Overview

• A bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and K V Viswanathan disposed of the Indian Medical Association’s 2024 petition and vacated the interim stay on deleting Rule 170.
• The court held that its earlier orders addressed misleading-advertisement concerns and freed AYUSH companies from mandatory state-level pre-clearance before advertising.
• The ruling grants parties liberty to move High Courts over any challenges to the Ministry of AYUSH’s July 1, 2024 deletion of Rule 170 or other regulatory matters.
• Contempt proceedings against Patanjali founders Baba Ramdev and Acharya Balkrishna, which began in February 2024, were closed last year after their unconditional apologies.
• During hearings Solicitor General Tushar Mehta argued that existing laws and industry self-regulation are sufficient and Amicus Curiae Shadan Farasat noted some states continued enforcing the repealed rule.