HC asks for Centre's stand on plea over 'misbranding' of Patanjali product

The Delhi High Court on Friday sought the Centre's stand on a petition seeking action against the alleged misbranding of Patanjali's "Divya Dant Manjan" as a vegetarian product.

The petitioner's counsel claimed that though the dental care product was being sold with a "green dot", symbolising that it was a vegetarian commodity, it contains fish extract, a non-vegetarian ingredient.

Justice Sanjeev Narula issued notice to the Centre, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) as well as Patanjali, Divya Pharmacy, Yoga guru Ramdev and other related parties on the petition by lawyer Yatin Sharma.

The law does not mandate declaration of a "drug" as vegetarian or non-vegetarian but the packaging of "Divya Dant Manjan" wrongly carries a "green dot", which qualifies as "misbranding" under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, the petitioner's counsel argued.

The matter would be heard next in November.

Represented by advocates Swapnil Chaudhary and Prashant Gupta, the petitioner stat