The Indian Supreme Court has directed Patanjali Ayurved, a company known for its Ayurvedic products and its Managing Director, Acharya Balakrishna, to appear before the court in response to contempt of court charges. The charges stem from allegations that Patanjali continued to run misleading advertisements for their products despite previous assurances to the contrary.
The Court found Patanjali prima facie in violation of the Drugs and magic remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954, for promoting health cures with unsubstantiated claims. This follows a contempt notice issued in February 2024 prohibiting Patanjali from advertising products that claim to cure specific diseases and criticising other medical systems.
Further, the action by the Supreme Court is the latest development in a long-running dispute between Patanjali Ayurved and the Indian Medical Association (IMA). The IMA filed a writ petition in 2022, accusing Patanjali of promoting their Ayurvedic products while disparaging modern medicine.
In addition, the petition specifically mentioned concerns about unverified claims made in Patanjali’s advertisements and controversial statements by the company’s co-founder, Baba Ramdev.
This is not the first time the Supreme Court has taken action against Patanjali’s advertising practices. In November 2023, the Court reprimanded the company for similar misleading advertisements and threatened a fine of Rs 1 crore (approximately USD 12,200) if such practices continued.
Additionally, the Court has yet to schedule a new hearing date for the contempt charges against Patanjali and Acharya Balakrishna. The Centre has also been asked to submit a detailed report on steps taken to remove misleading advertisements for healthcare products.
