Notice sent to Patanjali, but not under the key 1954 law
- Posted on April 12, 2024
- News
- By Arijit Dutta
- 389 Views
Official
records and those with knowledge of the situation indicate that Patanjali
Ayurveda was contacted by Uttarkhand's drug controller to provide answers about
their misleading marketing that promised to treat severe illnesses
miraculously.

Instead of using the pertinent provisions of the Drugs & Magic Remedies Act, 1954, the advertisements were filed under a portion of the Drugs and Cosmetic Rules Act, 1945, which the Bombay High Court had halted.
It happened five times between April 2022 and February of current year. The company Patanjali, along with its managing director Balakrishna and public face Baba Ramdev, have come under fire from the Supreme Court for defying a court order to stop using these kinds of misleading marketing. The Indian Medical Association (IMA) filed a case, which prompted this move.
The duties of the states and the federal government have also been examined by the court.
Seemingly in response to these criticisms, the Union government last week published a public notice in several newspapers under the heading "Prohibition of advertisement of Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani& Homeopathy or any other drug or treatment of diseases mentioned in Schedule of Drugs & Magic Remedies Act, 1954." The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare issued the notification. The notification states that publications "claiming treatment of diseases" that are included in the previously specified schedule, as well as "publication of misleading advertisements making false claims," are prohibited by the Act.
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The reason behind the failure of Uttarakhand's drug controller, Ayurvedic and Unani Services, to inform Patanjali Ayurveda and its subsidiary, Divya Pharmacy, of this regulation is still unknown.
Drug controller sent notices to the corporation under Rule 170 of the Drugs and Cosmetic Rules Act, 1945, not the Drugs and Magic Remedies Act, 1954, according to information obtained by activist Dr. KV Babu of Kerala under the Right to Information (RTI) law. Rule 170 prohibits advertising Ayurvedic, Siddha, and Unani remedies without permission from the state licensing authority. The Bombay High Court postponed it in February 2019 in response to a petition made by the Ayurvedic Drug Manufacturers Association, of which Divya Pharmacy is a member.