SC to Patanjali: Have all misleading advertisements been removed from social media?

The top court on Tuesday asked Patanjali Ayurved whether it had removed all misleading advertisements from all platforms, including social media, and whether due diligence had been exercised after an affidavit was filed on behalf of the Indian Medical Association.

The court directed Ramdev’s Ayurvedic company to file an affidavit within two weeks on whether its request to social media intermediaries to remove the ads had been fulfilled.

A bench of Justices Hima Kohli and Sandeep Mehta was hearing a petition filed by the Medicines Tribunal of India alleging that Patanjali ran a smear campaign against the Covid-19 vaccination drive and modern medicine.

Meanwhile, the Ramdev-led company informed the Supreme Court that it has stopped selling 14 products whose manufacturing licences were suspended in April this year.

The company told the court that it has directed 5,606 franchisees to remove these products. “Emails were sent to all franchisees and associate outlets ordering them to remove the medicines, including warnings on social media. But what was done after informing the middlemen? There are only a handful of middlemen, not thousands,” the court told Patanjali.

During the hearing, the IMA told the court that a letter of apology on behalf of the association president for the controversial remarks made regarding the Patanjali hearings has been sent to the media and published in the IMA’s monthly magazine and website. The matter has now been published on August 6.

On April 24, Patanjali Ayurved co-founders Ramdev and Balkrishna issued a public apology in a newspaper after the Supreme Court, while hearing their contempt case, asked them whether the size of the apology was the same as the advertisement.

During a hearing in April, the court had asked the IMA to “set order” by addressing complaints about unethical behaviour by its members. Following this, IMA president Dr R.V. Asokan reportedly slammed the court’s findings in an interview. Patanjali then filed a petition seeking action against Dr Asokan for his “derogatory” remarks against the court.

On May 7, the court issued a notice to the IMA chairman. On May 14, the court reserved its order on the contempt notices issued to Ramdev, Balkrishna and Patanjali Ayurved Ltd. The same day, the court also expressed dissatisfaction with the apology issued by Dr Asokan for his remarks.