New Delhi: The Supreme Court has issued a showcause notice to Patanjali Ayurved, owned by yoga guru Ramdev, and its managing director Acharya Balakrishna. The court has directed Ramdev to personally appear before it and respond to contempt proceedings initiated against them for issuing misleading advertisements for health cures.
Justices Hima Kohli and Ahsanuddin Amanullah, who comprised the bench, found Ramdev and Balkrishna prima facie in violation of Sections 3 and 4 of the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954, which deals with misleading advertisements of medicines.
A writ petition filed by the Indian Medical Association (IMA), in 2022, urged the central government, the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI), and the Central Consumer Protection Authority of India (CCPA) to act against advertisements that promote the Ayush system while denigrating modern, scientific evidence-based medicine. The petition also appealed against the statements made by Ramdev, including derogatory remarks and misinformation about modern medicine.
Earlier, on February 27, the apex court had issued a contempt notice to Ramdev and Balkrishna for their misleading health cure advertisements. The court prohibited Patanjali from promoting products with unfounded claims of curing diseases like heart ailments and asthma. It also directed Patanjali and its officials not to criticise any medical system across any media.
The court has sought a detailed affidavit from the Centre on steps taken to remove these advertisements.
Comments are closed.