SC issues summon to Guru Ramdev over Patanjali’s deceptive advertisement

The Supreme Court has strongly reprimanded Patanjali Ayurved today for its failure to address a contempt notice regarding misleading advertisements and has directed yoga guru Ramdev to present himself before the court.

A bench comprising Justices Hima Kohli and Ahsanuddin Amanullah has also summoned the Managing Director of Patanjali, Acharya Balkrishna.

Last month, the Supreme Court criticized Patanjali for apparently violating the commitment it made in court regarding its products and claims about their medicinal effectiveness.

The court had served a notice to Patanjali and Balkrishna, questioning why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against them. However, Patanjali did not respond to the notice.

“Why have you not submitted your response yet? We will require the managing director to appear in court for the next hearing,” the Supreme Court stated on Tuesday.

The order highlights that both Ramdev and Balkrishna are prima facie in violation of Sections 3 and 4 of the Drugs and Remedies Act, which pertain to misleading advertisements of medicines.

Furthermore, the court has issued a contempt notice to Ramdev, the co-founder of Patanjali, and has asked for an explanation as to why action for contempt of court should not be taken against him.