The Uttarakhand High Court has quashed the criminal complaint filed by the state against Patanjali Ayurved, Baba Ramdev, and Acharya Balkrishna, which alleged that their medical ads were false and misleading.

The case was initiated under the Drugs and Magical Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954, based on letters from the AYUSH Ministry in 2022 targeting several products like Madhugrit and Livogrit. The Court noted that the complaint did not specify how the ads were false—no details, expert reports, or instances were cited to show the claims were misleading .

Since there were no specific allegations or factual justification for prosecution, the trial court lacked any legal ground to take cognizance

Crucially, a large part of the alleged offenses was time-barred under Section 468 CrPC, meaning they occurred more than a year before April 2023, making those charges invali The Court also held that the State cannot simply rely on Supreme Court observations made in a contempt case; each complaint must stand on its own merits.