An arrest warrant has been issued against Patanjali Ayurved founders Baba Ramdev, Acharya Balkrishna and their marketing arm, Divya Pharmacy after they failed to appear in a Kerala court on January 16.
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What actually happened?
The case was registered in October 2024 accusing Baba Ramdev’s wellness startup Patanjali of publicising wellness products with unsubstantiated claims to cure diseases like diabetes, obesity, and COVID-19.
Despite receiving the court’s order, none of the accused appeared for the January hearing, prompting the court to issue the arrest warrants. The Patanjali case is now scheduled for February 1.
The controversy began in April 2022 when an ophthalmologist from Kannur, K V Babu filed a complaint regarding Ramdev’s wellness brand’s allegedly misleading advertisements.
The ads in question promised cures for chronic diseases such as high blood pressure and diabetes that are prohibited under the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954.
In addition to the legal action taken in Palakkad, Kerala's drug regulators have also filed several petitions against Patanjali in different courts, including Kozhikode, Palakkad, Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram.
These cases are active under the direction of the Kerala Drug Regulatory Authority following complaints from Babu.
The matter took a serious turn when the Supreme Court intervened and issued a warning on January 15, 2025, to States and Union territories threatening contempt action if they failed to take appropriate measures against misleading advertisements.
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