- Monday, March 03, 2025
The court refused to accept the ‘unconditional and unqualified apology’ of yoga guru Ramdev and Balkrishna, managing director of Patanjali Ayurved.
By: indiaweekly.biz Staff
THE Indian Supreme Court on Wednesday (10) unravelled its fury on yoga guru Ramdev and Balkrishna, managing director of Patanjali Ayurved, a multinational conglomerate, refusing to accept their “unconditional and unqualified apology” in the form of affidavits over publishing “misleading” advertisements, saying they did so when “caught on the wrong foot”.
The court also lashed out at the licensing authority in the northern state of Uttarakhand where Patanjali is headquartered over its alleged inaction on the issue and said it will not take the matter lightly. In an unusually stern reprimand, the bench of Justice Hima Kohli and Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah said, “We will rip you apart.”
The court expressed dissatisfaction saying Ramdev and Balkrishna “attempted to wriggle out” of the situation after show-cause notices were issued to them and the duo were asked to present themselves in person. It called it “most unacceptable”.
“Having regard to the entire history of the matter and the past conduct of the contemnors…, we have expressed our reservations about accepting the latest affidavit filed by them,” the bench said while dictating the order in the courtroom.
The court also fixed the matter for resumed hearing on April 16.
They severely condoned the move saying that the Patanjali stakeholders once again issued unconvincing apologies on paper even though the court commanded their physical presence on April 10 and their legal counsel had bowed down to the ruling.
Read: India top court pulls up yoga guru Baba Ramdev over misleading ads
Declining to accept apologies tendered by Ramdev and Balkrishna, the bench said, “We don’t want to be so generous in this case. The apologies that are on record are on paper. We think that having been caught on the wrong foot and noticing that their back is actually against the wall and having gone to town saying all kinds of things on the very next day of the order passed where your counsel had given undertaking, we don’t accept this affidavit.
“We decline to accept or condone it. We consider it a wilful and deliberate violation of the order and the breach of the undertaking…,” the bench told senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, who appeared for the duo.
Addressing the licensing authority, the apex court said it was appalled to note that except for pushing the files, the latter did nothing and said it was in “deep slumber” over the issue for four to five years.
It sought an explanation from the state’s official present on behalf of the authority.
Read: Indian court bars Patanjali from publishing medicinal ads
Ramdev and Balkrishna had tendered an “unconditional and unqualified apology” before the apex court over advertisements issued by the firm making tall claims about the medicinal efficacy of its products.
In two separate affidavits filed in the court, they tendered unqualified apologies for the “breach of the statement” recorded in the November 21 last year order of the apex court.
In the November order, the top court had noted 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 said Patanjali Ayurved Ltd is “bound down to such assurance”.
Non-adherence to the specific assurance and subsequent media statements by the firm had angered the apex court, which later issued notice to them to show-cause as to why contempt proceedings be not initiated against them.
The apex court is hearing a plea filed by the Indian Medical Association alleging a smear campaign against the COVID-19 vaccination drive and modern systems of medicine.
It had also questioned the federal government’s alleged inaction over Patanjali’s claims about the efficacy of its products and for denigrating allopathy during the COVID peak and asked why the government chose to keep its “eyes shut”.
(With PTI inputs)
