Baba Ramdev's Patanjali Ayurved sees suspension of licence for 14 products in Uttarakhand, shares trade lower

The 14 items whose licences were revoked included traditional remedies prescribed by Ramdev for diabetes, bronchitis, and asthma.

The Uttarakhand drug regulator has suspended the manufacturing licences for 14 products made by Baba Ramdev's Patanjali Ayurved, days after the Supreme Court rebuked the company for deceptive advertising about their efficacy.

Shares of the company reacted negatively to the development. At 09.52 am, shares of Patanjali Foods were trading 3.3 percent lower at Rs 1,512 on the NSE.

A Reuters report, however, said the manufacturing permits were suspended by the drug regulator in an April 15 order which has not been made public.

A criminal complaint alleging violations of the Drugs and Magic Remedies Act has been brought against Patanjali, Ramdev, and Acharya Balkrishna.

Divya Pharmacy products whose manufacturing licence has been suspended include Swasari Gold, Swasari Vati, Bronchom, Swasari Pravahi, Swasari Avaleha, Mukta Vati Extra Power, Lipidom, BP Grit, Madhugrit and Madhunashini Vati Extra Power, according to the order. Divya Pharmacy products, whose manufacturing licence has been suspended include Swasari Gold, Swasari Vati, Bronchom, Swasari Pravahi, Swasari Avaleha, Mukta Vati Extra Power, Lipidom, BP Grit, Madhugrit and Madhunashini Vati Extra Power, according to the order.

The court demanded a public apology from Patanjali Ayurved Ltd, Baba Ramdev, and his aide Acharya Balakrishnan last month for disobeying its directives over the misleading advertisements.

The charges of contempt of court against Ramdev and Balkrishna stemmed from a series of advertisements that suggested Patanjali products could cure various diseases. This was a clear violation of the top court's earlier directives and an undertaking given by Patanjali in this regard. During the hearings last week, a bench of Justices Hima Kohli and Ahsanuddin Amanullah asked pointed questions at the defendants to address the charges.

In an ongoing legal battle to remove misleading advertisements of some of his traditional ayurvedic medications, the Supreme Court of India has censured Ramdev on many occasions in recent weeks for failing to follow its orders.

The judges will have to decide whether to charge Ramdev with contempt or not.