Patanjali Summoned: SC Pulls Up Ramdev; Here Are Top 5 Apex Court Observations

SC whip on Ramdev: The Supreme Court on Tuesday came down heavily on Yoga guru Ramdev of Patanjali Group, in the case of publishing misleading advertisements based on which the apex court had banned it from marketing its products until further orders are passed. 

Shares of Patanjali Foods, the Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) arm of Patanjali Group, plunged as much as 5.26 per cent to hit an intraday low of Rs 1,342 after the Supreme Court on Tuesday sought the personal appearance of Yoga guru Ramdev and Patanjali Ayurved Managing Director Acharya Balkrishna.  

Top court observations 

The SC summon comes after contempt proceedings relating to the advertising of Patanjali Ayurveda’s products and their medicinal efficacy. The shares of Patanjali Foods Ltd closed after  4.24 per cent lower at Rs 1,355.25 apiece on the National Stock Exchange.  Senior lawyer Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Patanjali Ayurved, opposed the move and sought to know, “How Ramdev comes into the picture?” "You are appearing. We will see on the next date. Enough," the apex court replied.

The Supreme Court while commenting on Patanjali said, “Entire country is being taken for a ride,”. "We had our hands tied earlier but not now. As an officer of the court, you ( Rohatgi) should know your position," said Justice Amanullah.

Three weeks ago, the apex court had pulled up Patanjali and said, “What do you mean by permanent relief to the diseases? It means only two things - either death or cure," the Supreme Court said, asking Patanjali Ayurved to show how they discharged their duties to tackle misleading advertisements.

The Supreme Court said the "entire country was being taken for a ride" through such misleading advertisements. A bench of justices Hima Kohli and Ahsanuddin Amanullah took strong exception to the failure of the company and Patanjali Ayurved in responding to the SC's notices issued to them earlier. 

The apex court had asked the Patanjali MD Balkrishna as to why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against them for prima facie violating the undertaking given to the court.

Misleading advertising case

The apex court has taken Patanjali to task for publishing advertisements that directly attacked allopathic medicines, despite giving an assurance to the court in November 2023, that no causal statements claiming medicinal efficacy or against any system of medicine will be released to the media in any form. 

During the hearing, the bench had questioned the actions taken by the Ministry of Ayush in response to the misleading advertisements. The Additional Solicitor General (ASG) had earlier said that data was being collected on complaints and violations by Patanjali Ayurved. However, the bench expressed dissatisfaction with the ministry's response, urging urgent action and self-monitoring regarding such advertisements.