NEW DELHI: On Tuesday, the Supreme Court issued a warning to Patanjali Ayurved, a herbal product company that was co-founded by yoga guru Ramdev, about making “false” and “misleading” claims in their advertisements regarding the cure of various diseases with their medicines. “Patanjali Ayurved needs to stop its deceptive and false advertising right away. During an oral hearing on a plea from the Indian Medical Association (IMA), a bench made up of justices Ahsanuddin Amanullah and Prashant Kumar Mishra stated, “The court will take any such infraction very seriously.” On August 23, 2022, the Supreme Court sent notices to the Union Health Ministry, the Ministry of Ayush, and Patanjali Ayurved Ltd. This was in response to the IMA’s plea, which claimed that Ramdev had launched a smear campaign against the vaccination campaign and contemporary medications. The bench requested that Patanjali Ayurved refrain from publishing deceptive statements and advertisements disparaging contemporary medical systems during the brief hearing. According to the statement, the bench might also think about fining each product Rs 1 crore in the event that a false claim is made about its ability to treat a specific illness. The highest court requested that the Center’s attorney look into a solution for the problem of deceptive medical advertising that make claims about medications that provide a 100% cure for specific illnesses. The bench will now hear the IMA’s plea on February 5 of the following year. The Supreme Court severely criticised Ramdev for criticising allopathy and allopathic practitioners, saying he should be prevented from mistreating medical professionals and other treatment modalities, while also issuing notices regarding the plea. “Whatever became of this Swami Ramdev Baba, the Guru?In the end, we honour him because he made yoga more widely known. Everyone aims for this. He shouldn’t, however, be critical of the other system. What is the assurance that the Ayurvedic system he is using will be effective? Advertisements that portray all doctors as murderers or something similar are common. Huge ads (have been given),” the bench led by the now-retired CJI N V Ramana stated at the time. IMA had cited multiple ads that purportedly painted the allopath and the physicians in a negative light, alleging that companies that produce ayurvedic medicines have also made “disparaging” remarks in an effort to deceive the public. The IMA’s legal representative stated that these commercials claim that doctors are dying even though they take modern medications. According to IMA, a deliberate attempt is being made to dissuade the nation from using allopathic medicines and from getting immunised, including through the COVID-19 vaccine drive.
