SC orders states, UTs to set up grievance mechanism for misleading ads

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the states and union territories to create a grievance redressal mechanism against misleading advertisements that "can cause great harm to society".

A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan have emphasised the need for state governments to establish mechanisms allowing the public to report complaints about objectionable advertisements banned under the Drugs and Magic Remedies Act, 1954.

"We direct the state governments to create proper grievance redressal mechanisms within a period of two months from today and give adequate publicity to the availability at frequent intervals," the bench said.

The Supreme Court has directed state governments to sensitise their police forces to effectively enforce the provisions of the 1954 Drugs and Magic Remedies Act.

Clamping down on misleading advertisements, the apex court on May 7, 2024, directed that before an advertisement was permitted to be issued, a self-declaration be obtained from the advertisers on the line of the Cable Television Networks Rules, 1994.

The issue of misleading advertisements surfaced when the Supreme Court was addressing a plea filed by the Indian Medical Association in 2022. The plea alleged that Patanjali and yoga guru Ramdev were running a smear campaign against the Covid vaccination drive and modern systems of medicine.

(inputs from PTI)