Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Aug 19: The Supreme Court has dismissed the petition filed by Indian Medical Association (IMA) seeking a ban on misleading advertisements of traditional medicines.
As per the case, IMA approached the Apex Court against Patanjali Ayurved claiming that Patanjali’s advertisements were misleading and defamed modern medicine.
On July 1, 2024, the AYUSH Ministry removed Rule 170 of Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945. Under this rule, prior approval from the State Licensing Authority was mandatory for advertising Ayurvedic, Siddha and Unani medicines. The removal of this rule increased challenges in preventing misleading claims. However, in August 2024, a bench of Justice Hima Kohli and Justice Sandeep Mehta in the Supreme Court stayed the removal of Rule 170, temporarily restoring the requirement for prior approval.
Justice K.V Viswanathan questioned how states could implement the rule once it had been removed by the Centre. Justice B.V Nagarathna suggested closing the case as the main reliefs sought by IMA had already been fulfilled. She said that a rule removed by the Centre cannot be reinstated by the court.
In earlier hearings, the court focused on Patanjali’s misleading advertisements, the inaction of regulatory authorities and corrective measures from Baba Ramdev and Acharya Balkrishna.
The Supreme Court initiated contempt proceedings against Patanjali, which were later closed after repeated apologies from the company. The court also warned that imposing a ban on advertisements and granting manufacturing approvals for AYUSH medicines could encourage unfair trade practices.
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