Order or notice
Rule 170: pre-approval of ayurvedic, siddha and unani advertisements (2024 to 2025)
Last checked 10 October 2026
Rule 170, which required state approval of ayurvedic, siddha and unani advertisements, was omitted on 1 Jul 2024; the Supreme Court stayed the omission on 27 Aug 2024 and, on 11 Aug 2025, vacated the stay and disposed of the petition, leaving parties free to challenge the omission separately.
- Classification
- Earlier notice or order withdrawn
- Decided by
- Supreme Court of India
- Reference
- Drugs (Fourth Amendment) Rules 2024; Indian Medical Association v Union of India, W.P.(C) 645/2022, order of 11 Aug 2025
- Latest action
- 11 August 2025
- Last checked
- 10 October 2026
Photo: An Ayurvedic Pharmacy, Rishikesh (1).jpg by Ken Wieland from Philadelphia, USA (CC BY-SA 2.0). All photo credits.
Supreme Court vacates stay on AYUSH Ministry's notification that permitted advertisements of ayurvedic, unani, siddha drugs
Our team has checked this record against the published reports, last on 10 October 2026. The government order itself is not published online, or we have not found it yet, so we link the best public report. If you have the order, send it to us and we will link it instead.
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Key facts
- What Rule 170 did
- Required pre-approval of ASU advertisements by state authorities
- Omitted
- 1 Jul 2024, by the Drugs (Fourth Amendment) Rules
- Stay
- 27 Aug 2024: the Supreme Court stayed the omission
- Closed
- 11 Aug 2025: a bench of Justices Nagarathna and Viswanathan vacated the stay and disposed of the petition
Rule 170 of the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules required state authorities to approve advertisements for ayurvedic, siddha and unani (ASU) drugs before they ran. The Drugs (Fourth Amendment) Rules omitted it on 1 Jul 2024.
The Supreme Court, in Indian Medical Association v Union of India (W.P.(C) 645/2022), stayed the omission on 27 Aug 2024. On 11 Aug 2025 a bench of Justices Nagarathna and Viswanathan vacated the stay and disposed of the petition, leaving parties free to challenge the omission separately (LiveLaw).
Earlier, on 26 Mar 2025, Justices Oka and Bhuyan had directed states to appoint enforcement officers under the Drugs and Magic Remedies Act and set up grievance cells, with compliance due in June 2025.
What this means for you
Advertising law still applies
The Drugs and Magic Remedies Act 1954 and Rule 159(1) continue to apply to ASU advertisements. Rule 170 was an extra pre-approval step.
A rule, not a product action
This record concerns a rule. It is not an order against any brand.
This is a record of official orders, not medical advice. Do not stop a prescribed medicine without asking your doctor or pharmacist.
Common questions
Is Rule 170 in force now?
It was omitted on 1 Jul 2024. The Supreme Court vacated its stay on the omission on 11 Aug 2025, leaving parties free to challenge the omission separately.
Official sources and primary records
- Supreme Court vacates stay on AYUSH Ministry's notification that permitted advertisements of ayurvedic, unani, siddha drugsNewsLiveLaw · 11 August 2025
- News