SC asks Patanjali to file affidavit on whether advertisements promoting 14 products withdrawn

Patanjali misleading ads: The Supreme Court has directed Patanjali Ayurved Ltd, founded by Yoga guru Ramdev, to file an affidavit confirming whether advertisements for 14 of its products, which had their manufacturing licenses suspended and later restored, have been withdrawn.

On April 15, the Uttarakhand State Licensing Authority suspended the manufacturing licenses of these products. However, following a high-level committee's review, the suspension order was paused on May 17 and later cancelled.

Despite the cancellation, Justices Hima Kohli and Sandeep Mehta noted Patanjali's May 16 affidavit, which stated the company halted sales of the 14 products and removed related advertisements from its social media accounts. The Supreme Court has now asked Patanjali to confirm if social media platforms have complied with requests to remove these advertisements.

This directive came during a hearing of a plea by the Indian Medical Association (IMA), which alleged that Patanjali was running a smear campaign against the COVID-19 vaccination drive and modern medicine. Patanjali must submit its affidavit within two weeks.

Additionally, the Supreme Court has asked the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to continue high-level discussions to resolve issues related to misleading advertisements. The Ministry is expected to file recommendations within three weeks. The case has been scheduled for further hearing on July 30.

(With PTI inputs)