Controlled substances charge: Court summons Ramdev, Amazon founder

Hisar: The court of chief judicial magistrate Gitanjaali Goel in Ambala has issued summons to 14 people, including yoga guru Baba Ramdev, Acharya Balkrishna, and Amazon founder and executive chairman Jeffrey Preston Bezos, in a case alleging the use of controlled substances under the NDPS Act in Patanjali's Divya Pharmacy product Bala Churna. All accused have been directed to appear before the court on April 13.The summons were issued prior to the court taking cognisance of the complaint, which also alleges that the product was sold online through Amazon using a fabricated supplementary trust deed.
The complaint was filed on Nov 5, 2024, by Deepak Sandhu, an athlete from Ambala's Dayal Bagh area. Sandhu named Divya Pharmacy, Haridwar; its trustees Baba Ramdev and Acharya Balkrishna; Patanjali Ayurved Limited; Amazon; Jeffrey Bezos; senior vice-president Amit Agarwal; and senior officials of the ministry of AYUSH and Uttarakhand AYUSH department as accused.Those summoned include AYUSH secretary Rajesh Kotecha, joint adviser Debashish Panda, Kaustuba Upadhyay, Uttarakhand AYUSH licensing authority officer GCS Jangpangi, licensing officer Mithlesh Kumar, director Arun Kumar Tripathi, and Drug Controller General of India Rajiv Raghuvanshi.The case invokes provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the NDPS Act, the Information Technology Act, the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, and the Drugs Rules.Sandhu alleged that his health deteriorated after consuming ‘Bala Churna', which he purchased through Amazon in 2019. He claimed subsequent inquiries and a test report from the Central govt's drugs dept confirmed the presence of controlled substances — ephedrine and pseudoephedrine — constituting an offence under Section 9A of the NDPS Act.The complaint also states that the product violated Rule 161 of the Drugs Rules, 1945, by failing to disclose ingredients, prompting a later notice from the Uttarakhand AYUSH department.Sandhu further alleged that Divya Pharmacy issued a fraudulent supplementary trust deed in 2024 to facilitate product sales. He said he obtained prior sanction from the Ministry of AYUSH under Section 218 of BNSS to proceed against officials.