SC orders Patanjali to stop posting misleading ads

Supreme Court has strongly condemned Patanjali for making false claims of curing diseases with their products. The Supreme Court has further threatened to impose heavy penalties for resorting to misleading ads. The petition against the brand was filed by IMA stating that Patanjali was spreading a smear campaign against the COVID-19 vaccine. 

The court ordered that the company cease any advertisement making false claims of curing diseases or the court will consider a fine of Rs.1 crore on every product advertised.

Yoga Guru and Patanjali brand ambassador Baba Ramdev has been booked under Sections 188, 269, and 504 of the Indian Penal Code for spreading false information about medicines used by the medicine industry.

According to media channels, in response to SC's order, Baba Ramdev defended Patanjali by stating that the FMCG brand has not engaged in any false propaganda. He further said, "SC said that if you do false propaganda, then you will be fined [However]  we respect SC. But we are not doing any false propaganda."

Healthcare is the most violative sector, according to a recent ASCI (The AdvertisingStandards Council of India) report with a significant surge in ads directly violating the Drug and Magic Remedies Act of 1954. ASCI submitted  565 advertisements to the Ministry of AYUSH in the last six months compared to 464 ads submitted in the last year.