Patanjali Foods rejects reports of Centre's notice to Ayurved division: ‘Examining appropriate action’

Patanjali Foods Ltd on Sunday junked reports of Patanjali Ayurved Limited receiving notice from the Ministry of Corporate affairs, saying it has not received any communication.

In a stock exchange filing, Patanjali Foods said its sister concern Patanjali Ayurved is not being investigated by the Centre.

“Pursuant to Regulation 30(11) of the SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015, based on confirmation from Patanjali Ayurved Limited, we may clarify that Patanjali Ayurved Limited has not received any communication from Ministry of Corporate Affairs(“MCA”) for the proposed investigation by MCA as appearing in mainstream media,” the filing noted.

Patanjali Ayurved is exploring legal options to address the issue, the company said.

“Their legal counsels are examining appropriate action in this regard,” Patanjali Foods said.

Patanjali Ayurved under Centre's lens: Report

In a report on May 30, Bloomberg reported that yoga guru Baba Ramdev's company Patanjali Ayurved is under the scrutiny of Centre due to ‘suspicious’ activities.

The Centre has asked Patanjali Ayurved to explain some transactions deemed suspicious, according to the report quoting people familiar with the matter.

As per the report quoting unnamed sources, the Union Ministry of Corporate Affairs sent a notice to the company after the federal economic intelligence wing found transactions it said was abnormal and dubious.

The sources quoted by Bloomberg did not however reveal the exact amount of transactions involved in the case. They cited early stages of investigation as the reason.

The company will have about two months to respond to the notice, according to the report. The corporate affairs ministry will further confirm if the company committed any corporate governance breaches and fund diversion.

While Patanjali Ayurved is a closely held company, its unit Patanjali Foods Ltd. is publicly traded.

Patanjali's face, Yoga Guru Ramdev, found himself in a soup earlier this year regarding some controversial comments.

On May 2, Ramdev gave an undertaking in the Delhi High Court saying he will not issue any disparaging statement or publish on social media, posts similar to his "sharbat jihad" remark against Hamdard's Rooh Afza.

A similar undertaking was also tendered by Ramdev's Patanjali Foods Ltd.

The court passed the order while dealing with a lawsuit by Hamdard National Foundation India against Ramdev and his Patanjali Foods Ltd over the controversial remarks.

Hamdard claimed while promoting Patanjali's "gulab sharbat", Ramdev alleged the money earned from Hamdard's Rooh Afza was used to build madrasas and mosques.