PATANJALI CASE: ENDORSERS JUST AS RESPONSIBLE FOR MISLEADING ADS, SAYS SC

The Supreme Court on Tuesday said that celebrities and influencers are “equally responsible” for misleading advertisements and asked them to act with responsibility while endorsing products.

“We are of the opinion that the advertisers or the advertising agencies or endorsers are equally responsible for issuing false and misleading advertisements. The endorsements by public figures, influencers, celebrities, et cetera, go a long way in promoting a product and it is imperative for them to act with responsibility when endorsing any product in the course of advertisements,” a bench of Justices Hima Kohli and Ahsanuddin Amanullah said.

The court was hearing a plea by the Indian Medical Association (IMA), accusing Patanjali Ayurved of allegedly issuing misleading advertisements and passing critical remarks against allopathy.

The bench which had issued contempt notices to Yoga guru Ramdev, Patanjali, and its MD Acharya Balkrishna over the matter, on Tuesday also sought response from the IMA president R V Asokan regarding an interview he gave to news agency PTI, terming his statements as “very, very unacceptable”. It told the IMA counsel, “here your client goes to the press, and makes a statement. When you were saying the other side (Patanjali Ayurved) was misleading the public. (But) what were you doing?”

The court said that the rules and regulations are meant to ensure that the consumer is made aware of the kind of product, particularly in the health and the food sector. “As a tide over measure, it is deemed appropriate to direct that before an advertisement is permitted, a self declaration is obtained from the advertiser on the lines of the cable, television network rules, 1994…” and the self declaration shall be uploaded on the Broadcast Seva portal run under ... I&B Ministry.

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2024-05-07T20:22:09Z dg43tfdfdgfd