The Licensing Officer for Ayurvedic and Unani Services, Uttarakhand, has directed the Drug Inspector, Haridwar, to take action against Divya Pharmacy under Patanjali Yogpeeth for releasing misleading advertisements on its Ayurvedic products.
K.V. Babu, Kannur-based ophthalmologist and RTI activist, who managed to get documents revealing this after filing complaints with the authorities, said on Saturday that the company had not denied violation of Section 3 of the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954. Its only defence was that action cannot be taken under Rule 170 of The Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945, as it had been stayed by the Bombay High Court on February 2, 2019. That case was based on a writ petition filed by Ayurvedic drug manufacturers’ association and Divya Pharmacy.
“My complaint did not invoke Rule 170. It has nothing to do with the Bombay court’s stay either. My allegation pertained to the law related to objectionable ads,” Dr. Babu said.
