SC asks why Centre shut eyes while Patanjali disparaged allopathy

As the Supreme Court came down hard on yoga guru Ramdev and Patanjali in the misleading advertisements case, it did not even spare the Centre.

The top court asked why the Centre chose to keep its eyes shut when Patanjali was going to town saying there were no remedy for Covid-19 in allopathy.

It noted that the AYUSH ministry should have been proactive in clarifying that ayurvedic products are at best a supplement to the modern medicine.

"We have questions for AYUSH. You issued notice to Patanjali and they filed a reply and reply is not before us and we are wondering why. Covid-19 was in 2022 and you had yourself stated that these were at best a supplement to the main medicine. This was not publicized at all. Nothing could move without Central go-ahead during Covid-19 and you did nothing to make this known. It was a critical period," Justice Kohli said.

The court ordered that the Drugs and License Department to be a party in the case.

The court slammed Ramdev and managing director of Patanjali Ayurved Acharya Balkrishna for their “absolute defiance” in not filing proper affidavits of compliance.

“Not just the Supreme Court, every order passed by the courts across this country has to be respected ... this is absolute defiance,” a bench comprising Justices Hima Kohli and Ahsanuddin Amanullah said.

“You have to abide by undertaking given to court and you have broken every barrier,” the bench told Ramdev and the Patanjali MD, who were present in person.

The bench granted last opportunity to Ramdev and Balkrishna to file their affidavits in the matter in one week.

Also watch: SC pulls up Ramdev for 'absolute defiance' of order to stop 'misleading' ads