The Uttarakhand High Court has dismissed the criminal case filed against Patanjali Ayurved Ltd., along with its founders Baba Ramdev and Acharya Balkrishna, citing lack of evidence regarding allegations of publishing misleading advertisements for Ayurvedic medicines.
The case, originally filed in 2024 by a senior food safety officer under the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954, alleged that Patanjali promoted several medicines—such as Madhugrit, Madhunashini, Divya Lipidom Tablet, Divya Livogrit Tablet, Divya Livamrit Advance Tablet, Divya Madhunashini Vati, and Divya Madhugrit Tablet—through deceptive advertising.
After hearing the plea, the High Court quashed the summons issued by the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) of Haridwar under Section 528 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS). The court observed that the complaint lacked concrete evidence to prove that the claims made in the advertisements were false or misleading.
The court further noted that no expert report was submitted to substantiate the alleged misinformation, and the complainant had not demonstrated how the advertisements were misleading. It also remarked that the directions to remove advertisements were given without proving their inaccuracy, which in itself does not warrant prosecution.
Additionally, the court held that parts of the complaint relating to incidents prior to 2023 were time-barred.
The case was filed following criticism by the Supreme Court in 2023, which had reprimanded the Uttarakhand state government for failing to act against Patanjali despite repeated notices from the Ministry of AYUSH. It was only after this rebuke that the state government lodged the formal complaint.
While acknowledging this background, the High Court emphasized that the absence of supporting evidence justified the dismissal of the case.
