The Supreme Court took issue on Tuesday with Patanjali Ayurved’s dissemination of “false” claims regarding the curative effects of its products on diseases through advertisements. The Court warned of potential penalties for the company for engaging in such practices.
During the hearing of a petition filed by the IMA, which accused the group of orchestrating a smear campaign against Covid-19 vaccination, Justices Ahsanuddin Amanullah and Prashant Kumar Mishra directed the Center to hold consultations and devise measures to address deceptive advertising.
The bench emphasized, “All false and misleading advertisements by Patanjali Ayurved must cease immediately. This court regards such violations seriously and may impose fines of up to Rs 1 crore for each product that falsely claims to cure a specific disease.” The case was adjourned to February for further proceedings.
Ramdev, facing multiple criminal cases initiated by the IMA due to his controversial remarks against allopathic medicines during the pandemic, approached the apex court. On October 9, the Court issued notices to the Center and the Association regarding his plea to dismiss these cases. Ramdev has been charged under Sections 188, 269, 504 of the Indian Penal Code.
According to the IMA’s complaint, Ramdev allegedly spread false information on social media about medicines used by the medical community.