New Delhi, Oct. 27 -- The Supreme Court on Tuesday criticised the Centre for failing to adequately justify steep markups on medicines, asking why it took years to cap trade margins on selected anti-cancer drugs and whether commercial considerations were being prioritised over patients' lives.

A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta reserved its order in a public interest litigation (PIL) filed in 2023 by advocate and activist Kishan Chand Jain, seeking affordable medicines and reforms in drug pricing and medical regulation.

The court also questioned hospitals' pricing practices, asking why medicines were sold to patients at maximum retail prices (MRPs) that were far above their procurement costs.

"The lives of people, Ms Bhat...