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Appear in person in contempt case, SC directs Ramdev
Supreme Court summons Baba Ramdev & Patanjali MD over misleading ads, threatens contempt action for violating orders on curing diseases & discrediting modern medicine.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday summoned yoga guru Baba Ramdev over misleading advertisements by Patanjali Ayurved and directed him to appear in court on April 2 along with the company’s managing director Acharya Balkrishna to explain why contempt action should not initiated against them for violating the top court’s orders prohibiting advertisements claiming to cure diseases and discrediting modern medicine.
A bench of justices Hima Kohli and Ahsanuddin Amanullah was irked over the non-compliance of its earlier order of February 27 seeking response from Patanjali and its MD and noted that the advertisements issued by Patanjali along with the face of Ramdev was in the “teeth” of a past undertaking given by the company to refrain from issuing such advertisements.
“Having gone through the advertisements issued by respondent Patanjali, in teeth of the undertaking given to this court and noticing the said advertisement by Acharya Ramdev, it is deemed appropriate to showcause why contempt proceedings not be initiated against him under the Rules to Regulate Proceedings for Contempt of the Supreme Court, 1975. He has also violated provisions of the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954,” the order said.
Section 3 of this act prohibits any advertisement claiming diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment or prevention of any lifestyle diseases such as blood pressure, diabetes, arthritis, asthma, cervical spondylitis, obesity, heart diseases, etc.
Patanjali’s false claim of eradicating asthma and curing diabetes was in direct contravention to the Drugs & Cosmetics Rules 1954.
The order was passed on a petition filed by Indian Medical Association (IMA) which approached the court against Patanjali, alleging it was making false and misleading claims of curing diseases and discrediting modern medicine.
The court added Ramdev as a respondent on its own and directed, “The proposed contemnor — managing director Acharya Balkrishna shall be present in court along with proposed contemnor Acharya Ramdev on the next date.”
The matter was posted for hearing on April 2.
The order came weeks after the top court restrained Patanjali from issuing misleading advertisements on medical efficacy of its products and issued contempt notices to the company and Balakrishna for violating an earlier undertaking given in November last year. The court also pulled up the Union government for its failure to rein in such advertisements.
On Tuesday, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Patanjali, told the court that Ramdev had nothing to do with the company. “Violation of the law is not contempt. Everyday many things happen. The last order was of February 27. Between that day and today, what have I done? Even if the court feels there is any further aggravation, I will convey to my client on what he needs to say,” he said.
The bench wasn’t impressed.
“The provisions of the 1954 act concerns all individuals. On last occasion too, there was material where it was alleged that Baba Ramdev called a press conference after our order was passed. There is nothing personal in this matter. We have only issued showcause notice. We are also making him (Swami Ramdev) a party. Let him respond,” it said.
The Centre was also pulled up for filing an affidavit late on Monday. The court warned the Centre that if its response was not satisfactory, the Court would pass necessary orders on the next date.
In its response, the Centre stated that in 2022, the Centre wrote to the state licensing authority (SLA) of Uttarakhand to ensure removal of advertisements issued by Patanjali for its products that promised cure for diabetes.
Based on SLA’s letter to Patanjali, a response was received that was forwarded to the Centre. On May 22, 2023, the Centre asked SLA to take action as per the 1954 act. Only after the recent court order, the Centre wrote to SLA on March 8 seeking an action-taken report.
The affidavit further questioned the maintainability of a petition filed by practitioners of one branch of medicine against another. “Denigration of a system of medicine by practitioners of other system of medicine should be discouraged in public interest and mutual interest as they lack understanding of other system of medicine.”
On February 27, the court restrained Patanjali from issuing any misleading advertisements after IMA showed advertisements issued by the company in December 2023 and January 2024 along with an interview of Ramdev, a day after the court had, on November 21, 2023 recorded Patanjali’s undertaking not to resort to misleading ads.
The court even pulled up Centre for its failure to rein in such advertisements and said, “The entire country is being taken for a ride. You must set it right.”
On Tuesday, senior advocate PS Patwalia, appearing for IMA, said that Patanjali had shown scant regard for the court’s order. IMA questioned the silence of the Centre in refusing to take any action.
Controversy is not new to Patanjali products. In June 2020, Ramdev held a press conference announcing that Patanjali had developed a cure for Covid-19. Later, the Centre issued a notice asking the company not to make such false claims.
At another public event in May 2021, during the peak of the second wave of the pandemic, Ramdev called allopathy to be a “stupid and bankrupt science” and falsely claimed that more than 1,000 doctors died after taking both doses of the vaccine.
IMA also registered criminal cases against Ramdev and Patanjali over their false claims in several states. and a defamation suit filed by the body against Ramdev is pending before the Delhi high court.
