The Supreme Court on Tuesday, February 27, 2024, issued a contempt notice to Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev, co-founder Patanjali Ayurved, and its Managing Director Acharya Balkrishna for misleading advertisements of its products.
The Court ordered Patanjali Ayurved to refrain from branding or advertising its goods to treat the illnesses or conditions listed in the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act 1954 until further orders. The court questioned the Union Government regarding the actions being taken from their end for selling the drugs and remedies, which come under the Objectionable Advertisements Act 1954, in context with the advertisements given by Patanjali.
However, the union law officer has accepted that the advertisement is unacceptable and stated that the responsible states should follow the Act’s guidelines. It has been requested from the union government to provide an affidavit presenting the actions it has taken regarding the advertisements.
The Indian Medical Association (IMA) filed a plea earlier in an attempt to get an order against any misleading advertisements that claim to be able to cure any condition and, in the process, are raising questions about the effectiveness of allopathic medicines. This plea resulted in action against Patanjali and Ramdev as well.
The court stated that there would be a fine of Rs. 1 crore imposed on every product of Patanjali due to its false claims, and then the matter was postponed to February.
You had the courage and guts to still come up with this advertisement after our order; you are tempting the Court!
Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah
He added, “The entire country has been taken for a ride! For 2 years you wait when the Drugs Act says this is prohibited?”. The court questioned Patanjali on how they could come up with such advertisements after the orders of the court.
The matter has now been listed for March 19, 2024, for the next hearing. Patanjali has shared a decline in 4% of the shares of the company due to the contempt notice by the Supreme Court over misleading advertisements.
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