Baba Ramdev begs Supreme Court to spare him as top court slams Patanjali ads for misleading claims

The Supreme Court has rejected Patanjali’s apology affidavits, stated in a file, in connection to the Baba Ramdev Controversy. A bench of Justice Hima Kohli and Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah showed displeasure at what they perceived as insincere apologies from the company and its founders. They singled out Dr. Mithilesh Kumar, the Joint Director of the state’s Food and Drug Administration, who had beseeched the court for mercy. The court did not relent, questioning the actions taken in response to the misleading advertisement by the Uttarakhand FDA.

The court emphasized that the law does not provide for warnings or the compounding of the offense, citing the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act. The Supreme Court criticized the lack of adequate action taken by the licensing inspector and subsequent appointees and directed the beleaguered officer to register cases, warning against negligence in public health matters. This resounding criticism follows a previous reprimand of Patanjali Ayurved’s co-founders for disregarding the court’s directives. Additionally, justices Kohli and Amanullah raised concerns about the AYUSH Ministry’s failure to act against Patanjali in response to their contentious advertisements.

These ads were deemed to belittle contemporary medicine, leading to a contempt case against Patanjali for disseminating false claims about their products’ medical efficacy despite an earlier directive from the court. On February 27, the Supreme Court had instructed Patanjali to cease all electronic and print ads containing misleading information, which the company’s co-founders affirmed in an affidavit. However, it was alleged that the ads continued to be published, leading to further scrutiny by the court.