New Delhi: The Supreme Court continued the rule which deals with prohibition of misleading advertisement of Ayurveda, Siddha or Unani drugs and stayed a July 1 notification issued by the Ayush Ministry that had scrapped a rule prohibiting misleading advertisements of Ayurvedic, Siddha, and Unani drugs. It has directed the ministry to file a response in this regard in the next date of the hearing. The court was hearing a petition filed by India Medical Association (IMA) in 2022 accusing Patanjali and yoga guru Ramdev of conducting a smear campaign against allopathy. The apex court held that Rule 170 of Drugs and Cosmetic Rules 1945, which deals with prohibition of misleading advertisement of Ayurveda, Siddha or Unani drugs, shall remain in the statute book till further orders.
During the course of hearing, the court also came down heavily on the IMA Chief RV Asokan over his publication of an apology in newspapers saying it was illegible and the font was miniscule. The court has now directed Asokan to file physical copies of 20 publications of The Hindu where apology was published. “The excerpt of the apology filed before us is illegible in as much as the font is miniscule. Counsel for IMA President is directed to file physical copies of 20 publications of The Hindu where the publication of apology has been done. It has to be done in one week,” the bench said.
The IMA chief, in an interview to news agency PTI, had criticised the top court for asking allopathic doctors to put their own house in order and curb unethical practices in modern medicine. Asokan had said that the remarks made by the apex court were “unfortunate” and that it had “demoralised” the doctors, a statement which didn’t go down well with the apex court. The court told Asokan to issue an apology and cover the costs himself.
It is hearing a petition filed by the IMA against Patanjali’s advertisements attacking allopathy and making claims about curing certain diseases. Patanjali, Yoga guru Ramdev and his associate Balkrishna have already issued an apology in the case and the contempt case against them has been closed.