Baba Ramdev, a yoga guru and businessman in India, has been accused in 26 cases across various courts in the state of Kerala for misleading advertising related to his ayurvedic products. An affidavit, submitted by Sujith Kumar K, the Drugs Controller in the Drugs Control Department of Kerala, to the Supreme Court of India on February 20, stated that Baba Ramdev’s company, Patanjali Ayurved Limited, which manufactures ayurvedic medicines, has violated the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) [DMR] Act of 1954. The DMR Act regulates the advertisement of drugs in certain cases and prohibits the advertisement of drugs alleged to possess magic qualities.
According to the affidavit, the drug inspector also initiated legal proceedings against the newspapers that carried the misleading advertisement, followed by the complaint received from Dr Babu K, a Right to Information (RTI) activist from Kerala.
The affidavit mentions that the legal proceedings were taken against Malayalam and English dailies, including Mathrubhumi, Malayala Manorama, Kerala Kaumudi and the Hindu, for misleading advertisements.
“In all advertisements, it was claimed that the drugs mentioned therein cure and prevent certain diseases which are prohibited under Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisement) Act 1954,” the affidavit stated.
31 prosecutions and 26 cases
According to the affidavit, altogether 31 prosecutions were initiated in different parts of Kerala against the manufacturer of Patanjali Divya products for the publication of objectionable advertisements through print media. Divya Pharmacy is an affiliated company of Patanjali Ayurved. So far, cases have been registered in 26 instances and five have been delayed due to “non-cooperation by the print media that published such unlawful advertisement.”
The 26 cases are: Judicial First Class Magistrate courts of Kozhikode (5), Kottayam (2), Kakkanad (6), Thiruvananthapuram (5), Kattappana (1) and Palakkad (3); Chief Judicial Magistrate courts of Thrissur (2) and Kollam (2).
On February 1, the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court in Palakkad issued non-bailable warrants for Baba Ramdev and Acharya Balkrishna, the Managing Director of Patanjali Ayurved, due to their failure to appear in court. This action was taken in a criminal case filed by the Kerala Drugs Inspector against Divya Pharmacy over allegations of misleading medical advertisement.
Meanwhile, the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court in Kozhikode has also asked Ramdev to personally appear before the court in May in another case.
As per the affidavit, a total of 116 prosecution cases were filed against different firms in the state over the DMR Act, from 2016 to February 20, 2025. Among these, convictions were secured in 32 cases, while the other cases are ongoing.