Patanjali co-founder Baba Ramdev and managing director Acharya Balkrishna published a new public apology in the newspaper on Wednesday, April 24, for not complying with the Supreme Court’s directives regarding misleading advertisements against Patanjali Ayurved.
Coming as their second apology in a bigger layout, it follows after the Supreme Court pointed out whether their printed apology in newspapers was as big as their misleading ads.
When questioned about the size of the ads on Tuesday, Patanjali’s lawyer Mukul Rohatgi told the bench that the ad had appeared in 67 newspapers and that it cost “tens of lakhs”.
Baba Ramdev and Balkrishna’s new “unconditional public apology” in newspapers on Wednesday states, “In wake of on ongoing matter before the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India, we in our capacity as well as on behalf of the Company, unconditionally apologize for the non-compliance or disobedience of directions/orders of the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India.”
The advertisement further reads, “We unconditionally extend the apology for holding meeting/press conference dated 22.11.2023. We earnestly apologize for the mistake made in publishing our advertisements and it is our whole- hearted commitment that such errors will not be repeated. We undertake to abide by directions and instructions of the Hon’ble Court with due care and utmost sincerity. We undertake to uphold the majesty of the court and comply with applicable laws and directions of the Hon’ble Court of law/relevant authorities.”
What is the reason behind the apology?
On November 21, the Supreme Court had asked Patanjali to immediately stop publishing misleading claims and advertisements against modern systems of medicine, warning of a hefty fine if it does not. Later, the IMA came back to the bench and showed a video clip which was of a press conference held by Ramdev on November 22 where he said that remedies for blood pressure were “lies spread by allopathy’’. Moreover, the medical body pointed out that Ramdev’s firm continued to circulate several false advertisements claiming to permanently cure aliments like hypertension and diabetes.
On February 27, the Supreme Court issued a contempt notice to Patanjali Ayurved and Balakrishna, for continuing to run the advertisements and banned the firm from running medical advertisements temporarily. The apex court also slammed the Union government for “sitting with its eyes shut” and not taking any action on the advertisements. During the subsequent hearings on March 19, April 2 and April 10, the bench had called Ramdev and Balkrishna in person, asking them to show cause why they should not be punished for contempt of court.
The case pertains to the Indian Medical Association’s (IMA’s) petition against Ramdev’s controversial statements about modern medicine, including India’s Covid-19 vaccination drive and alleged misleading advertisements about Patanjali Ayurved products.
Justice Hima Kohli had asked in response, “Does it cost the same tens of lakhs of rupees for the full-page advertisements you published? We are wondering.” The bench also reprimanded Patanjali’s lawyers for not producing a copy of the apology published by them.
Representing Ramdev and Balkrishna, Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi informed the SC bench that they had issued an unqualified apology for their “lapses” in 67 newspapers on Tuesday, April 23.
On April 16, the Supreme Court had granted Patanjali a week’s time to tender a public apology. The Court will hear the matter related to the apology published by Ramdev and Balkrishna on April 30.
