Fish extract in vegetarian product? Delhi High Court seeks reply from Patanjali, Centre, Baba Ramdev

The Delhi High Court has sought Centre’s stand on a petition seeking action against the alleged misbranding of Patanjali’s ‘Divya Dant Manjan’ as a vegetarian product. 

In fresh legal trouble for Yoga guru Baba Ramdev, a plea has been filed in the Delhi HC against Patanjali Ayurved, alleging that the brand’s herbal tooth powder ‘Divya Dant Manjan’, which is marketed as a vegetarian product contains non-vegetarian ingredients.  

The petition claimed that though the dental care product was being sold with a ‘green dot’ symbolising that it was a vegetarian commodity, but recent research revealed that the product contains samudraphen (Sepia officinalis), derived from fish extract. 

Justice Sanjeev Narula issued notice to the Centre, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) as well as Patanjali, Divya Pharmacy, Yoga guru Ramdev and other related parties on the petition by lawyer Yatin Sharma. 

The law does not mandate declaration of a drug as vegetarian or non-vegetarian but the packaging of the dental care product wrongly carries a ‘green dot’, which qualifies as ‘misbranding’ under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, the petition alleged. 

The petition, filed by advocate Yatin Sharma, alleges that the packaging of Patanjali’s Divya Manjan features a green dot, a symbol indicating vegetarian products, yet the list of ingredients clearly shows that the tooth powder contains Sepia officinalis. 

The petitioner also alleged that Ramdev himself admitted in a YouTube video that samudraphen is an animal-based product used in ‘Divya Manjan’. 

Despite filing complaints with various government agencies, including the Delhi Police, the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation, and the Ministry of Ayush, the petitioner alleged that no action has been taken so far. 

Hearing the plea, the Delhi High Court issued notices to Patanjali Ayurveda, Baba Ramdev, the Union government and Patanjali’s Divya Pharmacy, which manufactures the product. The next hearing is scheduled on November 28. 

Patanjali and its co-founders Baba Ramdev and Acharya Balkrishna previously faced Supreme Court’s ire for engaging in deceptive advertising practices. The top court had directed them to take down all misleading advertisements of their ayurvedic products and apologise to the public.