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Baba Ramdev Patanjali case: Yoga guru Baba Ramdev and MD Balkrishna of Patanjali Ayurveda have received a setback from the Supreme Court. The court has refused to accept his unconditional apology affidavit. The next hearing of this case will now be held on April 16. The Supreme Court also slammed the state licensing authority for inaction on the issue and said, 'This matter should not be taken lightly.' Apart from this, the Supreme Court has also criticized the Uttarakhand government for failing to take action against Patanjali Ayurved for violating the law.
on Patanjali trial Who did it?
The Indian Medical Association (IMA) filed a petition in the Supreme Court in August 2022. Patanjali said in an advertisement, 'Save yourself and the country from allopathy, pharma and medical industry.' Baba Ramdev also called allopathy a 'stupid and bankrupt science'. He claimed, 'Allopathic medicine is responsible for the deaths due to Covid-19.' Meanwhile, the Indian Medical Association has claimed that 'because of Patanjali, people are hesitant in getting vaccinated.'
What happened in the first hearing?
The first hearing in this case was held on 21 November 2023. During the hearing, Justice Amanullah verbally warned Patanjali, saying, 'It is inappropriate to say that your products can completely cure diseases. For this, Rs. 1000 will be charged on each of your products. There could be a fine of Rs 1 crore. Meanwhile, senior spokesperson Sajan Poovayya, representing Patanjali, told the court that 'we will not violate any law.'
Why was the case reopened?
On 15 January 2024, the Supreme Court received an anonymous letter addressed to the Chief Justice and Justice Amanullah regarding the continued publication of false and misleading advertisements. Taking cognizance of this, on February 27, the bench of Justices Hema Kohli and Ahsanuddin Amanullah gave orders to Patanjali Ayurveda and its MD. Acharya Balakrishnan was served a contempt notice for violating earlier orders and promoting misleading claims about treating diseases with the company's products.
Apart from this, reply was also sought from the government in this matter. Justice Amanullah said, 'You waited for two years when the Drugs Act said that it is banned?' After this the court imposed a complete ban on any advertising or branding of Patanjali medicinal products till further orders.
When the Supreme Court judge got angry
Meanwhile, on March 19, the court was told that, 'The reply to the contempt notice has not been filed.' After this the court ordered Balakrishna and Ramdev to appear in person. Uttarakhand government was also made a party in this. On March 21, Balakrishna had filed a petition in the Supreme Court regarding alleged misleading advertisements, which was rejected by the court. During this, the court strongly criticized Ramdev and Balkrishna and termed their apology as a demonstration.
On April 9, Ramdev and Balkrishna apologized unconditionally to the Supreme Court. Ramdev also apologized unconditionally for the November 2023 press conference. He said, 'I deeply regret the mistake and I assure the court that it will not happen again. I apologize unconditionally for the violation of the statement recorded in paragraph 3 of the order.
Supreme Court disagreed
The Supreme Court said, 'We refuse to accept this. We consider this a deliberate violation. The contemnor did not consider it appropriate to send us the affidavit. He sent it to the media first. It was not uploaded for us till 07.30 pm yesterday. This means you obviously believe the hype. You are tampering with the affidavit. I wonder who prepared it.
How long can the punishment be?
Under the Drug and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act 1954, the offense of publishing misleading advertisements is punishable with imprisonment of up to six months. Apart from this, if the crime is committed for the second time, the jail sentence can be increased by one year. Section 89 of the Consumer Protection Act 2019 (CPA) states that any manufacturer making misleading advertisements can be punished with imprisonment of up to two years and a fine of up to Rs 10 lakh. Which can be extended up to five years and the amount of fine can be increased up to Rs 50 lakh.