The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted yoga guru Ramdev, his aide Balkrishna, and Patanjali Ayurved one week’s time to issue a public apology in the misleading advertisements case. However, the Court emphasized that it was not letting them “off the hook” at this time.
Both Ramdev and Balkrishna were in attendance during the hearing and personally tendered an unqualified apology to the top court.
The Bench
A bench comprising Justices Hima Kohli and Ahsanuddin Amanullah acknowledged their apologies but clarified that, at this juncture, it has not opted to “let them off the hook.”
“You are doing good work but you can’t degrade allopathy,” the bench told Balkrishna.
Ramdev, who also engaged with the bench, stated that he had no intention of showing disrespect to the court in any manner. However, the bench informed Balkrishna that Patanjali was not so innocent as to be unaware of the top court’s earlier orders in the case.
“I am willing to offer a public apology,” senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing Ramdev and Balkrishna, informed the bench initially.
The apex court summoned Ramdev and Balkrishna, both present in the courtroom, for an interaction with the bench.
“They should feel they have a connection with the court,” the bench emphasized.
The apex court has now scheduled the matter for further hearing on April 23, 2024.
Previous Hearing
Last week, Ramdev and Balkrishna tendered an “unconditional and unqualified apology” before the top court regarding advertisements issued by the firm making exaggerated claims about the medicinal efficacy of its products.
In two separate affidavits filed in the court, Ramdev and Balkrishna offered an unqualified apology for the “breach of the statement” recorded in the apex court’s order dated November 21 of last year.
In the November 21, 2023 order, the top court had observed that counsel representing Patanjali Ayurved had assured it that “henceforth there shall not be any violation of any law(s), especially relating to advertising or branding of products manufactured and marketed by it and, further, that no casual statements claiming medicinal efficacy or against any system of medicine will be released to the media in any form”.
The top court had stated that Patanjali Ayurved Ltd is “bound down to such assurance”. The apex court was displeased with the non-observance of the specific assurance and the subsequent media statements, leading it to issue a notice to them to explain why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against them.
