Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah’s oral remark “we will rip you apart” directed at the Uttarakhand State Licensing Authority (Ayurveda and Unani Services) during the Patanjali contempt case hearing in the Supreme Court has triggered online vitriol against the judge.
On April 10, the Bench of Justices Hima Kohli and Amanullah was addressing the ineptitude shown by the State licensing authority to investigate the advertisements of Ayurvedic medicines manufactured by Divya Pharmacy, a company founded by yoga guru Baba Ramdev and his close associate Acharya Balkrishna, both of whom are facing contempt proceedings.
The State authority had told the court that it was under a “bona fide impression” that its hands were tied against Divya Pharmacy owing to an interim order of the Bombay High Court in February 2019 staying the application of Rule 170 of Drugs and Cosmetic Rules, 1945 prohibiting advertisements of Ayurvedic drugs.
