Uttarakhand HC quashes summons to Patanjali, Ramdev in complaint over allegedly misleading ads
The Uttarakhand High Court has quashed a trial court's summons to Patanjali Ayurved and its co-founders, yoga guru Ramdev and Balkrishna, in a complaint accusing them of publishing misleading advertisements to promote various products.
In an order dated June 3, Justice Vivek Bharti Sharma allowed a petition filed by Patanjali Ayurved, Ramdev and Balkrishna under Section 582 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita to quash summons issued to them by the Haridwar chief judicial magistrate.
Section 582 deals with the powers of the High Court to prevent abuse of the process of any court.
The 'misleading advertisements' case stems from a complaint filed last year by Uttarakhand's food security officer.
In the complaint, the officer cited letters from the Ministry of Ayush issued in 2022, Live Law reported.
These letters noted that several Patanjali medicines, including Madhugrit, Madhunashini and Divya Livogrit Tablet, were promoted through allegedly misleading advertisements.
The complaint alleged offenses under Sections 3, 4 and 7 of the Drugs and Magic Remedies Objectionable Advertisements Act.
Section 3 of the Act prohibits the advertisement of certain drugs for the treatment of specific diseases and disorders, while Section 4 bans misleading advertisements related to drugs. Section 7 outlines the penalties for these offenses.
Justice Sharma in his order said that there was 'no evidence of falsity of claim, no allegation of falsity of claim nor there is any description of manner how that is misleading'.
'Merely writing letter to the petitioner firm that the advertisement should be removed without stating specifically that the claim made in the advertisements were false, does not give reasons to prosecute the petitioner firm,' the court said.
The order also stated that there was no occasion for the trial court to take the cognisance and issue summons to the petitioners as there was no allegation about how the advertisement was false and misleading.
In April 2024, the Supreme Court had criticised the state government for not taking action against Patanjali Ayurved and its subsidiary Divya Pharmacy under the Drugs and Magic Remedies Objectionable Advertisements Act for the publication of allegedly misleading advertisements.
The state government had filed the complaint against Patanjali Ayurved, Ramdev and Balkrishna following the Supreme Court's observations.
The High Court, in its order on June 3, observed that the state government cannot rely on the Supreme Court's remarks in the case against Patanjali Ayurved.
The complaint had to be assessed solely on the basis of the allegations raised in it and the materials supporting it, the court added.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
2 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
2024 grenade attack at police post: NIA chargesheets 3 operatives of KZF
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has chargesheeted three accused linked to the banned terror outfit, Khalistan Zindabad Force (KZF), in the 2024 case relating to a grenade attack at a police post in Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar district, officials said on Sunday. The accused, identified as Yugpreet Singh, Jaskaran Singh and Harjot Singh, all hailing from Rahon village in SBS Nagar, have been charged under various sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, Explosive Substances Act and other related provisions, including 109 (attempt to murder) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita in the chargesheet filed before a court in Mohali. The trio were arrested by Punjab Police on December 24 last year after they allegedly targeted a police post under Kathgarh police station by hurling a hand grenade on its premises on December 2. Police also recovered two illegal weapons and six live cartridges from their possession. The federal agency, NIA, which took over the case from Punjab Police in March, launched investigations against KZF chief and designated individual terrorist Ranjit Singh alias Neeta and his UK-based operative Jagjit Singh Lahiri and other unidentified terror operatives. 'The NIA has found that Jagga had recruited Yugpreet Singh through an acquaintance in the UK. Along with other KZF terrorists and operatives, Jagga had radicalised Yugpreet and handled him via encrypted messaging applications. Jagga had also provided Yugpreet with over ₹4.36 lakh of terror funds through a complex chain of Canada-based entities, who have also been identified and examined,' an NIA spokesperson said. It added that Yugpreet had in turn recruited the other two chargesheeted accused and the trio had carried out the attack at the police post in December last year. 'The three accused had been provided the grenade by their foreign-based handlers earlier in November 2024,' it added. The spokesperson added that the agency has been carrying out further probes to thwart KFZ's attempts to carry out terror attacks at law enforcement establishments and sensitive installations, as well as targeted killings in Punjab. It may be mentioned that the preliminary investigation of Punjab Police had revealed that the arrested persons had retrieved the hand grenade from a dead drop location or dead letter box system (DLB) on the GT Road in Jalandhar on November 28 and hurled the grenade at Kathgarh police station on December 2. 'A DLB is a secret location used to exchange information or items between two people without a meeting,' police said.
Hindustan Times
3 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
2015 fake encounter: Cops in plain clothes firing upon car driver cannot be considered as official duty: SC
The conduct of police personnel surrounding a civilian vehicle in plain clothes and jointly firing upon its occupant cannot be considered under duties of public order or effecting lawful arrest, the Supreme Court has said, dismissing a plea of nine Punjab cops to quash murder charges against them in an alleged fake encounter case. A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta also restored the destruction of evidence charge levelled on deputy commissioner of police (DCP) Parampal Singh for directing the removal of the number plate of the car after the firing incident in 2015 in which a driver was killed. It has been held that the cloak of official duty cannot be extended to acts intended to thwart justice, the court observed noting that prior sanction was not required to prosecute the DCP and other police personnel for their alleged actions. The bench in its April 29 order uploaded recently dismissed the appeals of nine police personnel challenging the Punjab and Haryana High Court's order of May 20, 2019, where it refused to quash the case against them. The apex court said having gone through the material placed on record, the court is of the view that no case is made out for interference with the impugned order of the high court. The bench rejected the submission of eight police personnel that cognisance of complaint against them cannot be taken as it was barred under Section 197 of CrPC under which prior permission was needed to prosecute public servants. 'Equally untenable is the submission that cognisance was barred for want of sanction under Section 197 CrPC. The petitioners stand accused of surrounding a civilian vehicle in plain clothes and jointly firing upon its occupant. 'Such conduct, by its very nature, bears no reasonable nexus to the duties of maintaining public order or effecting lawful arrest,' it said. The bench further said, 'The availability of official firearms, or even an erroneous official objective cannot transmute acts wholly outside the colour of authority into those done while acting or purporting to act in discharge of official duty.' Dealing with the case involving DCP Parampal Singh, the bench said an act that is per se directed to erasing potential evidence, if ultimately proved, cannot be regarded as reasonably connected with any bona-fide police duty. 'The test consistently applied by this court is whether the impugned act bears a direct and inseparable nexus to official functions. 'We believe that where the very accusation is suppression of evidence, the nexus is absent on the face of the record. In such a situation the bar of section 197 CrPC is not attracted, and sanction is not a condition precedent to cognisance,' the bench said. It said this court in a verdict of 2000 while dealing with Section 197 of CrPC held that 'the cloak of official duty cannot be extended to acts intended to thwart justice'. The top court said the criminal complaint alleges, in clear and specific terms, that the nine policemen surrounded the Hyundai i-20 car, alighted with firearms, and fired in concert, fatally injuring the occupant. It added that the narrative was supported, at least prima facie, by two eye-witness depositions recorded under Section 200 CrPC during the preliminary inquiry. 'In addition, the Special Investigation Team constituted at the behest of senior police administrators, found the self-defence version subsequently projected in FIR…to be false and recommended prosecution of eight of the petitioners for culpable homicide. 'A CCTV clip recovered by the SIT depicts the three police vehicles converging on the i-20 exactly as alleged. Taken together, these materials furnish a coherent evidentiary thread sufficient, at the threshold, to justify summoning and the framing of charges,' the top court said. Justice Nath, who penned the verdict on behalf of the bench said the order of the magistrate summoning the policemen and the subsequent order of the Sessions Court framing charges proceed on an appreciation that there exists prima facie evidence of concerted firearm assault. 'No error of law or perversity of approach is shown,' the bench said and dismissed the appeal filed by the policemen. The top court, however, allowed the appeal of complainant Princepal Singh seeking reversal of the high court's order of May 20, 2019, by which it had quashed a criminal complaint and the summoning order against DCP Parampal Singh in the destruction of evidence case against him. The bench said, 'In our considered opinion, at the summoning stage, those two depositions, read with the detailed narrative in the complaint, furnish a legally sufficient basis to proceed. Their credibility is a matter for trial, not for preliminary scrutiny.' As per the complaint, at 6.30 pm, on June 16, 2015, a police party, travelling in a Bolero jeep, an Innova and a Verna, intercepted a white Hyundai i-20 on the Verka-Batala Road in Amritsar of Punjab. It said nine policemen alighted in plain clothes and, after a brief exhortation, opened fire from pistols and assault rifles at close range, killing the car driver, Mukhjit Singh @ Mukha. The complainant (then riding a motorcycle nearby) and another witness claim to have seen the shooting and to have raised an alarm that drew local residents to the spot. They claimed shortly after the firing incident, DCP Parampal Singh arrived with additional force, cordoned off the scene and directed the removal of the car's registration plates.
Time of India
5 hours ago
- Time of India
Shah: Goons don't dictate terms, UP has transformed under Yogi
1 2 Lucknow: Union home minister Amit Shah Sunday said here on Sunday that under the leadership of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath , Uttar Pradesh has shed its legacy of lawlessness and UP has seen a remarkable turnaround. Speaking at an event at the Defence Expo Ground in Lucknow to hand over appointment letters to 60,244 police constables selected in the country's largest-ever police recruitment drive, Shah said: "Goons no longer dictate terms in the state. The rule of law has been established. It is now our mission that within the next five years, we will create a system where an FIR is followed by a verdict from the Supreme Court within three years. " Shah termed the event a "historic ceremony" for Uttar Pradesh Police. Shah praised UP's transparent police recruitment process, and emphasized that no bribes, recommendations, or caste-based bias were involved unlike the previous govts in the state. "Each of you was selected purely on merit from over 48 lakh applications," he told the recruits. Over 12,000 women have joined the force, with Shah commending their confidence and readiness. He also personally handed over appointment letters to 15 constables. He lauded the state's decision to reserve 20% of posts for women, noting that over 12,000 of the recruits were women. "When I met some of the young women today, their confidence and determination were written all over their faces," he said. "Uttar Pradesh now has the largest police force in the country, equipped with command centres, AI-based tools, PCR vans, and on-wheel forensic labs. He urged the new officers to uphold the modern policing ethos of security, service, and sensitivity," he said. Shah credited CM Yogi Adityanath for restoring law and order in UP. "Before 2017, the state's law and order was in decline but since Yogi ji took charge, UP Police has touched new heights," he said. He pointed out that police modernisation in UP was stagnant from 2014 to 2017 but transformed post-2017 with Modi-Yogi governance synergy. Highlighting three new criminal laws, Shah said these reforms would ensure that citizens receive justice from FIR to the Supreme Court within three years. "You are not just joining a force — you're becoming the face of justice, security, and empathy in 'Amrit Kaal'. Be strict with criminals, but a protector to the poor, backward, and tribal communities," he said. A total of 60,244 constables, including 12,048 women, were recruited by the UP Police recruitment and promotion board (UPPRPB), which received more than 48 lakh applications. The recruitment process was completed under the then director of UPPRPB Rajeev Krishna, who is currently the director general of police. With the Sunday's inductions, the total strength of the force now reached nearly four lakh personnel, which includes around 36,000 women personnel. This strength covers all non-gazetted ranks across various wings of the police, excluding home guards, and marks a significant push toward modernising the police force, a senior police officer added.
