Sorry for the clumsy response, but this is why the Supreme Court is furious with Ramadev and Balakrishna

In the issue concerning misleading and deceptive ads for its pharmaceutical goods, the Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to excuse managing director Acharya Balkrishna and promoter Ramdev of Patanjali Ayurved from making a personal presence.

According to reports, the Bench criticised the BJP-led Centre for not doing enough to combat Patanjali’s deceptive advertisements to promote its ayurvedic products and disparaging remarks against modern medicine, such as allopathy, and dismissed their affidavits apologising for breaking their earlier undertaking as mere “lip service.”

What is upsetting SC?

According to a number of accounts, the bench, which included Justices Hima Kohli and Ahsannudin Amanullah, was dissatisfied with Ramdev and Balkrishna for their “absolute defiance” in breaching “every barrier” and failing to provide the required affidavits of compliance in the case involving the false advertising.

The bench also observed that Patanjali seems to have committed a perjury.

“You said there were papers attached, although they were made later. This obviously constitutes perjury! It was said to have said, “We are not closing the doors on you; instead, we are sharing everything we have noticed.”

Ramdev’s Patanjali Ayurved was served with a contempt notice by the court earlier in February for their persistent use of deceptive marketing that promised long-term treatments for a variety of illnesses.

After promising the court in November 2023 that “no casual statements claiming medicinal efficacy or against any system of medicine will be released to the media in any form,” Patanjali was taken to task for publishing advertisements that directly attacked allopathic medicines.

It also irritated the Union government, which was aware of the adverts but was “tuning a blind eye” by not taking any action against them.

The matter and Ramdev’s assertions

The issue primarily concerns statements made by the business throughout the COVID period concerning other medical specialties and its line of ayurvedic and herbal items. The Indian Medical Association (IMA) took legal action after a particular advertisement headlined “Misconceptions spread by allopathy: Save yourself and the country from the misconceptions spread by pharma and medical industry” came under intense scrutiny.

The Indian Medical Association (IMA) stated that Patanjali had broken both the Consumer Protection Act of 2019 (CPA) and the Drugs and Other Magical Remedies Act of 1954 (DOMA) by spreading false information about its products and releasing false material to discredit allopathy.

The Supreme Court warned Patanjali in November 2023 not to advertise remedies that last forever and threatened to take legal action. However, in spite of the warning, Patanjali not only carried on as normal but, according to accounts, Ramdev even complimented his goods during a press conference after the order.

Deceptive advertisements

“Misleading advertisements can be dangerous because they misguide the poor and vulnerable lacking proper scientific knowledge,” argue opponents of Ramdev.

“During trying times like COVID, people are more prone to such assertions. However, Patanjali’s claims were not investigated, despite the fact that there are enough protections against deceptive advertising.

“The truth is that by making false claims about treatments that not only broke the law but also put people’s health in danger, Patanjali not only broke the DOMA but also the CPA,” they continue.

The Drugs and Cosmetics (Magic Remedies) Act, however, was deemed “archaic” by Patanjali MD Balakrishna today; the court thus “disapproved” of this claim.