Patanjali misleading advertisements case IMA president dr rv asokan supreme court today hearing | Judgment reserved on Ramdev-Balkrishna contempt case: IMA Chief apologized to the court, the bench said – cannot say anything sitting on the sofa

Yoga guru Baba Ramdev and Patanjali managing director Acharya Balkrishna coming out of the Supreme Court after the hearing.

In the misleading advertisement case, the Supreme Court on Tuesday reserved its verdict on the contempt notice sent to Yoga Guru Ramdev, Acharya Balkrishna and Patanjali Ayurveda. Also, both have been exempted from personal appearance. The bench of Justice Hima Kohli and Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah has given 3 weeks time to Patanjali Ayurved to file an affidavit.

The Supreme Court said that the affidavit should state what steps have been taken to withdraw the advertisements of the products whose licenses have been cancelled. The bench said- Baba Ramdev has a lot of influence, use it properly.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said- Ramdev has done a lot for Yoga. On this, Justice Hima Kohli said – What he has done for yoga is good, but Patanjali products are a different matter.

The Supreme Court told Dr. RV Ashokan, President of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) – Freedom of expression is fine, but sometimes a person has to be restrained. You cannot say anything about the court sitting on the sofa. What would you do if the other party made such comments? You would have run to the court. Ashokan apologized unconditionally.

In fact, in the hearing on April 23, the Supreme Court had said that IMA should also consider its doctors, who often prescribe expensive and unnecessary medicines to patients. If you point one finger at someone, four fingers point at you too.

IMA President Dr. RV Ashokan had termed the court’s comments as unfortunate. Dr. Ashokan had said- Vague statements of the Supreme Court have lowered the morale of private doctors. Patanjali had told the court about this statement. The bench had expressed strong objection to this and issued a notice to the IMA Chief and sought his reply.

What happened in the hearing of May 7?
In the Supreme Court, the bench of Justice Hima Kohli and Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah heard the petition filed by IMA on May 7. It said that Patanjali did negative publicity against Covid vaccination and allopathy.

The bench had said that celebrities and social media influencers are equally responsible if the advertisement of any product or service influencing people is found to be misleading.

Criticizing IMA, the Supreme Court had also said that you (IMA) say that the other party (Patanjali Ayurveda) is misleading, stopping your medicine – but what were you doing?! … Let us be clear, this court is not expecting any pats on the back.

Advertisement of Patanjali Wellness published on July 10, 2022. The advertisement accused allopathy of spreading “misunderstandings”. IMA had filed a petition on 17 August 2022 regarding this advertisement.

Court asked the Center – why were the states prevented from taking action against misleading advertisements?
The Supreme Court had asked the Central Government why it asked AYUSH authorities in states and Union Territories not to take any action under Rule 170 of the Drug and Cosmetic Rules, 1945, against misleading advertisements.

The court had said- Broadcasters will have to file self-declaration form.
The SC had said that broadcasters will have to file a self-declaration form before showing any advertisement, stating that the advertisements comply with the rules. The court had said that TV broadcasters can upload the announcement on the Broadcast Services portal and ordered that a portal be set up for print media within four weeks.

The court had also mentioned the 2022 guidelines related to misleading advertisements. Its Guideline 13 states that a person should have sufficient knowledge or experience about the product or service he is endorsing. He must ensure that it is not misleading. The bench pointed out the need to create a process for registering consumer complaints.

Hearing of Patanjali case till now in seven points…

1. August 2022: Indian Medical Association files petition against Patanjali
The Supreme Court is hearing the petition filed by the Indian Medical Association (IMA) on August 17, 2022. It said that Patanjali did negative publicity against Covid vaccination and allopathy. At the same time, he falsely claimed to cure some diseases with his own Ayurvedic medicines.

2. November 2023: Supreme Court said- Patanjali is cheating the country by making misleading claims.
The court said – Patanjali is deceiving the country by making misleading claims that its medicines will cure some diseases, whereas there is no concrete evidence for this. Patanjali cannot advertise its products claiming to cure diseases specified in the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act.

3. January 2024: Patanjali released advertisements in print media even after the court order.
IMA presented before the court the advertisements issued in print media in December 2023 and January 2024. Despite the court’s refusal, the court has issued a notice asking that after Patanjali issued misleading advertisements, That why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against him.

4. March 2024: Swami Ramdev and MD Acharya Balkrishna asked to appear in court
On March 19, the Supreme Court was told that Patanjali Ayurveda had not responded to the contempt notice. The court also asked Patanjali co-founder Baba Ramdev and the company’s MD Acharya Balkrishna to appear before the court in person. Balakrishna issued an apology on 21 March.

5. April 2024: Court rejected the apology, said- not satisfied with your apology
On April 2, the court pulled up Ramdev and Balkrishna for not filing proper affidavits regarding misleading advertisements. The court asked Ramdev and Balakrishna to be “ready for action”. Rejecting his apology, the court said – Your apology is not satisfying this court.

6. April 2024: Patanjali filed an apology in the court, got it published in 67 newspapers also
Patanjali filed an apology in the court on April 23 regarding misleading advertisements. It was published in 67 newspapers. On this, Justice Hima Kohli said- Your advertisements were the same, was the size of this ad also the same? When you publish an advertisement it does not mean that we will look at it under a microscope.

7. April 2024: Reprimanded for e-filing instead of original apology
The court reprimanded Patanjali’s lawyer for e-filing instead of the original apology (copy of news papers). The court also reprimanded the Uttarakhand government for not taking timely action against Patanjali. The court gave the date of May 7 for the next hearing.