The Supreme Court issued an interim order on Tuesday, imposing a ban on advertisements for Patanjali Ayurved’s medicines in a case involving the Indian Medical Association and others versus the Union of India and others.
A bench comprising Justices Hima Kohli and Ahsanuddin Amanullah stated that Patanjali had been misleading consumers by claiming that its medicines could cure certain diseases without any empirical evidence to support these claims.
The Court’s order prohibits Patanjali from advertising or marketing any of its medicinal products that claim to treat ailments specified in the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act.
Furthermore, the Court issued a contempt of court notice to Patanjali’s founders, Baba Ramdev and Acharya Balkrishna, for disregarding previous court orders by continuing to promote false and misleading claims about their products’ ability to cure diseases. Balkrishna serves as the Chief Executive Officer of Patanjali.
The Court also criticized the Central government for not addressing misleading advertisements, despite the petition against them being filed in 2022.
The bench considered a plea filed by the Indian Medical Association (IMA) alleging a smear campaign by the self-proclaimed yoga guru and his company against the COVID-19 vaccination drive and modern medicine.
In November, the Supreme Court had warned of imposing costs of ₹1 crore per false claim in each advertisement for Patanjali Ayurved products that purported to cure diseases.
Under the leadership of Justice Amanullah, the bench emphasized that the matter should not devolve into a debate between allopathy/modern medicine and Ayurvedic products.
The apex court also directed Patanjali Ayurved to refrain from publishing false advertisements in the future and to avoid making such claims to the media, emphasizing the need for a resolution regarding misleading medical advertisements.
During the recent hearing, Senior Advocate PS Patwalia, representing the IMA, raised concerns about misleading claims made in advertisements and a press conference by Ramdev regarding remedies for blood pressure, which referred to ‘lies spread by allopathy’.
“He held a press conference the very next day after the last order,” Patwalia informed the Court.
When asked for the AYUSH Ministry’s stance, Patwalia argued that there was no room for regulation as Patanjali could not claim to have found a cure for blood pressure issues.
Subsequently, when Senior Advocate Vipin Sanghi, representing Patanjali, requested time for instructions when asked to justify the ads, the Court expressed a strong desire to restrain further advertisements.
In August 2022, the Supreme Court had questioned Ramdev regarding his efforts to discredit allopathy and its practicing doctors during the coronavirus pandemic.
The IMA has initiated multiple criminal proceedings against the Patanjali ambassador, citing various instances where such statements were made by Ramdev, each constituting a different cause of action.
Advocate Prabhas Bajaj appeared for the IMA alongside Senior Advocate Patwalia.
Additional Solicitor General KM Nataraj represented the Central government.
Advocate Mrinmoi Chatterjee represented the National Association of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, an intervenor in the case.
