NEW DELHI : The Uttarakhand government’s decision to revoke licences for 14 Patanjali Ayurved products occurred following a directive from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) regarding appropriate action on an RTI complaint against Baba Ramdev for repeated violations of an Act dealing with misleading advertisements of Ayush products.
In addition to suspending 14 products of the Baba Ramdev-owned Patanjali Ayurved, the state government initiated legal proceedings in the Haridwar CJM court for violating the Drugs and Magic Remedies Act on April 16.
Both actions by the State Drug Licensing Authority were prompted by the PMO’s directive, which instructed the Ayush ministry on January 24 to take necessary measures.
The PMO’s directive to take action against Ramdev followed after RTI activist Dr. K V Babu wrote to the Prime Minister’s Office on January 15, highlighting Patanjali Ayurved’s repeated infringements of the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954. The PMO directed authorities to inform Babu about the action taken.
In response to Babu, the State Drug Licensing Authority (SDLA) in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, acknowledged that the PMO had instructed them to investigate his complaint and take appropriate action.
“It is to be informed that Dr. Babu KV has complained about misleading advertisements of certain medicines manufactured by Divya Pharmacy and Patanjali Ayurved Limited,” said the response dated April 23. Babu received the response on April 30.
Numerous complaints were received, and warnings/ clarifications/notices have been issued to the concerned pharmacies several times, it said.
But, it said, based on complaints received by Dr Babu KV, it has been found that even after warning/clarification/notice, misleading advertisements related to certain medicines are being made by the said pharmacies and the orders given by the State Drug Licensing Authority (SDLA) under the Drug and Cosmetic Act are disregarded.
In his response, Dr Mithilesh Kumar, Joint Director, SADLA, said that under the Drug and Cosmetic Act Rule 159, the state drug licensing authority has taken disciplinary action for not following the instructions regarding the said medicines. The same response was also submitted to the apex court.
"Also, under the provisions of the Drug and Magic Remedies Act, the drugs manufactured by the said pharmacies, for which misleading advertisements were made by the designated drug inspector/district/Ayurvedic and Unani officer, Hardiwar for the Haridwar area, on this basis, a case has been filed against the operators of the pharmacy in Haridwar CJM court on 16.04.2024."
Babu, who has been relentlessly pursuing action against Ramndev for the past two years, said, "From the affidavit filed in the Supreme Court, it seems the Uttarakhand State Licensing Authority (SLA) is prosecuting any pharma company under the DMR act for the first time.
"It is regrettable that I had to pursue the issue with more than 100 RTI applications and complaints at multiple levels. The PMO and SC had to intervene in a problem that the state authorities should have handled as a matter of routine. But, it will be a landmark decision in the history of the country as it will put an end to illegal and misleading ads of drugs,” Kerala-based Babu told this paper.
The state government - which came under severe criticism from the Supreme Court for failing to take action against Patanjali Ayurved despite repeated violations - informed the apex court on April 30 about the action it had taken. It also issued an apology and promised not to commit any deliberate or wilful action that would disobey any orders of the Supreme Court.
Ramdev and his aide Balkrishna apologised and personally appeared in the Supreme Court, which took them to task for repeatedly violating the Act. They have also issued an apology twice in the newspapers for misleading advertisements for their Ayush products.
The DMR (OA) 1954 prohibits the advertisement of certain drugs to treat certain diseases and disorders. It states that "no person shall take any part in the publication of any advertisement referring to any drug in terms which suggest or are calculated to lead to the use of that drug for the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment or prevention of any diseases, disorder or condition."
