In a setback for yoga guru Ramdev Baba and the managing director of Patanjali Ayurved, Balkrishna, the Supreme Court (SC) refused their affidavits. The document is offering unconditional apologies for publishing “misleading” advertisements. The court remarked that it was not oblivious to the situation and noted that the apologies were only forthcoming after being “caught on the wrong foot.” The case is scheduled for the next hearing on April 16.
Furthermore, the court strongly criticized the State Licensing Authority for its inaction on the matter, stating that it would not tolerate such negligence. The bench issued a stern reprimand, stating, “We will scrutinize your actions thoroughly. Do you possess the courage to stand by what you’re doing? You’re merely acting as a conduit,”
The Uttarakhand government also faced criticism from the court for its failure to take action against Patanjali Ayurved for violating the law.
The Indian Medical Association (IMA) lodged a petition in the Supreme Court in August 2022 following Patanjali’s publication of an advertisement titled ‘Misconceptions Spread by Allopathy: Save Yourself And The Country From The Misconceptions Spread By Pharma And Medical Industry.’
The petition outlined instances where Ramdev had disparaged allopathy as a “stupid and bankrupt science” and made assertions about allopathic medicine’s role in COVID-19 deaths. The IMA also accused Patanjali of contributing to vaccine hesitancy during the pandemic. The association asserted that the “continuous, systematic, and unabated spread of misinformation” coincided with Patanjali’s dissemination of false and baseless claims regarding the efficacy of Patanjali products in curing certain diseases.
Baba Ramdev along with Balakrishnan filed a plea over a Misleading Advertisement by Patanjali which was declined by Supreme Court