An NDTV investigation found that most of Patanjali Ayurveda’s 14 products, whose manufacturing licence was suspended and sales banned in April, are still being sold to customers through franchised stores in the national capital and several other states.
NDTV teams with hidden cameras visited several stores in Delhi, Patna and Dehradun on Thursday and found that many of the 14 products were readily available for purchase.
Patanjali Ayurveda, founded by yoga guru Ramdev, on Tuesday informed the Supreme Court that the company had stopped selling 14 products and directed 5,606 stores to remove these products.
He also said that media platforms have been asked to withdraw advertisements for these products. However, the reality on the ground is different.
An NDTV reporter who visited a Patanjali shop in South Delhi’s Green Park was able to buy Swasari Vati, which is said to treat respiratory ailments, and Drishti eye drops, billed as an “eye tonic”. The shopkeeper even provided a receipt for the purchases.
Two other banned products — “BP Grit” for blood pressure and “Madugulit” for diabetes — were also on display in the store.
The same products were available at a Patanjali shop in Jangpura. When asked, the shopkeeper said he had not been told to stop selling these products. Similarly, a shop in Delhi’s Kalkaji sold eight of the 14 banned products to NDTV, including Livemrit Advance and Rivoglit, which are touted as treatments for liver diseases.
Apart from Delhi, these products are also available in Patna and Dehradun. NDTV was able to purchase 11 of the 14 products in Dehradun.
The Supreme Court is currently hearing a petition filed by the Indian Medical Association (IMA) which claims that Patanjali is denigrating the modern healthcare system and offering its own alternative medicines to treat common ailments.
The Supreme Court had on May 14 reserved its order on the contempt notices issued to Ramdev, his aide Balkrishna and Patanjali Ayurved in the misleading advertisement case.
The 14 Patanjali products whose manufacturing licences have been cancelled are Mukta Vati Extra Power, Lipidom, BP Grit, Livamrit Advance, Livogrit, Eyegrit Gold Madhugrit, Swasari Gold, Swasari Vati, Bronchom, Swasari Pravahi, Swasari Avaleh, Madhunashini Vati Extra Power and Patanjali Drishti Eye Drops.
