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Synopsis

Supreme Court if India today directed Baba Ramdev and Patanjali's Managing Director Acharya Balakrishna to personally appear before it.

A bench of Justices Hima Kohli and Ahsanuddin Amanullah has directed so after Ramdev and Balakrishna did not file their response to the show cause notice issued by Court for going back on their word to not make misleading claims in advertisements for its medicines.

As Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi appeared before Court on behalf of the contemnors, the bench noted that appearance of senior counsels on the parties behalf showed that they were in fact aware of the show cause being issued in their names.

On February 27, Court had imposed a ban of advertisements of medicines Ramdev Baba's Patanjali noting that it has been taking the country for a ride by making misleading claims.

The bench had further recorded that the medicines claim to cure certain diseases without any empirical evidence for the same.

Indian Medical Association (IMA) had filed the instant plea alleging a smear campaign by Ramdev Baba and his company against the COVID-19 vaccination and modern medicine.

Court had in November last year also directed Patanjali not to publish false advertisements in the future.

Patanjali had then undertaken not to publish advertisements making false claims about its products and targeting modern medicines and vaccinations, but it continued to do so, the court was told today.

Case Title: Indian Medical Association & Anr vs. Union of India and Ors