In fresh legal trouble for Yoga guru Baba Ramdev, a plea has been filed in the Delhi High Court against his Patanjali Ayurved, alleging that the brand's herbal tooth powder, ‘Divya Manjan’, which is marketed as vegetarian, contains non-vegetarian ingredients.
The petitioner claims to have used ‘Divya Manjan’ for a long time due to its promotion as a vegetarian and plant-based ayurvedic product. However, recent research revealed that the product contains samudraphen (Sepia officinalis), derived from fish extract.
The petition, filed by advocate Yatin Sharma, alleges that the packaging of Patanjali’s Divya Manjan features a green dot, a symbol indicating vegetarian products, yet the list of ingredients clearly shows that the tooth powder contains Sepia officinalis.
The petitioner argues that this amounts to misbranding and is a violation of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act. Sharma stated that this discovery is particularly distressing for him and his family, as their religious beliefs prohibit the consumption of non-vegetarian ingredients.
The petitioner also alleges that Ramdev himself admitted in a YouTube video that samudraphen is an animal-based product used in ‘Divya Manjan’.
Despite filing complaints with various government agencies, including the Delhi Police, the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation, and the Ministry of Ayush, the petitioner states that no action has been taken so far.
The plea seeks judicial intervention to address the alleged mislabelling of the product and to hold the respondents accountable. The petitioner is also seeking compensation for the distress caused by the inadvertent consumption of a non-vegetarian product.
After taking up the plea, the Delhi High Court issued notices to Patanjali Ayurveda, Baba Ramdev, the Central government, and Patanjali's Divya Pharmacy, which manufactures the product. The next hearing is scheduled on November 28.
Patanjali and its co-founders Baba Ramdev and Acharya Balkrishna were previously taken to task by the Supreme Court for engaging in deceptive advertising practices. The top court had directed them to take down all misleading advertisements of their ayurvedic products and apologise to the public.
Source: India Today