What is the maximum punishment for the manufacturing and sale of any drug deemed to be adulterated…

The highest possible imprisonment for manufacturing or selling adulterated drugs is life imprisonment under section 27(a) of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act. That aggravated provision applies when the adulteration is likely to cause death or grievous hurt, and ordinarily requires at least ten years of imprisonment. Adulterated drugs outside that category fall under section 27(b), whose maximum is five years, so life imprisonment is a ceiling rather than the punishment for every instance of adulteration.