The Maharashtra government has informed the Bombay High Court that it will not carry out raids or a confiscation drive against Ayurvedic products over allegedly misleading ‘indication’ labels until further orders from the court. The undertaking has come during the hearing of a writ petition filed by Patanjali Ayurved and Divya Pharmacy.
The state government has given the assurance while responding to the petition challenging actions initiated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) department under the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, as per media reports. The petitioners have argued that indication labelling has been an industry-wide practice in Ayurveda and cannot be construed as misleading or treated as a company-specific violation.
The state government has previously conducted raids on the companies, alleging that labels on certain products claimed cures for cancer, diabetes and other ailments.
The matter has been heard by a division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Ravindra Ghuge and Justice Gautam Ankhad. The petition has challenged action taken by the state FDA regarding labels on Ayurvedic products manufactured by the petitioners.
The detailed court order had not been uploaded at the time of filing the original report.
The case has stemmed from actions taken by the state Food and Drug Administration, which recently seized products manufactured by the petitioner companies, alleging that they were misbranded under provisions governing objectionable advertisements and therapeutic claims.
Senior counsels Dr Birendra Saraf and Ashish Kamat, appearing for the petitioner companies, have argued that references to ailments and therapeutic indications have long been a feature of Ayurvedic medicine labelling and that the issue requires a nationwide policy response rather than state-wise enforcement.
The court has directed the Union government to clarify its position on the matter within two weeks.
Appearing for the central government, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta has informed the court that the government intends to adopt a uniform position on labelling and advertising across all states.
In the matter, NPS Chawla and Surekh Kant Baxy of Aekom Legal, along with counsel Nisha Kaba, have appeared for Patanjali Ayurved and Divya Pharmacy. Counsel Ajay Patil, M.M. Deshmukh and Pallavi N. Dabholkar have appeared for the state government.
