The Supreme Court has granted yoga guru Ramdev exemption from personal appearance for the upcoming hearing regarding misleading advertisements by Patanjali Ayurveda. Justices Hima Kohli and Ahsanuddin Amanullah acknowledged the recent public apology issued by Ramdev and Acharya Balkrishna, co-founders of Patanjali, published in newspapers on April 24.
The apology, issued in both their individual capacities and on behalf of the company, expressed unconditional regret for any non-compliance with the Supreme Court’s directives. This step followed the court’s questioning of whether the apology’s size matched that of their previous advertisements.
Meanwhile, the Uttarakhand government has suspended manufacturing licenses for 14 products of Patanjali Ayurved and Divya Pharmacy, effective immediately. This action came after criticism of the state authority’s previous inaction against Patanjali Ayurved for misleading advertisements.
Furthermore, Patanjali Foods, previously known as Ruchi Soya Industries Ltd, received a show cause notice from the GST intelligence department regarding the recovery of input tax credit worth Rs 27.46 crore. The notice, disclosed in a regulatory filing by the company on April 26, was issued by the Directorate General of GST Intelligence, Chandigarh Zonal Unit.
Previously, on February 27, the court had issued a contempt notice to Ramdev and Balkrishna for distributing misleading health cure advertisements. The court also barred Patanjali from promoting products with unverified claims of curing diseases such as heart conditions and asthma.
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