NEW DELHI: It wasn’t just the Uttarakhand authorities, the Ayush Ministry, and the Health Ministry that failed to take any action against Yoga Guru Ramdev’s Patanjali Ayurved for repeatedly violating an act dealing with misleading advertisements of Ayush products, but also the Consumer Protection Authority, which, despite having more powers, merely forwarded the RTI complaints to other regulatory bodies for action under weaker laws.
Kerala-based KV Babu, who has been persistently pursuing misleading advertisements issued by Ramdev for Ayush products claiming cures for various conditions from blood pressure and diabetes to liver ailments, said the only time the CCPA took action was in 2022.
The CCPA, under the Consumer Affairs Ministry, informed him two years ago that they had issued a notice to Divya Pharmacy and Patanjali Wellness and forwarded the complaint to the Ayush Ministry. However, Babu said the series of complaints he made to the CCPA in July 2022 was intended to be examined under the Consumer Protection Act 2019.
Under the new Act, the CCPA is empowered to conduct investigations into violations of consumer rights, including misleading advertisements by pharmaceutical companies. The CCPA is legally mandated to investigate and act against misleading advertising under the act.
In its latest reply, dated March 20, the CCPA gave the same response to Babu. “The matter relates to public health and is in violation of the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisement) Act 1954, section 3 (d) and section 106 (1), Schedule J of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act and Rules 1945.”
“As the issue does not fall under the category of misleading advertisements and must be dealt with by the Ministry of Ayush, the complaint is forwarded herewith for necessary action,” said the reply from K Mahendran, Under Secretary of the CCPA, to Babu’s RTI filed on March 8, 2024. The letter was addressed to the Ayush Ministry.
Babu said it seems the CCPA is acting like a postman. “Instead of taking action under stringent law, the CCPA just forwarded my complaint to the State Licensing Authority (SLA) in Uttarakhand via the Ministry of Ayush. They are behaving like postmen, passing the buck,” said Babu, who sent another letter to the Consumer Affairs Ministry on May 10.
“The complaints I filed are not just about contraventions of the DMR Act but also about misleading ads. The CCPA has the mandate to investigate complaints against misleading ads under the stronger CPA 2019 and can’t just pass the buck to other regulatory authorities to take action under the weaker DMR Act,” Babu said.
‘CCPA can act against misleading ads’
Under the new act, the CCPA is empowered to conduct investigations into violations of consumer rights, including misleading advertisements. Kerala-based Babu has been pursuing misleading ads issued by Ramdev for Ayush products claiming cures for various conditions from blood pressure and diabetes to liver ailments.