Supreme Court Threatens Rs 1 Crore Fine Per Product For Patanjali's False Claims

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court issued a warning to Patanjali Ayurved, a herbal products company co-founded by yoga guru Ramdev. The court advised the company against making "false" and "misleading" assertions in its advertisements, which suggest its medicines can cure various diseases.

“All such false and misleading advertisements of Patanjali Ayurved have to stop immediately. The court will take any such infraction very seriously…,” Justices Ahsanuddin Amanullah and Prashant Kumar Mishra said during the hearing of a plea from the Indian Medical Association (IMA).

On August 23, 2022, the highest court had sent notices to the Union Health Ministry, Ministry of Ayush, and Patanjali Ayurved Ltd. This was in response to the Indian Medical Association's claim that Ramdev had been conducting a smear campaign against the vaccination drive and modern medications.

At the short court session, the panel instructed Patanjali Ayurved to refrain from issuing deceptive statements and advertisements that discredit contemporary medical systems.

The court might contemplate levying a penalty of Rs 1 crore on each item if an incorrect assertion is made about its ability to treat a specific disease.

The court is scheduled to hear the plea from IMA on February 5, 2024.

The Supreme Court, in issuing notices regarding the petition, strongly criticized Ramdev for his disparaging remarks about allopathy and its practitioners. The court emphasized the need to prevent him from making derogatory comments about doctors and other treatment methods.

“What happened to this Guru Swami Ramdev Baba?… Ultimately we respect him as he popularised yoga. We all go for this. But, he should not criticise the other system. What is the guarantee that Ayurveda whatever system he is following will work? You see the type of advertisements accusing all the doctors as if they are killers or something. Huge advertisements (have been given),” the bench which was earlier headed by the then CJI N V Ramana had said.

The IMA made references to numerous ads, which purportedly depicted allopaths and doctors unfavorably. They stated that these "derogatory" comments were made by companies involved in producing Ayurvedic medicines, with the intent to deceive the general public. The advertisements claim that even the medical professionals are succumbing to illnesses despite using contemporary medicines, as pointed out by the IMA's legal representative.

IMA stated that there was a deliberate attempt to dissuade people from participating in vaccination programs, including the COVID-19 vaccine drive, and from using allopathic medicines in the nation.