Supreme Court Irked by Top Medical Body Director’s Remarks: Be Prepared…

The bench of Justice Hima Kohli and Justice Ahsanuddin Amanulla expressed appreciation for the marked improvement in the situation. They noted that while previously only Patanjali was involved, now there are multiple parties implicated. The court examined the public apology issued by Patanjali Ayurved and instructed Ramdev and Acharya Balkrishna to submit the original pages of each newspaper in which the apology was published. An interview with Indian Medical Association (IMA) President RV Asokan was flagged by Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, who represented Patanjali Ayurved in court.

The bench also requested to have the interview with PTI on record and warned of serious consequences. The IMA President had expressed his disappointment with the Supreme Court’s criticism of the IMA and private doctors, stating that the court did not consider all the material before making its observations. The Supreme Court had also criticized the Uttarakhand State Licensing Authority for its inaction in the case and expressed dissatisfaction with its explanation. The case began when the Supreme Court, hearing a petition from the IMA, cautioned Patanjali Ayurved against making false and misleading claims in its advertisements about its medicines.

The court directed Patanjali Ayurved to stop all electronic and print advertisements of its medicines, stating that they were giving misleading information. The IMA had referred to several advertisements that allegedly portrayed allopathy and doctors in a negative light and contained disparaging statements made by firms engaged in the production of ayurvedic medicines.