Patanjali Ayurveda and its founder Acharya Balakrishnan have faced the wrath of the Supreme Court, as the court issued a contempt notice to them for disregarding the court’s order regarding their products and their medicinal effects. Justices Hima Kohli and A Amanullah presided over the matter and granted the company and Balakrishnan a three-week period to respond to the contempt notice.
Furthermore, the Supreme Court criticized the Central government for not taking any action against Patanjali and questioned their inaction. The bench expressed their concern about the country being deceived, stating that the government should have taken action within the two-year period as specified by the law.
Despite the court’s warning in November 2023, where Patanjali was informed that they would be fined Rs 1 crore for making false claims in their advertisements, the company still released advertisements of such nature.
After the order of the Court, you had the audacity and determination to release this advertisement! And now you present this advertisement. What exactly do you mean by “permanent relief”? Is it a cure?… We are going to issue a very strict order. You are tempting the Court.” The bench’s statement was quoted by Live Law.
In August 2022, the apex court had served notices to the Health Ministry, Ayush Ministry, and Patanjali Ayurved regarding this matter.
Previously, the Supreme Court had prohibited Patanjali from advertising and marketing products that claimed to cure ailments or disorders until further notice.
In today’s order, the bench instructed the government to take action against the Ayurvedic company and also cautioned Patanjali Ayurved and its officers against making any negative statements about any system of medicine in the media. On November 21 of last year, the company’s counsel had assured the apex court that there would be no further violation of the law, particularly in relation to advertising or branding of products. They also promised that no statements claiming the medicinal effectiveness of Patanjali products or against any system of medicine would be released to the media in any form.
The apex court had also warned Baba Ramdev’s company against making “false” and “misleading” claims in advertisements about its medicines as a cure for various diseases.
The top court is currently hearing a plea filed by the Indian Medical Association (IMA) alleging that Patanjali’s advertisements make false claims about curing certain diseases. The petition also accuses Ramdev of conducting a smear campaign against the Covid-19 vaccination drive and modern medicines during the pandemic.