More Trouble For Patanjali As Licences For 14 Products Cancelled

The Uttarakhand government has suspended the manufacturing licence for 14 products produced by Divya Pharmacy and Patanjali Ayurved Ltd. for multiple alleged violations of the drug advertising law, dealing a major blow to Ramdev's enterprises.

In the affidavit to the Supreme Court on Tuesday, it submitted that the State Licencing Authority has issued a public notice, intimating that publication of advertisements contrary to the law would entail strict disciplinary and legal action, including fine, imprisonment or both.

The authority has granted permission on April 12 to the Haridwar drug inspector for filing a complaint against Divya Pharmacy and Patanjali Ayurved for repeated violations of the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act.

Manufacturing licences for 14 of their products — Swasari Gold, Swasari Vati, Bronchom, Swasari Pravahi, Swasari Avaleh, MuktaVati Extra Power, Lipidom, Bp Grit, Madhugrit, MadhunashiniVati Extra Power, Livamrit Advance, Livogrit, Eyegrit Gold and Patanjali Drishti Eye Drop — are suspended with immediate effect under Rule 159(1) of the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, according to an April 15 order by the Special Leave to Appeal.

"The District Ayurvedic and Unani Officer, Haridwar, filed a criminal complaint before the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Haridwar against Swami Ramdev, Acharya Balkrishna, Divya Pharmacy and Patanjali Ayurved Limited under Sections 3, 4 and 7 of the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954," the affidavit said.

The SLA said that it will continue to take all due and further steps against Divya Pharmacy and Patanjali Ayurved as per the procedure prescribed in law and the directions issued by the Supreme Court.

In an order passed on April 10, the top court had ordered the then joint director of the SLA and all those holding the post of Haridwar district ayurvedic and unani officer from 2018 till date to file their respective affidavits explaining the inaction on their part.

Earlier, the Supreme Court, in response to a case regarding misleading advertisements by Patanjali, instructed the company, owned by Ramdev and Balkrishna, to issue a public apology in newspapers of equal size to those in which it promotes its products.

The Indian Medical Association has urged for action against Patanjali for allegedly breaching the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act. This act prohibits the advertising of certain products for the treatment of specific diseases and conditions, such as diabetes, heart diseases, high or low blood pressure, and obesity.

Patanjali had previously pledged before the Supreme Court it will not make unsubstantiated claims regarding the medicinal properties of its products or advertise them in violation of the law. They also committed not to issue any statements against any medical system in the media.