SC warns of contempt over states' inaction on misleading medical ads

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court warned that it would initiate contempt proceedings against states and union territories that fail to take action against misleading medical advertisements, according to several media reports.

The Supreme Court issued its warning after senior lawyer Shadan Farasat, tasked with overseeing the enforcement of actions against advertisements violating the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, and the Consumer Protection Act, submitted his report.

A bench of justices Abhay Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan said, “We make it clear that wherever we find non-compliance by states or UTs, we will take action under the Contempt of Courts Act against the concerned states/UTs”.

The report pointed out that several states had been slow in addressing violations under the three key laws. It also mentioned an ongoing case involving entrepreneur Ramdev, highlighting his failure to cooperate with the criminal trial in Haridwar, Uttarakhand.

“It has come to the attention of the amicus that respondent No. 7 (Ramdev) is not cooperating with the ongoing legal proceedings against him under the Drugs and Magical Remedies Act, 1954… Given the seriousness of the issue, the amicus has furnished the details of non-appearance of the respondent No. 7 on last seven dates in the pending case,” Farasat’s report said.

On August 14 last year, the Supreme Court ended contempt proceedings against Ramdev and Balkrishna, the managing director of Patanjali, after they submitted an unconditional apology and pledged to avoid misleading claims about products from Divya Pharmacy. The case stemmed from a petition filed by the Indian Medical Association (IMA), which accused Ramdev and Balkrishna of making false claims about the efficacy of their products.

The Supreme Court will review the actions taken by Delhi, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Goa, and Jammu & Kashmir on February 10. In May, the court had instructed states to report on cases related to misleading advertisements since 2018. On Wednesday, Farasat highlighted that many states had failed to apply relevant laws or impose penalties, even against repeat offenders.

“A conspectus reading of the affidavits filed by states/UTs points to the stated cause of a negligible number of complaints to be the absence of Ayurvedic pharmaceutical units within their territorial jurisdiction.” Farasat stated after reviewing the reasons for inaction provided in the affidavits submitted by the states.

Farasat explained that many states mistakenly believe they cannot take action under the DMR Act if the pharmaceutical unit is not established or registered in their state, which is incorrect.