Patanjali case: SC intensifies focus on misleading ads by FMCG companies
The apex court also took a dig at Patanjali Ayurved’s public notice tendering unqualified public apology, asking if the size of the apology put out in 67 newspapers was similar to its full-page advertisements that it normally issued for its ayurvedic products. It asked Patanjali to bring on record within two days the “original” apology published in newspapers so as to check the size of the advertisement.
“Cut the actual newspaper clippings and keep them handy. For you to photocopy by enlarging, it may not impress us. We want to see the actual size of the ad. When you issue an apology, it does not mean that we have to see it by a microscope," a bench comprising justices Hima Kohli and Ahsanuddin Amanullah said.
“We want to see the newspaper in the original. Which page, where it was published, etc,” Justice Amanullah told senior counsel Mukul Rohatgi, who appeared for Patanjali.
However, the top court clarified that the issue related to misleads ads was not limited to Patanjali only but extended to all FMCG firms that have been indulging in misleading advertisements and misrepresenting their products and taking the “public for a ride, in particular affecting the health of babies, school-going children and senior citizens who have been consuming products on the basis of the said misrepresentation".
“This is under the scrutiny of the Union government. If these advertisements target babies and children, if that is happening, the Union has to activate itself,” Justice Kohli said, while asking the ministries of
