According to a report from Live Hindustan, the chief judicial magistrate in Pithoragarh has imposed fines and six-month prison sentences on three individuals for Failing the Quality Test of Patanjali Soan Papdi, one of whom is the assistant manager of Patanjali Ayurved.
In September 2019, due to concerns about the product, the District Food Safety Officer of Pithoragarh in Uttarakhand gathered samples from a shop located in Berinag Market.
Abhishek Kumar, assistant general manager of Patanjali Food and Herbal Park, Laksar; Ajay Joshi, assistant manager of Kanha Ji Distributor Pvt Ltd, Ramnagar; and local shopkeeper Leeladhar Pathak have been sentenced to six months imprisonment by the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Pithoragarh, Sanjay Singh. This sentence was given under Section 59 of the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006.
Patanjali Ayurveda Limited and Ajay Joshi were individually penalized with a fine of Rs 10,000 each, whereas Abhishek Kumar was directed to pay Rs 25,000 and Pathak Rs 5,000.
On September 17, 2019, samples taken from Leeladhar Pathak’s store were sent to a testing lab in Rudrapur. The lab determined that the samples were of poor quality. As a result, the District Food Safety Officer filed cases against the three men involved.
The Chief Judicial Magistrate’s court warned that if the accused failed to serve their sentences, they would face additional custody ranging from seven days to six months.
In a recent development, the Supreme Court inquired whether Patanjali Ayurved had stopped the sale of its 14 products. These products had their manufacturing licenses suspended by the Uttarakhand State Licensing Authority the previous month.
Senior advocate Balbir Singh, representing Patanjali, informed the Supreme Court that the company had stopped the sale of the mentioned products. The counsel for Patanjali Ayurved, Balkrishna, and Ramdev requested time to submit assertions detailing the actions taken to recall the advertisements of the suspended products.
The court ordered the affidavit to be filed within three weeks, with necessary actions to be taken within the same timeframe. The bench reserved its decision on the audacity notice issued to the respondents, Patanjali Ayurved Ltd, Balkrishna, and Ramdev.
It was also mentioned that Ramdev and Balkrishna were not required to appear in court unless specific orders were given.
Date : 18 May 2023 Time : 10 AM to 05 PM Faculty : Asmita Thaokar (FSSAI National Level Resource Person)
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