Indian state suspends licences of 14 products of yoga guru in latest setback

Products whose licences are suspended include Baba Ramdev's traditional medicines for asthma, bronchitis and diabetes

NEW DELHI:

An Indian state regulator has suspended manufacturing licences of 14 products made by pharmaceutical companies of the country's most popular yoga guru for repeatedly publishing misleading advertisements about their efficacy, a government order showed.

The order is the latest setback for Baba Ramdev whose TV shows, yoga cures and traditional medicine offerings for diseases have made him popular in India and other nations.

The Supreme Court of India has in recent weeks repeatedly criticised Ramdev for not complying with its directives in an ongoing lawsuit to stop misleading advertisements of some of his traditional ayurvedic medicines.

The manufacturing permits of Ramdev's companies were suspended in an April 15 order by the drug regulator of traditional medicines in northern Uttarakhand state. Reuters is the first to report the order which is not public.

The list of 14 products whose licences were suspended included Ramdev's traditional medicines for asthma, bronchitis and diabetes.

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The manufacturing permits are "suspended with immediate effect", Mithilesh Kumar of the state regulator wrote in his order.

A spokesperson for Ramdev said he did not have any immediate comment on the matter.

The case against Ramdev in the Supreme Court relates to the Indian Medical Association's allegations that his firm, Patanjali, disparages conventional medicines and continued publishing misleading ads despite a court directive to stop them.

Ramdev has said his actions were a lapse and his company has taken out newspaper ads apologising to the public. In recent weeks, he has appeared before judges at the top court dressed in his trademark saffron-coloured robe to ask forgiveness, but the judges have so far not accepted his apology.

The judges are considering whether to press contempt charges against Ramdev or not.