Misleading ads: SC asks states, UTs to set up grievance redressal mechanism

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 said state governments should create such mechanisms for members of the public to lodge complaints about objectionable advertisements prohibited under Drugs and Magic Remedies Act, 1954.

"We direct the states 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 top court directed the states to sensitise the police machinery on implementation of the provisions of 1954 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 had cropped up when the apex court was hearing a plea filed in 2022 by the Indian Medical Association alleging a smear campaign by Patanjali and yoga guru Ramdev against the Covid vaccination drive and modern systems of medicine.