Supreme Court Halts Government’s Decision to Exclude Misleading Ads Rule

The Supreme Court of India has put a stay on a controversial government notification that removed the need for prior licensing approval for advertising Ayurveda, Siddha, and Unani drugs. 

The Supreme Court of India has put a stay on a contentious government notification issued on July 1 that did away with the need for manufacturers of Ayurveda, Siddha, and Unani drugs to obtain prior licensing approval before they could place advertisements. A bench headed by Justice Hima Kohli expressed its disapproval of the move, saying that it was in violation of previous court rulings that sought to prevent false advertisements for health and medicinal products. 

The notification issued by the Ministry of Ayush on July 1 left out Rule 170 of the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945, which mandated manufacturers to secure a unique identification number from the state licensing authorities before advertising their products. The rule also provided for suspension or cancellation of licenses in case the advertisements contained vulgar material or false claims including those involving celebrities. 

The court also used frustration in the government’s decision by saying that the deletion of the rule was in the teeth of prior court orders. The Indian Medical Association (IMA) had moved court seeking to restrain Patanjali Ayurved from airing misleading advertisements. The bench further ordered that Rule 170 shall continue to be in force until further order and the matter was adjourned to October 15. 

Shadan Farasat, appearing for the court, raised issues with the absence of clinical trials for Ayush drugs. He said that only full clinical trials could establish the effectiveness and safety of these drugs, a fact that was underlined by the court’s request to the Centre to clear its stand. 

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The court also discussed the Centre’s ongoing process of creating a centralized portal for reporting cases of false advertisements. While the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting launched a self-declaration certificate system for advertisers in May, the Centre is yet to integrate its portals for TV, radio, and digital. 

Also, IMA President RV Asokan was not spared by the court for an interview that he gave that was critical of its remarks on healthcare product endorsements. The court insisted on receiving hard copies of his apology which he said had appeared in 20 Hindi dailies. 

The matter is to be taken up for further hearing on October 15.