The Supreme Court has given great relief to Patanjali and his promoters, stopping the proceedings of a case related to misleading advertisements of traditional medicine. Also, the former stay has been removed under which pre -approval of the state was necessary for such advertisements. The case began with a petition filed against Patanjali Ayurved by the Medical Association of India (IMA), which mentioned advertisements insulting modern medicine and making unfounded health claims. The court at one time imposed a temporary ban on such advertisements and started contempt proceedings against Patanjali’s promoters, Baba Ramdev and Acharya Balakrishna.
Which rule was given after removing a stay order?
During this case, after the removal of Rule 170 of Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945 by the Ministry of AYUSH, a comprehensive regulator question came to light. Under this rule, it was necessary to pre-analysis by state licensing officers to prevent Ayurvedic, Siddha and Unani medicines advertisements to prevent exaggerated claims. A bench of the Supreme Court had temporarily banned the removal of this rule, maintaining the need for approval in August 2024. However, on Monday, Justice BV Nagaratna and Justice KV Vishwanathan canceled the order.
Now the court decides
Justice Nagaratna said that the court cannot restore any rule after the Center has validly removed. He said that after passing a rule, the judiciary does not have the right to implement it or enact a law on it. The lawyers who opposed to the removal of this rule had argued that misleading claims could harm patients. A lawyer said that a large number of people are innocent… In Ayurveda, you can say that this disease is cured, people will come under the control.
What did the Supreme Court say?
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta defended the removal of this rule and said that there is already a statutory system… We should not doubt the intelligence of the common man. He further said that it would be “unfair trade behavior” to ban advertisements, allowing the manufacture of AYUSH products. The Supreme Court said that all the preliminary reliefs sought in the IMA petition have been completed and the case has been settled. Also, the parties have been allowed to go to the High Court to challenge the removal of Rule 170.