Patanjali Foods clarifies as Supreme Court summons Baba Ramdev

Patanjali Foods on Tuesday clarified Supreme Court's directive to yoga guru Baba Ramdev to appear personally before the top court has no bearing on Patanjali Foods.

"We may clarify that this matter is related to the advertisements of ayurvedic products/medicines of Patanjali Ayurved Limited which have no bearing on Patanjali Foods Limited," the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) company says in a stock exchange filing.

“Patanjali Foods Limited (PFL) is an independent listed entity and operates in the space of edible oil, food FMCG products, oil palm plantation and wind mill only. The directions and observations of Hon’ble Supreme Court of India do not have any bearing on the regular business operations or the financial performance of Patanjali Foods Limited,” the regulatory filing says.

While hearing a case on alleged misleading advertisement claims by Patanjali Ayurved, a bench of justices Hima Kohli and Ahsanuddin Amanullah passed an order for the personal appearance of Ramdev in the case, saying he and his associate Acharya Balkrishna, who's Patanjali chairman, were prima facie violating the Sections 3 and 4 of the Drugs and magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954.

The Supreme Court on February 27, 2024, had asked Patanjali Ayurved Ltd to stop promoting and marketing ayurvedic products, which it claimed to cure critical illnesses like heart issues and asthma. The SC ruling had come following a petition by the Indian Medical Association (IMA), which accused the company of claiming to completely cure sugar and asthma, among other illnesses via yoga.

The SC bench had said the company was taking the “country for a ride” by making misleading claims without “empirical evidence”. The SC had also pulled up the government for not keeping a check on such ads. It said Patanjali can't advertise any product that claims to cure ailments specified in the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act.

Shares of Patanjali Foods ended today’s session 4.45% lower at ₹1,353.60 on the BSE after hitting an intra-day low of ₹1,342. The stock has gained 52% over the past year. However, it has fallen 14% in 2024.

Patanjali Food clocked a profit of ₹216.54 crore in the quarter ended December as against ₹254.54 crore in the year-ago period. Profit margin fell to 2.74% in Q3 FY24 from 3.24% a year ago. The company's revenue from operations stood at ₹7,910.70 crore.