The Uttarakhand government has halted production licenses for 14 of Baba Ramdev’s Patanjali goods, claiming deceptive promotions. Of the 14, 13 are from Divya Yoga Pharmacy, a Patanjali affiliate.
This move comes as there is rising concern over charges of misleading claims involving traditional Ayurvedic medications marketed by Yoga Guru Ramdev. The action comes amid mounting legal issues for Ramdev’s businesses as well as worries over unethical advertising methods.
On April 27, the Uttarakhand State Licencing Authority said that it has filed a criminal case against Patanjali Ayurved and its founders, Baba Ramdev and Acharya Balkrishna, for breaking the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisement) Act.
An affidavit mentioning the criminal complaint was submitted in response to the Indian Medical Association’s (IMA) complaint about an alleged smear campaign by Patanjali and its founders Baba Ramdev and Acharya Balkrishna against the COVID-19 immunisation push and modern medicine.
The Supreme Court frequently chastised Ramdev for failing to comply with its orders in an ongoing lawsuit to halt false ads of several of his traditional ayurveda medications. The drug authority for traditional medicines in Uttarakhand halted Ramdev’s enterprises’ production permits on April 15.
The lawsuit against Ramdev in the country’s highest court stems from the Indian Medical Association’s charges that his business, Patanjali, continues to publish false advertisements despite a court order to cease them. Ramdev has admitted that his actions were a mistake, and his firm has issued newspaper advertisements apologising to the public.
In recent weeks, he has been before judges at the Supreme Court clothed to plead for forgiveness, but the judges have yet to accept his apologies. The judges are deciding whether or not to file contempt proceedings against Ramdev.
