The Delhi High Court has directed a committee appointed by the Ministry of Ayush to establish the guidelines for classifying raw materials utilized in drug manufacturing as either vegetarian, non-vegetarian, or falling under other categories.
The court directive, issued on February 2, was prompted by a petition alleging the presence of non-vegetarian components in Patanjali’s Divya Manjan toothpaste.
The petition, submitted by attorney Yatin Sharma, contends that Patanjali is marketing ‘Divya Manjan’ with a green dot on their official website, despite it containing non-vegetarian ingredients. The petition calls for stringent measures against the company for neglecting to indicate the red mark, thereby misleading, unduly influencing, offending religious sentiments, deceiving, misrepresenting, and defrauding their customers.
Sharma lodged the petition in July last year and was instructed to address the relevant authorities accordingly. In response, the lawyer filed a complaint with the Ministry of Ayush on July 23, 2023, prompting the ministry to suggest the formation of a committee to establish guidelines for classifying raw materials employed in drug manufacturing as either vegetarian, non-vegetarian, or falling under other categories.
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In the interim, the court has allotted the committee formed by the ministry a period of 10 weeks to formulate its recommendations.
It’s worth noting that the Supreme Court recently directed Patanjali Ayurved to refrain from publishing misleading claims and advertisements disparaging modern medical systems. The court warned of imposing a fine of INR 1 crore on each product for making false claims suggesting it can cure specific ailments.
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During a hearing on a petition filed by the Indian Medical Association (IMA) last November, a bench comprising justices Ahsanuddin Amanullah and Prashant Kumar Mishra verbally cautioned against Patanjali Ayurved’s misleading advertisements, emphasizing the gravity of any such transgressions.
Earlier, on August 23, 2022, notices were issued by the Supreme Court to the Union Health Ministry, the Ministry of Ayush, and Patanjali Ayurved Ltd., following an IMA plea alleging a smear campaign by Ramdev against the vaccination drive and modern medicines.
During these proceedings, Ramdev was strongly rebuked by the court for his criticism of allopathy and allopathic practitioners, asserting the necessity of restraining him from disparaging doctors and other treatment modalities.