“We will rip you apart”, warned the Supreme Court Judge Ahasanuddin Amanullah in an oral remark to Uttarakhand State Licensing Authority on Wednesday slamming it for inaction over misleading advertisements issued by Ramdev’s Patanjali Ayurved.
The apex court told the authority remained in “deep slumber” and there was a clear attempt by it to “pass the buck” and somehow delay the matter despite being informed about the misleading advertisements.
The bench of justices including Hima Kohli and Ahasanuddin Amanullah questioned the counsel appearing for the Authority that why should they not think that they were in cahoots with the contemnor respondents and they were keeping their eyes shut deliberately.
When the state licensing body was mentioned, the bench said that it was appalled to note that except for pushing the files, the authority has done nothing.
Further the bench accuses that in all the four-five years, the State Licensing Authority has remained in deep slumber.
The bench asked why the officer of the licensing authority and district Ayurvedic and Unani officers should not be suspended for their inaction. When the Authority’s counsel referred to the bonafides of its officers, an anguished bench said, “Bona fide you say? We will rip you apart on bona fide. We will rip you apart”.
What happened with the Patanjali Adverstiment and who filed the case against it?
The Indian Medical Association (IMA) had filed a petition in the Supreme Court in August 2022 after Patanjali published an advertisement titled ‘Misconceptions Spread By Allopathy: Save Yourself And The Country From The Misconceptions Spread By Pharma And Medical Industry’.
The petition mentioned the instances where Ramdev called allopathy a “stupid and bankrupt science”, and made claims about allopathic medicine being responsible for Covid-19 deaths. The IMA also accused Patanjali of contributing to vaccine hesitancy during the pandemic. The IMA stated the “continuous, systematic, and unabated spread of misinformation” comes alongside Patanjali’s efforts to make false and unfounded claims about curing certain diseases through the use of Patanjali products.
The counsel appearing for the Authority told the court that its incumbent joint director had taken over the post in June last year. The top court said that in its opinion nine months is enough time for the officer to have acted in accordance with law. The bench said it appeared that his predecessor was “equally complicit” in light of the same inaction during his tenure.
It is said that the Authority has filed a detailed affidavit before the court trying to explain the action taken by it on the central government corresponding with the Authority regarding objectionable advertisements of AYUSH products manufactured by Divya Pharmacy.
The bench said it appeared that if the court would not step in, the Authority would abdicate its duties under the statute and await an order from the apex court for implementation of the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954.
“Besides the proposed contemnors, we are inclined to issue notices of contempt to the deponent of the affidavit (filed by the Authority) as also his predecessor. However, we are refraining from doing so in the present…,” it said.
It said the Centre had clearly told the state Authority in 2020 to stop the objectionable advertisements. It said the predecessor of the incumbent joint director of the authority shall file an affidavit explaining the inaction on his part during his tenure.
It apparently also refused to accept the affidavits of yoga guru Ramdev and Patanjali Ayurved managing director BalKrishna tendering unconditional apologies over publishing misleading advertisements, asserting the apologies were “on paper” and the court doesn’t wasn’t to be “so generous”.
The top court had said it deemed it appropriate to issue Ramdev a show cause notice as advertisements issued by Patanjali, which were in the teeth of the undertaking given to the court on November 21, 2023, reflect an endorsement by him.
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