Supreme Court Urges Ministry of Ayush to Launch Centralised Dashboard for Misleading Advertisement Complaints

The Supreme Court has advised the Ministry of Ayush to create a centralised dashboard to track and display action taken on misleading advertisement complaints. This move aims to ensure transparency and address legal prosecution under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, especially following complaints from the Indian Medical Association.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday recommended that the Ministry of Ayush develop a centralized dashboard to inform citizens about actions taken on their complaints concerning misleading advertisements. Justices Hima Kohli and Sandeep Mehta emphasized the necessity of such a system to track and publicly share the status of complaints received from various states.

The court further clarified that this initiative would make crucial data available to consumers, aiding in transparency and accountability regarding prosecutions under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act. Highlighting the current lack of data on misleading ad complaints, the court noted that this deficiency leaves consumers uninformed about the outcomes of their grievances.

Additionally, the Supreme Court acknowledged the suggestion from the Amicus on the importance of a centralized complaint-routing system. The court is reviewing a plea from the Indian Medical Association seeking guidelines to prevent false and misleading advertisements about allopathy and modern medicine. The petition also addresses a misleading ad campaign allegedly spearheaded by Patanjali Ayurveda, Baba Ramdev, and Acharya Balkrishna, who have since issued an unconditional apology.

(With inputs from agencies.)