New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday summoned Yoga Guru Ramdev and Patanjali Ayurved MD Acharya Balkrishna to appear before it personally on the next date of hearing for not responding to the contempt notices. This is in connection with a false advertisement case against Patanjali Ayurved, media reported.
Justices Hima Kohli and Ahsanuddin Amanullah expressed dissatisfaction with the company and Balkrishna for not submitting their responses to earlier court notices. These notices questioned why contempt actions should not be started due to their apparent breach of promises made to the court.
Additionally, the court has sent a notice to Ramdev asking him to justify why he should not face contempt proceedings. The top court is addressing a complaint by the Indian Medical Association (IMA), which accuses Ramdev of discrediting the vaccination initiative and allopathic medicine.
Last month, the Supreme Court issued a contempt notice to Patanjali Ayurved and Acharya Balkrishna for ‘misleading advertisements’ in several media outlets. The top court condemned Patanjali for giving ‘misleading’ advertisements and barred the company from advertising any products pertaining to diseases or medical conditions.
While granting three weeks to Patanjali Ayurved and Acharya Balkrishna to respond to the contempt notice, the top court emphatically said the “entire country was being taken for a ride.”
This, however, is not the first time that the top court warned Patanjali against advertising products that can “cure” diseases. In November last year, the Supreme Court warned the company that it would be fined Rs 1 crore if it makes a false claim that its products can “cure” certain diseases. At the time, bench also slammed the Union Government for failing to take any action against Patanjali’s advertisements.
While referring to this warning, the top court in February said: “Despite our warning, you are saying your products are better than chemical-based medicines.”
Representing the Indian Medical Association (IMA), Senior Advocate PS Patwalia highlighted a press conference by Ramdev and said Patanjali Ayurved has published advertisements claiming to cure ailments including asthma and diabetes. Advocate Patwalia also mentioned a defamation case filed by Patanjali Ayurved against the Advertising Council.
Patanjali also published an advertisement titled: “Misconceptions spread by allopathy: Save yourself and the country from the misconceptions spread by pharma and medical industry.” On this, the top court said that advertisements showing cures for illnesses including diabetes and asthma cannot be defended.
“What do you mean by permanent relief to the diseases? It means only two things — either death or cure,” the Supreme Court said. It also asked Patanjali Ayurved to show how they discharged their duties in tackling misleading advertisements.
