Patanjali Ayurved has issued an apology to the Supreme Court for airing “misleading” advertisements. This comes after the court summoned Patanjali’s co-founder Baba Ramdev and managing director Acharya Balkrishna to personally appear before it. The summons was issued regarding their failure to respond to a contempt notice concerning the misleading advertisements about medicinal cures.
Aacharya Balkrishna said that such misleading advertisements would not be repeated in the future.
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On March 19, Patanjali Foods’ shares experienced a decline of over 5% following the Supreme Court’s notice. Despite this, the shares were up by 0.7% at INR 1,368.80 apiece on the BSE Sensex, which surged by 550 points in early Thursday trading.
“How can you be in teeth of our orders?… We had our hands tied earlier but not now (with initiation of contempt proceedings). As an officer of the court, you (Rohatgi) should know your position,” a bench comprising justices Hima Kohli and Ahsanuddin Amanullah on March 19 told senior counsel Mukul Rohatgi, who appeared for Patanjali Ayurved, the parent company of Patanjali Foods.
The judges also noted that Ramdev and Balkrishna were prima facie in violation of Sections 3 and 4 of the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954.
Rohatgi strongly opposed the directions, asking “how does Ramdev come into the picture?… violation of the law is not a contempt of court and what was being relied on in open court has to be recorded in the order.”
On February 27, the Supreme Court expressed dissatisfaction with Patanjali Ayurved’s continued dissemination of false and deceptive advertisements regarding medicinal cures, despite prior assurances not to engage in such practices. Notices were issued to the company and Balkrishna, prompting them to justify why contempt proceedings should not be pursued against them.
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The highest court further cautioned the company against making any statements disparaging any system of medicine through print or electronic media. Additionally, it prohibited Patanjali Ayurved from advertising or marketing products purported to treat conditions outlined in the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954.
The judges also criticized the AYUSH ministry for its failure to take necessary action against Patanjali Ayurved under the drugs and magic remedies law concerning such advertisements.
The directives were given in response to a petition filed by the Indian Medical Association (IMA), which demanded action against Baba Ramdev for his criticism of allopathic medicines. The court also instructed the government to take firm action against such advertisements due to their role in perpetuating misinformation about allopathy and modern medicine without pause or restraint.
In November 2023, the Supreme Court had asked Patanjali Ayurved to stop misleading claims and advertisements against the modern system of medicine and cautioned it that “the court will take any such infraction very seriously, and consider imposing costs to the extent of INR 1 crore on every product regarding which a false claim is made that it can cure a particular disease”.
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Nevertheless, the following day, Baba Ramdev and Balkrishna purportedly conducted a press conference, reiterating misleading assertions that Patanjali possessed permanent remedies for conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, asthma, arthritis, and glaucoma, among others.
