In a recent development, the Supreme Court has directed Patanjali Ayurved to provide evidence that it has withdrawn the sale and advertising of 14 banned products in April by the Uttarakhand State Licensing Department. The court aims to confirm that Patanjali issued instructions to all store owners, advertising outlets, and social media platforms to comply with the ban. In a series of visits conducted by the Hindustan Times in major cities like New Delhi, Lucknow, Patna, and Dehradun on Tuesday and Wednesday, the banned products were actively sought out from various Patanjali stores. Each purchase was accompanied by a receipt, with some stores citing stock shortages for the unavailability of all 14 banned items. However, no one mentioned that the supply had been terminated, attributing the shortage to low stock levels. The court instructed Patanjali Ayurved Limited to state whether the 14 Ayurvedic medicines have been withdrawn. The company’s lawyers accepted the court’s directive to submit an affidavit, instructing the firm to present the affidavit within two weeks. The case is scheduled for hearing on July 30. Gautam Talukdar, the on-record advocate for Patanjali Ayurved in the Supreme Court, stated that the company has not been informed by the state government to cancel the enacted ban as per the affidavit received through the Supreme Court. Until an official order is received, Patanjali is obligated to comply with the ban imposed on 14 products by the Uttarakhand State Licensing Authority on April 15. The 14 Patanjali products whose licenses were revoked include Shwasari Gold, Shwasari Vati, Bronchome, BP Grit, Madhughrity, Madhunashini Vati Extra Power, Livamrit Advance, Livogrit, and Eyedrit Gold. At a Patanjali store in New Friends Colony, New Delhi, our team arrived at 6:15 PM to find the storekeeper unaware of the revoked license. Despite this, seven of the banned products were still in stock. He mentioned that these medicines are sold extensively and the shelves are emptied every two weeks, reassuring that the medicines will be restocked next week. At East of Kailash, the storekeeper mentioned having a stock of nine out of the 14 medicines but was unaware of the prohibition. He stated that customers from East of Kailash, GK, Jungpura, Panchsheel Park, Green Park, and other areas regularly purchase their medicines, with the majority being elderly individuals or middle-aged couples. A store employee from Loknayak Bhawan in Patna, Ashish Kesari, noted that they have not received any information from the company regarding halting the sale of their Ayurvedic products. Kesari stated, “Supply of medicines was hindered for about 10 days during the Lok Sabha elections. If any of Patanjali’s products were banned, the supply would be discontinued, and we would not be able to sell them.” HT’s team purchased 13 out of the 14 products for 3,215. The same trend was observed in other cities, where the banned medicines are being sold surreptitiously.
