Patanjali ‘elaichi soan papdi’ fails quality test, firm’s assistant manager and 2 others arrested

A court in Uttarakhand on Monday sentenced a Patanjali Ayurved Limited assistant manager and two others to jail time after a sample of the company’s “soan papdi” failed a quality test.

The case stems from concerns raised in September 2019 about the quality of Patanjali Navratna Elaichi Soan Papdi sold at a shop in Pithoragarh.  Food safety inspectors collected samples, and subsequent lab testing in December 2020 confirmed that the product did not meet quality standards.

Following these findings, authorities filed cases against Ajay Joshi, a distributor, Abhishek Kumar, an assistant manager with Patanjali, and Leeladhar Pathak, the shop owner. This month, the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Pithoragarh Sanjay Singh found them guilty and sentenced them to six months in prison each. Additionally, fines were imposed, ranging from Rs. 5,000 to Rs. 25,000.

Leeladhar Pathak, a shopkeeper from Berinag, was sentenced to six months in jail and fined Rs 5,000 for selling the product, according to PTI, quoting Verma.

Ajay Joshi, assistant manager at Patanjali’s distributor Kanhaji Distributors Pvt Ltd in Ramnagar, Nainital, also received six months’ imprisonment and a Rs 10,000 fine. Abhishek Kumar, an assistant general manager of the company, was sentenced to six months in jail and fined Rs 25,000. They were convicted under the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006, said Verma.

Last week, the Supreme Court reserved its order against Patanjali Ayurved’s promoter, yoga guru Ramdev, and managing director Balakrishna in a case about misleading drug advertisements.

Ramdev and Balakrishna requested time to file an affidavit on the steps taken to recall ads for medicines whose licenses were revoked. The court granted them three weeks and exempted them from appearing in person for now.