesh Raj, who led the hunger strike, said in an interview with Amarujala that, under Section 42 of the Pharmacy Act, 1948, only professionals registered with the State Pharmacy Council are allowed to practice as pharmacists. Because of this, job opportunities should be open to any registered candidate, whether they hold a Bachelor of Pharmacy (B.Pharm) or a Diploma in Pharmacy (D.Pharm).
Araj said that according to the 1948 Act, candidates, regardless of their degree or diploma in Pharmacy, should be able to apply for the post as long as they are registered with the State Pharmacy Council.
According to the reports, candidates said that in the recruitments of 1999 and 2006, all the pharma graduates were given opportunities, and they are still employed according to the contract requirements of 2013 and 2019.
However, registration with the State Pharmacy Council does not automatically establish eligibility for every government pharmacist post.
In its January 16, 2026, judgment in Md. Firoz Mansuri and Others v. State of Bihar, the Supreme Court upheld the state's authority to prescribe a D.Pharm qualification for the relevant recruitment.
The protesters' interpretation of the Pharmacy Act should therefore be distinguished from the court's ruling on government recruitment eligibility.
In the January 16 judgment in Md. Firoz Mansuri and Others v. State of Bihar, the court said that under the Pharmacy Act of 1948 and the Pharmacy Regulations of 2015, the state is not mandated to recruit every registered pharmacist into government pharmacist posts.
The court also said that D.Pharm candidates undergo 500 hours of mandatory hospital training, making it a rational benchmark for requiring the diploma.
Student leaders Divyanshu Raj and Vimal Kumar said that Bihar rules should be changed in accordance with the standards for pharmacist recruitment in AIIMS, Railways, Army, and other states.
According to Amarujala, pharmacists also explained that implementation of the new rules could lead to new senior roles, such as Joint Director in both the Pharmacist Directorate and the Health Department.
The protesters have asked Bihar’s Health Minister Nishant Kumar to intervene in the matter and review the eligibility criteria.
On Sunday, the Diploma Pharmacist Organisation Students’ Union asked the state government to accelerate the recruitment of pharmacists in the state so that the distribution of medicines and management of drug inventories would not be affected.
The dispute has also drawn opposition from diploma pharmacist representatives. According to a report by Prabhat Khabar published on October 9, the Diploma Pharmacist Organisation sought government action over the B.Pharm graduates' protest. This reflects the disagreement between the two groups over access to government pharmacist posts.
An Amar Ujala report published on October 9 stated that the candidates had been staging a hunger strike and sit-in at Gardanibagh since October 6. The status of the protest after October 9 remains unconfirmed.