Supreme Court on Tuesday closed the contempt case against Patanjali Ayurved owners Baba Ramdev and Acharya Balkrishna in misleading ads case. The Supreme Court has closed all proceedings against the two, Bar and Bench reported.
The misleading ads case against Patanjali pertains to a petition filed in August 2022 by the Indian Medical Association in the Supreme Court after the company presented an advertisement with the caption ‘Misconceptions Spread by Allopathy: Save Yourself and The Country from The Misconceptions Spread by Pharma and Medical Industry. Let’s make India Disease Free.’
The petition that IMA filed, referred to occasions when Ramdev called allopathy a 'stupid and bankrupt science', the petition also mentioned that Ramdev made claims that allopathic medicines are responsible for the deaths due to the Covid-19 outbreak, and IMA accused Patanjali of contributing to vaccine hesitancy during the pandemic.
Multiple hearings took place in the Supreme Court in the case, during which Patanjali Ayurved owners along with the Uttarakhand government and even the Centre were slammed by the Bench for not taking action against the misleading ads.
Last month, Yog guru Ramdev and Acharya Balkrishna-owned Patanjali Ayurved Ltd informed the Supreme Court that the company has stopped the sale of the 14 products whose manufacturing licences were suspended by the Uttarakhand State Licensing Authority in April.
The Uttarakhand State Licensing Authority had earlier told the apex court that manufacturing licences of 14 products of Patanjali Ayurved Ltd and Divya Pharmacy have been "suspended with immediate effect".
The top court had on May 14 reserved its order on the contempt notice issued to yoga guru Ramdev, his aide Balkrishna and Patanjali Ayurved Ltd in the misleading advertisements case.
Patanjali Ayurved Ltd told the bench, comprising Justices Hima Kohli and Sandeep Mehta, that it has issued instructions to 5,606 franchise stores to withdraw these products, according to a PTI report.
The company said media platforms have also been instructed to withdraw advertisements of these 14 products in any form.
The bench directed Patanjali Ayurved Ltd to file an affidavit within two weeks stating whether the request made to social media intermediaries for the removal of advertisements has been acceded to and whether advertisements of these 14 products have been withdrawn.
