‘Be honest if you want sympathy’: SC to Uttarakhand authority in Patanjali ads case
A day after the Uttarakhand State Licensing Authority (SLA) informed the Supreme Court that it had “suspended manufacturing licences for 14… products” of Patanjali Ayurved Ltd and Divya Pharmacy, the top court came down heavily on the body stating that they should be “honest to the court if they wanted sympathy and compassion”.
Expressing dissatisfaction over the explanation offered by the body, a Bench of Justice Hima Kohli and Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah observed it appeared that the licensing authority got took action in accordance with the law only after the apex court’s April 10 order, according to news agency PTI. “Be honest to the court if you want sympathy and compassion…,” the bench observed.
On Monday, SLA, in its affidavit, had said that it had issued order dated April 15, 2024, to Divya Pharmacy and Patanjali Ayurved Ltd., “stating therein that the manufacturing licences for 14 of their products, namely ‘Swasari Gold’, ‘Swasari Vati’, ‘Bronchom’, ‘Swasari Pravahi’, ‘Swasari Avaleh’, ‘Mukta Vati Extra Power’, ‘Lipidom’, ‘Bp Grit’, ‘Madhugrit’, ‘Madhunashini Vati Extra Power’, ‘Livamrit Advance’, ‘Livogrit’, ‘Eyegrit Gold’ and ‘Patanjali Drishti Eye Drop’, are suspended with immediate effect…”.
The top court on February 27 had come down heavily on Patanjali for publishing misleading advertisements, and banned it from marketing its products until further orders are passed. Ramdev and Patanjali Ayurved Managing Director Acharya Balkrishna had also personally tendered their apology to the Supreme Court on April 16.
(With inputs from PTI)
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