Trouble for Baba Ramdev? Kerala court issues warrant against Yoga guru, his associate Acharya Balakrishna. Here’s why

Trouble seems to be brewing for Yoga guru Baba Ramdev and his associate Acharya Balakrishna after a Kerala court issued a bailable warrant against both in a misleading advertisement case.

A drug inspector in Palakkad filed a complaint against Baba Ramdev and Acharya Balakrishna, after which the warrant was issued by the Judicial First Class Magistrate II, PTI reported.

Baba Ramdev and Acharya Balakrishna are under fire after several charges were levied against them over advertisements published by Divya Pharmacy, an affiliate of Patanjali Ayurved. The two have been charged with section 3(d) and section 7(a) of the Drug and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisement) Act 1954.

Patanjali and its founders caught attention over the past two years due to their misleading claims. The issue came to Supreme Court's notice after the Indian Medical Association (IMA) moved a petition against Patanjali Ayurved and its advertisements. The top court issued contempt of court notice to Patanjali founders over misleading advertisement and imposed a temporary ban on advertisements of medicines.

According to the apex court order, Patanjali took the country for a ride with false claims. Without no empirical evidence, Patanjali's advertisements suggested that its medicines cure certain diseases. Ramdev and Balkrishna apologised before the court for false claims and were asked to publish apologies in newspapers.

When is the next hearing in misleading advertisement case?

The magisterial court's order, dated January 16, said, "Complainant absent. All accused absent served. Bailable warrant to all accused. " According to the case status on the Palakkad District Court's website, the next date of hearing is February 1, PTI reported.

Several criminal cases in Kerala accuse Divya Pharmacy of publishing misleading advertisements. It is alleged that these promotions disparage modern medicine and make unsubstantiated claims about curing diseases. The Judicial First Class Magistrate Court in Kozhikode is reportedly dealing with one such case.