Supreme Court Directs States to Set Up Grievance Mechanism for Misleading Medical Ads Within 2 Months

Case Name: Indian Medical Association v. Union of India

The Supreme Court ordered States to establish complaint mechanisms within two months under the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954, to curb misleading medical ads.

The Court directed that complaints regarding the misleading ads must be acted upon immediately, with FIRs registered if necessary.

States must appoint enforcement officers within a month, while the Centre has three months to complete a centralized complaint dashboard. Further, NALSA will run public awareness campaigns.

The case, initially focused on Patanjali’s misleading ads, has expanded to broader regulatory lapses and unethical medical advertising practices.