Jahanvi Agarwal
The Supreme Court has summoned Baba Ramdev and Patanjali Managing Director Acharya Balkrishna to personally appear before it due to their failure to address a show-cause notice regarding contempt proceedings linked to misleading advertisements by Patanjali Ayurved. In this case, the division Bench comprising Justice Hima Kohli and Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah noted that both individuals seemed to have contravened Sections 3 and 4 of the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954.
Despite objections from Senior Advocate Mukul Rohtagi, who represented Patanjali, the Court remained firm in its decision. Justice Kohli asserted, “You are appearing. We will see on next date. Enough.”
“It is deemed appropriate to direct the presence of respondent No.6- Acharya Balkrishna on the next date of hearing … on noticing that the said advertisements reflect an endorsement thereof by Baba Ramdev, it is deemed appropriate to issue notice to show cause as to why the contempt proceedings be not initiated against him,” the Court stated. The next hearing is scheduled for April 2.
In the previous hearing, the Court had temporarily banned Patanjali Ayurved’s medicine advertisements and issued contempt notices to its founders and the company for its misleading claims. The Court criticized Patanjali for falsely asserting that its medicines cure certain diseases without empirical evidence.
It also reprimanded the Central government for not addressing misleading advertisements despite a petition filed in 2022. The Court emphasized the need for a solution regarding misleading medical advertisements and warned Patanjali against making false claims in future advertisements.
The Supreme Court’s stance is encapsulated in its statement: “The issue could not be reduced to a debate between allopathy/modern medicine and Ayurvedic products.” Additionally, the Court had threatened to impose costs of Rs.1 crore per false claim made in Patanjali Ayurved advertisements.
The case arose from a plea filed by the Indian Medical Association (IMA), which alleged a smear campaign against the COVID-19 vaccination drive and modern medicine by Baba Ramdev and Patanjali Ayurved. The Court emphasized the importance of maintaining integrity in medical advertisements and ensuring public trust in healthcare products and practices.
Case Name: Indian Medical Association & Anr v. Union of India and Ors.
Dairy Number: 645/2022
Bench: Hon’ble Ms. Justice Hima Kohli and Mr. Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah