Uttarakhand HC quashes summons to Patanjali, Ramdev in complaint over allegedly misleading ads

The Uttarakhand High Court has quashed a trial court’s summons to Patanjali Ayurved and its co-founders, yoga guru Ramdev and Balkrishna, in a complaint accusing them of publishing misleading advertisements to promote various products.

In an order dated June 3, Justice Vivek Bharti Sharma allowed a petition filed by Patanjali Ayurved, Ramdev and Balkrishna under Section 582 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita to quash summons issued to them by the Haridwar chief judicial magistrate.

Section 582 deals with the powers of the High Court to prevent abuse of the process of any court.

The “misleading advertisements” case stems from a complaint filed last year by Uttarakhand’s food security officer.

In the complaint, the officer cited letters from the Ministry of Ayush issued in 2022, Live Law reported.

These letters noted that several Patanjali medicines, including Madhugrit, Madhunashini and Divya Livogrit Tablet, were promoted through allegedly misleading advertisements.

The complaint alleged offenses under Sections 3, 4 and 7 of the Drugs and Magic Remedies Objectionable Advertisements Act.

Section 3 of the Act prohibits the advertisement of certain drugs for the treatment of specific diseases and disorders, while Section 4 bans misleading advertisements related to drugs. Section 7 outlines the penalties for these offenses.

Justice Sharma in his order said that there was “no evidence of falsity of claim, no allegation...

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