Supreme Court Ends Contempt Case Against Patanjali: Timeline of Baba Ramdev Company's Legal Issues

The Supreme Court on Tuesday closed the contempt proceedings initiated against Patanjali Ayurved's Baba Ramdev and Acharya Balkrishna in the misleading ads fracas. The court accepted the apology tendered by them for their actions. However, it warned both of them to not repeat the mistakes in future.

Earlier in July Patanjali Ayurved Ltd. had found itself in legal hot water once again as the Bombay High Court imposed a fine of Rs 50 lakh on the company on July 10.

The Baba Ramdev-founded company allegedly defied an order in a trademark dispute over camphor products with Mangalam Organics Ltd. Despite a temporary injunction, Patanjali continued selling these products, resulting in sales amounting to Rs 49.5 lakh. In an affidavit submitted in June 2024, Patanjali apologised for the infringement and pledged to comply with court directives going forward. However, it allegedly continued selling the product as recently as July 8.

This incident is not an isolated one in Patanjali's legal history. The company has been embroiled in multiple legal battles and controversies over the years.

In August 2022, the Indian Medical Association filed a legal case against Patanjali Ayurveda, alleging that the company claimed that its medicines could cure diseases such as blood pressure, diabetes, and thyroid while denouncing allopathy and healthcare practitioners in its advertisements.

The case escalated to the Supreme Court, drawing attention to issues of misleading advertising within the healthcare sector. Responding to the allegations, the Supreme Court issued stringent directives to Patanjali, ordering an immediate halt to misleading claims and advertisements. Subsequently, the court restrained Patanjali from disparaging allopathic medicine in its advertisements and from promoting products with misleading assertions about curing chronic conditions.

Here is a look at some of the major controversies during the proceedings of the case.

The Indian Medical Association initiated a legal case against Patanjali in August 2022. It accused Patanjali and Baba Ramdev of making false claims against evidence-based modern medicine and its practitioners, highlighting a broader issue of misleading health-related advertising.

In March 2023, the Supreme Court issued a contempt notice to Baba Ramdev and Patanjali's Managing Director Acharya Balkrishna for failing to comply with court orders related to objectionable advertisements under the Drugs and Magic Remedies Act.

Between August 2022 and March 2023, Patanjali faced complaints regarding 53 misleading advertisements reported to state licensing authorities.

In April, the Uttarakhand state licensing department banned 14 Patanjali products due to misleading advertisements. The Supreme Court subsequently directed Patanjali to prove the cessation of the sale and advertisement of these banned items.

Patanjali faced fines for misbranding and misleading advertisements. In one instance, a local court in Haridwar fined the company Rs 11 lakh.