Consumer Laws & Ayurvedic Medicines | Corporate Law Attorney in Delhi NCR | Corporate Lawyer in Delhi NCR |

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“A lot of ayurveda companies have been running their ayurveda business or pharmaceutical business in India but in an organised form. Further, a lot of sham companies were also found selling spurious products and were found playing with the lives of the innocent people. Thus, the Government of India had come up with a plethora of amendments and enactments and brought the ayurvedic companies under the perview of the Indian consumer laws, corporate laws and IT laws respectively. Further the ayurveda companies are bound to follow a lot of legal complainces and several laws are made applicable upon these ayurveda companies. The Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Government of India is mandated with a Consumer Protection Division for implementing the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 and Rules and Regulations made thereunder. The goal of every business operation is consumer satisfaction, and the business and government are obligated to protect the interests of the consumers. In every aspect of business management, the consumer is an end goal and need. Consumer protection and awareness are vital. It includes various rights, such as the right to be protected against the marketing of goods and services, the right to acquire the knowledge, quality and skill required for a product, the right to be heard, and seek redressal.”

Due to globalisation and modernisation, every industry in India thrives to achieve its full potential. Sometimes, a manufacturer or a producer may conduct unfair trade practices, concluding for the consumer to suffer the burden for the same. Every product manufactured is compulsory to have approval from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). As a consumer, one should insist on the quality and the guarantee of the products and services.

Contemporary Laws for Consumer Safety: Best Corporate Legal Solutions for Ayurveda Companies
The Drug and Cosmetics Act and Rules comprises sections and regulations for Ayurvedic, Siddha, Unani drugs. It is composed of provisions regarding the safety and quality of the drug, effectiveness for licensing and penalising parties for selling or manufacturing misbranded, adulterated or substituted drugs.
Furthermore, in the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements ) Act, 1954 and the Rules made thereunder, the government plays a vital role in penalising the manufacturer, distributor or seller of the drug who contravenes the provisions of the said Act by their advertisements. The Union Health Ministry has presented a proposal to amend the said Act in 2020, called ‘The Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) (Amendment) Bill, 2020’. The bill seeks amendment in a couple of sections: the inclusion of certain information in the definition(s) under Section 2 and Section 3, the increase in the penalty, and the number of diseases and health conditions mentioned in the Schedule of the Act have been revised.
The parent Act to safeguard the interests and rights of the consumer is the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 and the Rules. The Act comprises various rights for a consumer and consists of provisions regarding safety, quality check, and efficiency.

Violation of Consumer Rights & Companies selling Ayurvedic Medicines & Products: Best Corporate Lawyer Advice for Ayurveda Companies
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the public health situation in the country has worsened, and the population blindly trusts every slight news or message for curing the disease.
The medicines sold in the market these days are adulterated, damaged and made to appear to provide better treatment. The AYUSH Ministry had released a statement regarding the announcement of “Coronil” and prohibited business enterprise (Patanjali Limited) from advertising or promoting the said product and advised not to spread any rumours regarding a cure for the virus unless verified and approved.
The Ministry has received multiple complaints in the past years regarding objectionable advertisements for selling ayurvedic medicines. The consumer is being denied basic knowledge and information regarding the product due to a lack of knowledge about the authentic source of the medicine. It is self-explanatory that a consumer trusts the packaging and labelling or advertisement of a particular Ayurvedic medicine as a means to gain knowledge about its usage and need. And if those instructions are not transparent or truthful, then not only the health and treatment of the individual is affected, but the entire allopathic procedure is strained. An Ayurvedic ‘Over the Counter (OTC) medicine is usually sold with packaging in which the consumer barely understands all relevant details. There exist several objectionable practices in manufacturing, producing, selling etc., and the reason for the same varies from scientific, legal, economical to ethical and moral.
In some scenarios, the medicines sold used synthetic chemicals to enhance natural character, harmful adulterants, or the usage of an exhausted drug.

Further, the diagnosis and treatment of an illness, including the drug description for the same, do not follow the standard or correct procedure. For any allopathic method, the unavailability of published clinic research had hampered the safety, efficiency and effectiveness of treating the human race using Ayurvedic medicines. A consumer is also generally unaware of the ingredients used for the medicine leaving the consumer confused and dissatisfied.
In the case of Cadila Health Care Ltd. v. Cadila Pharmaceuticals Ltd., 2001 5 SCC 73, specific tests were laid down for drugs. It was established that strict tests and stringent vigilance are required as these medicines cure diseases. The social circumstances and linguistic barriers create confusion due to the availability of multiple medical products. Therefore stricter measures are required and are need to be implemented. Also, in the case of Sun Pharma Laboratories Ltd. v. Ajanta Pharma Ltd., 2019 SCC OnLine Del 8443, the Delhi High Court observed that like pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals are regulated products that cannot be produced and manufactured without a license; both are used in the treatment of specific disorders and diseases.
Amidst all of this, a study by the Directorate of AYUSH, Gujarat, shows that using Allopathic treatment and Ayurveda, there is a faster recovery in the mild-moderate COVID-19 Patients.

Conclusion
To protect the interest of consumers, the country needs to take stricter actions and penalise the violators of the law. At every step from manufacturing till distribution of the drug, physicians, health professionals, experts, and special committees must conduct routine check-ups and tests to check the quality of the drug or medicine. Ensuring that the labelling and promotion of the manufactured products are in accordance with the requirements and rules of the present law is pertinent. The provisions under the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements ) Act, 1954 restricts the advertisements that impact the interest of the public as a whole and, as a result, are prohibited and amounted to be reasonable and not in contravention with freedom of speech and expression and freedom of trade and commerce as envisaged in the case of Hamdard Dawakhana v. Union of India, 1960 AIR 554. It can be stated that consumer safety is the lifeblood of any industry and must be protected at any cost.
There is a need to spread awareness about the efficacy of standard, non-scheduled Ayurvedic medication, which is available OTC in any case. There is also a need to conduct medical research projects and initiatives with globally available sociologists, modern medicine physicians, pharmacologists, biochemists, pharmacists and qualified Ayurvedic experts and bring fresh ideas and new ways of manoeuvring collaborative research. And from the said research, the aim should be to sensitise consumers around the Allopathic treatment and Ayurveda in detail. The goal of the industry should be disease prevention and protecting consumer rights at the same time.
Authored By: Adv. Anant Sharma & Mehak Gupta