Supreme Court Raps Centre, Patanjali Ayurved Over Misleading Ads

New Delhi: The Supreme Court of India issued a stern warning to the central government and Patanjali Ayurved, co-founded by yoga guru Ramdev, for “misleading and false” advertisements of their medicinal products.

The court slammed the government’s inaction, stating, “The government is sitting with its eye closed” regarding misleading advertisements that “mislead the entire country.” It emphasized the need for immediate action from the government.

The bench ordered Patanjali Ayurved to cease all electronic and print advertisements promoting their medicines with “misleading” information immediately. This follows the court’s previous caution issued in November 2023 against making false claims in their advertisements.

The court questioned Ramdev’s approach, stating, “What happened to this Guru Swami Ramdev Baba?… We respect him for popularizing yoga, but he should not criticize other systems.” The bench highlighted the problematic nature of advertisements portraying allopathic doctors negatively.

The Indian Medical Association (IMA) filed a petition bringing attention to these misleading advertisements. The IMA claimed these commercials disparage allopathy and its practitioners, and even go as far as suggesting that doctors die despite taking modern medicines, misleading the public.