Misleading ads: 26 cases filed against Baba Ramdev in Kerala courts so far

Baba Ramdev faces 26 cases in Kerala courts for violating Drugs and Magic Remedies Act, 1954.

A total of 26 cases have been filed in various courts in Kerala against yoga practitioner Baba Ramdev, his associate Acharya Balkrishna, and Divya Pharmacy, the marketing arm of their ayurvedic drugs manufacturing company, Patanjali Ayurved, related to violations of the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954.

This was revealed in an affidavit submitted in the Supreme Court by K. Sujith Kumar, Kerala State Drugs Controller (in-charge), on February 20 in a case filed by the Indian Medical Association.

The affidavit, a copy of which is available with The Hindu, says that six of those cases are in Kakkanad, Ernakulam, five each are in Kozhikode and Thiruvananthapuram, three in Palakkad, two each in Kollam, Kottayam, and Thrissur, and one in Kattappana in Idukki. The official says the registration of five more cases has been delayed due to “the lack of cooperation” from the newspapers which carried the ‘misleading’ advertisements.

The State Drugs Controller points out that 116 cases related to the violation of the Act were initiated by the department since 2016 against various firms. The accused were convicted in 32 instances and the remaining cases are under different stages of legal proceedings.

Divya Lipidom, one of the Patanjali products, claimed to reduce cholesterol and dyslipidemia (abnormal levels of cholesterol or fats), and be “helpful in fat metabolism” while Patanjali Nutrela Diabetic Care claimed to reduce blood sugar levels and control body weight.

The Judicial First Class Magistrate II, Palakkad, had recently issued a bailable arrest warrant followed by a non-bailable arrest warrant against Mr. Ramdev and others after they failed to appear before it.

Subsequently, they filed a petition in the court, requesting recalling of the warrant, which was permitted by the Magistrate. Mr. Ramdev has also filed another appeal in the court seeking exemption from personal appearance.