SC summons Ramdev over “misleading” ads
Today, the Supreme Court strongly rebuked Patanjali Ayurved for its failure to respond to a contempt notice regarding the dissemination of misleading advertisements and instructed yoga guru Ramdev to appear before it.
Justices Hima Kohli and Ahsanuddin Amanullah, constituting the bench, also summoned the Patanjali Managing Director, Acharya Balkrishna.
Last month, the court had reprimanded Patanjali for what appeared to be a violation of its assurances regarding product quality and the medicinal efficacy of its items. As a result, a notice was issued to Patanjali and Balkrishna, questioning why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against them.
In November 2023, the Supreme Court objected to Patanjali Ayurved’s dissemination of “false” claims regarding the cure of diseases in its advertisements and warned of imposing penalties on the company for engaging in such practices.
The bench remarked, “All false and misleading advertisements by Patanjali Ayurved must cease immediately. This court views such transgressions gravely and will contemplate imposing penalties of up to Rs 1 crore for each product that falsely claims to cure a specific disease.”
