The Kerala High Court on Thursday stayed the proceedings against Baba Ramdev, Acharya Balkrishna and Divya Pharmacy in a criminal complaint filed under the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954 over the alleged publication of misleading medical advertisements, according to media reports.
Justice VG Arun passed the interim order while issuing notice on a petition filed by them to quash a criminal case pending before the Magistrate Court in Palakkad.
Divya Pharmacy is an affiliate of Patanjali Ayurved Ltd, co-founded by Baba Ramdev and Acharya Balkrishna.
The criminal proceedings were initiated based on a complaint filed by the Drug Inspector under Section 3, 3 (b) and 3 (d) of the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954.
The Drug Inspector has also filed two other complaints against them in the Palakkad Court and another in Kozhikode. The petition before the High Court was filed to quash one of the complaints (ST 1547/2024) pending in Palakkad.
The report further added that earlier the Palakkad Court had issued non-bailable arrest warrants to Ramdev and Balkrishna after they refused to appear. Later, these warrants were recalled.
Patanjali Ayurved has also previously been criticized for advertisements that allegedly discredited modern medicine, particularly Allopathy. The Supreme Court had issued a contempt notice against Patanjali for continuing to publish such ads but later closed the case after Ramdev, Balkrishna, and the company issued a public apology.
