Specific Patanjali advertisements and public statements have prompted advertising complaints, a request for information from India’s Ministry of AYUSH, and Supreme Court contempt proceedings. The record does not establish that every Patanjali product or claim was tested or found false. “Dangerous claims” here describes the potential stakes of disease-cure claims; it is not a blanket legal finding about the company or its products.
What happened with Patanjali’s claims?
The clearest documented episodes run from an advertising complaint reported in 2016 to scrutiny of COVID-19 treatment claims in 2020 and Supreme Court proceedings over disease-cure advertisements and public statements in 2023–24. Those episodes had different procedural statuses: a self-regulatory advertising action reported by a news outlet, a ministry request for information, and later judicial findings about specified statements and advertisements.
What advertising complaints were reported in 2016?
A May 27, 2016 report by India Today described action by the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) concerning Patanjali advertisements. It reported that a Kesh Kanti hair-care advertisement was considered misleading by ambiguity and that a mineral-oil cancer claim was described as a gross exaggeration.
This account is secondary reporting about ASCI action, not a court ruling. It concerns the advertisements described in that report; it does not establish that every Patanjali advertisement was misleading.
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What did the government do about Patanjali’s COVID-19 claims?
On June 23, 2020, the Ministry of AYUSH said it had taken cognizance of media reports about Ayurvedic medicines developed by Patanjali Ayurved for COVID-19. The Ministry stated: “Facts of the claim and details of the stated scientific study are not known to the Ministry.”
It asked Patanjali to provide the medicines’ names and compositions, study sites, protocol, sample size, ethics clearance, trial registration and results. It also asked the company to stop advertising or publicizing the claims until the Ministry had completed its examination. This was a request for documentation and a pause in publicity pending examination—not a final scientific ruling on whether the medicines worked.
Coronil later appeared in the Supreme Court’s account of public statements: Acharya Balkrishna said it had protected his family and that the company had followed protocols and rules. That historical reference is not evidence that Coronil prevents, treats or cures COVID-19.
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What did the Supreme Court say about the 2023 claims?
The Indian Medical Association (IMA), the petitioner in the underlying case, alleged a campaign of misinformation and disparagement against modern medicine. That was the IMA’s allegation; it should not be confused with a finding that every accusation was proved.
The Supreme Court’s judgment records that, on November 21, 2023, an undertaking was given on Patanjali’s behalf that the company would not violate advertising or branding laws and would not issue casual statements claiming medicinal efficacy or attacking any system of medicine.
Press-conference statements
The judgment recounts a press conference held by Baba Ramdev and Acharya Balkrishna on November 22, 2023. It describes statements about cures for blood pressure, diabetes, thyroid disorders, asthma, arthritis, and liver and kidney failure. It also records claims concerning insulin use and children with type 1 diabetes. These are statements attributed to the speakers in the Court’s account, not independent medical conclusions by the Court.
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The December advertisement
The Court also describes a December 4, 2023 newspaper advertisement claiming complete cures and a “permanent solution” for certain ailments. The products named in that advertisement included BP GRIT, Madhu GRIT and Liva Amrit Advance. The judgment’s account concerns these specified statements and advertisements; it is not a product-by-product finding about all Patanjali medicines.
The Court’s finding and the licence action
The Supreme Court found that the press conference and advertisements breached the November undertaking. Its judgment also discussed the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954, and the associated Rules.
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How did the contempt proceedings end?
On August 13, 2024, the Supreme Court closed the contempt proceedings and discharged the show-cause notices after unconditional apologies and further assurances. It cautioned the parties to honor their undertakings and warned that future violations could have grave consequences. The Court wrote: “Any future intransigence on their part, whether by act, deed or speech that could tantamount to violating the orders of the Court or dishonouring the terms of the undertakings, shall be viewed strictly and the ensuing consequences could indeed be grave.”
The judgment did not impose a fine or a permanent advertising ban. Its outcome was closure of the contempt proceedings after the apologies and assurances, alongside the warning about future conduct.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What do AYUSH advertising figures show—and what don’t they show?
Ministry of AYUSH figures reported in 2022 provide context about the wider sector, not a count of Patanjali cases:
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- Pharmacovigilance centres for Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani and Homoeopathy Drugs reported 18,812 objectionable advertisements from 2018 through December 2021.
- The GAMA portal recorded 1,416 misleading AYUSH product and service advertisements from April 2014 through July 2021.
- ASCI reported 1,229 misleading AYUSH product advertisements under its memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of AYUSH during 2017–19.
These are aggregate AYUSH-sector figures. They cannot be used to infer how many complaints or advertisements involved Patanjali.
What the record establishes
- The 2020 Ministry statement documents a request for information and a request to pause publicity while claims were examined; it does not document a final efficacy decision.
- The Supreme Court found that specified 2023 statements and advertisements breached an undertaking made on Patanjali’s behalf.
- The contempt case closed in August 2024 after unconditional apologies and assurances, with a warning about future violations.
- These episodes do not establish that a court tested every Patanjali product or found every company claim false.
The chronology is limited to the episodes described above. The 2016 account rests on secondary reporting, and later product-licence status is not established by the Supreme Court judgment discussed here.
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