New Delhi: A Kerala court on Saturday (February 1) issued non-bailable warrants against self-styled yoga guru Baba Ramdev and his associate Acharya Balakrishna after the duo didn’t appear for the hearing of the criminal case filed by Kerala Drugs Inspector against Divya Pharmacy over alleged misleading medical ads.
The warrants have been issued to secure their presence on February 15, reported LiveLaw.
Earlier, the court of Judicial First Class Magistrate-II Palakkad had issued bailable warrants to Ramdev and Balakrishna, asking them to appear before the court on February 1 but they didn’t arrive.
The Kerala Drugs Inspector has filed the complaint under Section 3, 3 (b) and 3 (d) of The Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954, with section 3 of the act prohibiting advertisements of certain drugs for the treatment of some specified diseases and disorders.
In the case, Divya Pharmacy is the first accused, Balakrishna the second and Ramdev being the third accused.
The advertisements had claimed that certain Patanjali Ayurved products could cure ailments such as high blood pressure and diabetes. However, such advertisements are prohibited under the DMR Act.