Ambala Court Summons Yoga Guru Ramdev, Amazon Founder Bezos in Drug Case
A court in Ambala has taken significant legal action against prominent figures in a pharmaceutical controversy. The court of chief judicial magistrate Gitanjaali Goel issued formal summons to fourteen individuals and entities. This group includes well-known yoga guru Baba Ramdev and Acharya Balkrishna from Patanjali. Notably, Amazon founder and executive chairman Jeffrey Preston Bezos also received a summons.
Details of the Case and Accused Parties
The case centers on allegations concerning Patanjali's Divya Pharmacy product called Bala Churna. Authorities accuse the product of containing controlled substances under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. The court directed all accused to appear before it on April 13. This action occurred before the court officially took cognisance of the complaint.
The complaint makes serious claims about the product's sale. It alleges that Bala Churna was sold online through Amazon using a fabricated supplementary trust deed. Deepak Sandhu, an athlete from Ambala's Dayal Bagh area, filed the original complaint on November 5, 2024.
Sandhu named multiple parties as accused in his filing:
- Divya Pharmacy based in Haridwar
- Its trustees Baba Ramdev and Acharya Balkrishna
- Patanjali Ayurved Limited
- Amazon and its founder Jeff Bezos
- Amazon senior vice-president Amit Agarwal
- Senior officials from the Ministry of AYUSH
- Officials from the Uttarakhand AYUSH department
Government Officials Also Summoned
The summons list extends to several government officials. Those summoned include AYUSH secretary Rajesh Kotecha and joint adviser Debashish Panda. The list also names Kaustuba Upadhyay, Uttarakhand AYUSH licensing authority officer GCS Jangpangi, and licensing officer Mithlesh Kumar. Director Arun Kumar Tripathi and Drug Controller General of India Rajiv Raghuvanshi received summons as well.
Legal Framework and Specific Allegations
The case invokes provisions from multiple legal statutes. These include the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the NDPS Act, the Information Technology Act, the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, and the Drugs Rules. Sandhu presented a personal account of health deterioration after consuming Bala Churna. He purchased the product through Amazon in 2019.
Subsequent inquiries and an official test report from the Central Government's drugs department confirmed concerning findings. The report confirmed the presence of controlled substances ephedrine and pseudoephedrine in the product. This constitutes an offence under Section 9A of the NDPS Act.
The complaint further states that the product violated Rule 161 of the Drugs Rules, 1945. This violation occurred because the product failed to properly disclose its ingredients. This omission prompted a later notice from the Uttarakhand AYUSH department.
Additional Fraud Allegations and Legal Sanctions
Sandhu made additional serious allegations against Divya Pharmacy. He claimed the pharmacy issued a fraudulent supplementary trust deed in 2024. This document allegedly facilitated product sales through improper channels.
The complainant obtained prior sanction from the Ministry of AYUSH under Section 218 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. This sanction allowed him to proceed legally against the government officials named in the case. The court's issuance of summons marks a significant development in this complex legal matter involving major corporate and spiritual figures.
