Baba Ramdev of Patanjali begs Uttarakhand officer for mercy as Supreme Court slams misleading ads.

The Supreme Court has rejected Patanjali’s apology affidavits in a controversy involving misleading advertisements. A bench of Justice Hima Kohli and Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah expressed dissatisfaction with the insincere apologies from the company and its founders. The court scrutinized Dr. Mithilesh Kumar, the Joint Director of the state’s Food and Drug Administration, who pleaded for mercy but was rebuked by the court for his actions. The Uttarakhand FDA’s decision to issue a mere warning to Patanjali in response to misleading advertising was strongly criticized by the court, citing the Drugs and Magic Remedies Act.

The court also questioned the inaction and lack of reporting by the licensing inspector. The court made it clear that a warning was inadequate and emphasized the public health implications of the issue. The state drug authority faced a scathing critique following the Supreme Court’s reprimand of Patanjali’s co-founders for their “absolute defiance” of the court’s directives. The AYUSH Ministry was also questioned for not taking action against the company for its misleading advertisements belittling contemporary medicine.

This case stemmed from a contempt petition against Patanjali for continuing to publish ads making false claims about its products’ medical efficacy, despite the court’s earlier direction to cease such advertisements. The Patanjali co-founders had filed an affidavit agreeing to stop the misleading ads, but the court found that such ads were still being published.