Patanjali halts sale of 14 products across 5,606 franchise outlets after license suspension

Patanjali Ayurved informed the Supreme Court of Indiaon Tuesday (July 9) that it has ceased selling 14 products following the suspension of its manufacturing licenseby a state authority in Uttarakhand in April.

A bench of Justices Hima Kohli and Sandeep Mehta was informed by the companyfounded by yoga guru Baba Ramdev and his aide Acharya Balkrishna, that 5,606 franchise outlets had been requested to remove the items in question.

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The company was given a two-week deadline by the court to provide an affidavit attesting to the removal of advertisements for its banned medicines that have been removed from media platforms.

It highlighted that its prior ruling requiring advertisers to file self-declaration forms about the content of their commercials should not have a negative impact on the sector.

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In May, the apexcourt directed broadcasters to submit their self-declarations through the Information and Broadcasting Ministry's Broadcast Seva portal. It also directed the central government to establish a new portal for submitting self-declaration forms for advertisements in print media.

The television, radio, and internet associations subsequently filed motions to intervene in the proceedings, claiming that the top court's orders would have an impact on the advertising industry.

The Supreme Courtordered the Centre on Tuesday to meet with stakeholders and top I&B Ministry officials to discuss objections raised by the advertising industry. It also suggested that the Ministry of Consumer Affairs should be included as a party in the case.

"We are also of the opinion that the industry (advertisement industry) should not suffer in any manner. The focus of this court has already been highlighted in previous orders and needs no repetition. The Ministry is directed to continue the churning of ideas and have further meetings in this direction and file an affidavit making its recommendations," said the bench.

The court noted that the petition's scope has broadened beyond misleading advertisements due to the involvement of multiple parties. Consequently, it appointed lawyer Shadan Farasat as an amicus curiae (friend of the court) to assist with the case.

(With inputs from agencies)