Patanjali halts sale of 14 products following license suspension, informs Supreme Court

Patanjali license suspension: Patanjali Ayurved Ltd informed the Supreme Court on Tuesday that it has ceased the sale of 14 products whose manufacturing licenses were suspended by the Uttarakhand State Licensing Authority in April.

Addressing a bench of Justices Hima Kohli and Sandeep Mehta, the company stated that it has issued directives to its 5,606 franchise stores to withdraw these products from sale. Additionally, Patanjali has instructed media platforms to remove any advertisements related to these 14 products.

The bench directed Patanjali Ayurved Ltd to file an affidavit within two weeks, detailing whether their request to social media intermediaries for the removal of advertisements has been acknowledged and whether the advertisements have indeed been withdrawn. The matter has been scheduled for further hearing on July 30.

This development is part of a broader case wherein the Indian Medical Association (IMA) has filed a plea alleging that Patanjali conducted a smear campaign against the COVID-19 vaccination drive and modern systems of medicine.

Earlier, the Uttarakhand State Licensing Authority had informed the apex court that the manufacturing licenses for 14 products of Patanjali Ayurved Ltd and Divya Pharmacy were "suspended with immediate effect."

The Supreme Court had previously reserved its order on May 14 regarding the contempt notice issued to yoga guru Ramdev, his aide Balkrishna, and Patanjali Ayurved Ltd concerning misleading advertisements.

(With PTI inputs.)