Delhi/lucknow/patna/ Dehradun: On Tuesday morning, the Supreme Court of India directed Patanjali Ayurved to provide proof that it has ceased the sale and advertisements of 14 products banned by the Uttarakhand state licensing department in April, seeking to verify the company’s claim that it had issued directives to all store owners, advertising outlets and social media platforms to adhere to the ban.
On Tuesday and Wednesday , HT visited Patanjali stores across four major Indian cities — New Delhi, Lucknow, Patna and Dehradun — and was able to procure most of these products, procuring a receipt in each of these cases. In some shops, while not all of the 14 products were available, these were put down to a lack of availability, with people manning the counters insisting these could be procured within a week. To be sure, each of the 14 products were found in one store or the other.
Tuesday’s order by the apex court led by justice Hima Kohli was passed despite a later affidavit by the Uttarakhand government informing the court that the ban imposed on April 15 was revoked by another state department on procedural grounds, following which fresh show cause notices were issued to Patanjali on July 8. But Patanjali’s lawyer said that the company had not yet received an official communication regarding the revocation of the ban, and as such, the company remains bound by the Supreme Court’s orders. “The respondent 5 (Patanjali Ayurved Limited) shall state on affidavit whether the request to intermediaries has been acceded to and whether the 14 Ayurvedic formulations have been withdrawn,” stated the court in its order on Tuesday.
During the proceedings, Patanjali’s lawyers accepted the directive of the bench, also comprising justice Sandeep Mehta, which directed the firm to submit an affidavit confirming whether the instructions have been followed and if the 14 Ayurvedic drugs have indeed been withdrawn from sale. The affidavit was to be filed within two weeks, and the case is scheduled for a hearing on July 30. Gautam Talukdar, advocate-on-record for Patanjali Ayurved in the Supreme Court said, “The order revoking the suspension passed by the Uttarakhand government is not communicated to Patanjali so far. Patanjali came to know of it through the affidavit filed by the state in the Supreme Court. Till any official communication is received, Patanjali is bound to comply with the suspension imposed on 14 products by the Uttarakhand state licensing authority on April 15.”
But the situation on the ground was different.
The 14 Patanjali products whose manufacturing licenses were cancelled are Swasari Gold — ostensibly for acute cough and throat infection; Swasari Vati — for respiratory problems and throat irritation; Bronchom — for cough, cold and bronchitis; Swasari Pravahi—to improve lung function; Swasari Avaleh — for cough and cold; Mukta Vati Extra Power — for healthy blood pressure levels; Lipidom — to reduce cholesterol; BP Grit — for blood pressure and heart health; Madhugrit — to manage diabetes and blood sugar; Madhunashini Vati Extra Power — for diabetic complications; Livamrit Advance — for liver health and detoxification; Livogrit — for liver health, loss of appetite, jaundice and indigestion; Eyegrit Gold — for eye health; Patanjali Drishti Eye Drop — an eye tonic.
At 6.15pm at the Patanjali store in New Delhi’s New Friends Colony, the shopkeeper — ostensibly unaware of the cancellation of licenses — had seven of the 14 products in stock. He said that these are sold widely, and shelves are emptied of them every two weeks. “We have been selling the medicines for over a year now. The others (other 7) are also available in our stores but the stock has been low for a few days. The medicines will arrive next week,” he said.
Less than an hour later, at the Patanjali store in East of Kailash, the shopkeeper said that he had stock of nine of the 14 medicines, but was similarly unaware of a ban. “We have customers from East of Kailash, GK, Jangpura, Panchsheel Park, Green Park and other areas. They buy our medicines regularly. Most of the customers are older men or middle aged couples,” he said.
In Patna’s Lok Nayak Bhawan, near the Dak Bungalow roundabout, Ashish Keshri of Paragati Patanjali said that they had no intimation from the company to stop the sale of its ayurvedic products. “The supply chain was disrupted briefly for 10 days during the Lok Sabha election period. If any of the Patanjali products were banned, they would not have been in the supply chain and we would not be selling them,” Keshri said. HT procured 13 of the 14 products (one was out of stock) for Rs3,215.
At 7.30 pm on July 9, HT was able to procure all 14 medicines at the Patanjali Arogya Kendra in Lucknow’s Hazratganj, for a total of Rs 3,370. The shopkeeper manning the store said, “All these medicines are available in bulk. We can even give you more than 10 strips of all of them.”
HT also visited two Patanjali stores in Uttarakhand’s capital Dehradun. At the first — Dev Enterprises on Raipur road, it was able to buy 13 of the 14 suspended products. The shopkeeper was initially reluctant to issue a bill, dialled his supplier to get clearance, but then eventually gave one. “There was some confusion about these products and there was a fake report about a ban. A clarification has come from Patanjali and everything is clear now. It is a ban by the media, not in reality,” he said.
A second store at the New Chauhan Arogya Kendra near the IT Park on Sahastradhara Road also had the medicines available. The shopkeeper said, “That these medicines have been suspended is just a rumour. It is a conspiracy by companies who sell modern medicine because people are now turning to Ayurveda.”
HT reached out to Patanjali spokesperson SK Tijariwala for his comments over the phone, but he refused to comment, insisting that the case was subjudice.
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