Patanjali Misleading Ads Case: Supreme Court dismisses contempt case against Baba Ramdev, Acharya Balkrishna

Patanjali Misleading Ads Case: The Supreme Court dismissed the contempt case against Baba Ramdev and Acharya Balkrishna in the Patanjali misleading ads case on Tuesday, August 13.

A bench of Justices Hima Kohli and Sandeep Mehta passed the order.

Kohli pronounced, “We accept the apology tendered by the party. However, we expressly and strictly warn them that they will not do anything in violation of the court orders, as happened earlier in this case. We have come down heavily, and we warn you that this should not be done in the future. The affidavits tendered before this court should be done with full truth. We close the contempt proceedings initiated against the party with the warning of adhering to the orders passed by this court in this case. The notice issued to present contemnor also stands discharge and closed.”

In July 2024, the Delhi High Court directed Baba Ramdev and Acharya Balkrishna to withdraw their statements within three days regarding the claims that Patanjali's “Coronil” is a ‘cure’ for COVID-19. This directive comes amidst growing scrutiny concerning the efficacy of Patanjali products, as per a Mint report.

Additionally, the court ordered Ramdev to remove his claims, attributing the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people during the COVID-19 pandemic to allopathic doctors. Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani instructed that specific tweets be taken down, warning that social media intermediaries would remove the content if the defendants failed to comply, as the Bar and Bench reported.

The court's ruling came in response to a plea that is part of a 2021 lawsuit filed by several doctors' associations against Ramdev, his associate Acharya Balkrishna, and Patanjali Ayurveda. The lawsuit alleges that Ramdev made "unsubstantiated claims" regarding Coronil's effectiveness as a cure for COVID-19, which contradicts the license issued for the drug as merely an "immunity booster."

The doctors' associations argued that the defendants should be restrained from making further such claims, accusing them of engaging in a misinformation campaign and marketing strategy to boost sales of Ramdev's products, including Coronil, as an alternative treatment for COVID-19.