‘Be Honest If You Want …’: SC Raps Uttarakhand Licensing Authority For Inaction In Patanjali Ads Case

The Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered yoga guru Ramdev and his associate Acharya Balkrishna to attend the next hearing in a case related to misleading advertisements by Patanjali Ayurveda. Exempted from leaving.

The court, headed by Justice Hima Kohli and Justice Asanuddin Amanullah, also accepted the recent public apologies issued by both justices in newspapers on April 24 for misleading advertisements.

The Supreme Court also directed lawyers for Patanjali founders Ramdev and Balkrishna to bring on record the original pages of each newspaper where the public apology was made.

The court also expressed dissatisfaction with the Uttarakhand Licensing Department’s explanation for its inaction in the matter. The agency admitted it had acted in accordance with the law only after the April 10 Supreme Court order.

“If you want sympathy and consideration, please speak honestly in court,” the court said.

The Supreme Court stated that the primary concern was whether the licensing authority acted in accordance with the law in this matter. The court is scheduled to hear the matter on May 14th.

A public apology was made

Ramdev and Balkrishna’s public apologies came after the Supreme Court, in a previous hearing, questioned whether it matched the size of the ad.

“In the wake of the ongoing matter before the Supreme Court of India, I would like to apologize unreservedly, not only on behalf of our company but also in my personal capacity, for any non-compliance or disobedience to the directions and orders of the Supreme Court.” Supreme Court of India” stated in the apology.

On Monday, the Uttarakhand government informed the Supreme Court that it had suspended the manufacturing licenses of 14 products of Patanjali Ayurveda and Divya Pharmacy with “immediate effect”. The move comes after state authorities were earlier criticized for not taking action against Patanjali Ayurveda over misleading advertisements.

Further, Patanjali Foods (formerly Ruchi Soya Industries Ltd) has received a show-cause notice from the GST Information Department for recovery of input tax credits worth Rs 2,746 crore.

The notification was issued by the GST Information Directorate, Chandigarh Regional Directorate, as revealed in a regulatory filing by the company on April 26.

On February 27, the Supreme Court issued contempt notices to Ramdev and Balkrishna for distributing misleading health advertisements and unproven claims that Patanjali cures diseases such as heart disease and asthma. prohibited from advertising products.

(Information provided by agency)

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