Ramdev and Balkrishna on Tuesday tendered “unconditional and unqualified apology” before the Supreme Court over advertisements issued by the firm making tall claims about the medicinal efficacy of its products
The apex court is hearing a plea filed by the Indian Medical Association (IMA) alleging a smear campaign against the vaccination drive and modern medicines. On March 19, the court had directed Ramdev and Balkrishna to appear before it after taking exception to the company’s failure to respond to the notice issued in the case relating to advertisements of the firm’s products and their medicinal efficacy.
AMN WEB DESK
The Supreme Court of India on Wednesday rejected apologies filed by Patanjali founders Ramdev and Balkrishna for the company’s misleading ads and said “we are not blind” asking why it should not treat the apology with the “same disdain as shown to the court undertaking?”
“The apology is on paper. Their back is against the wall…We decline to accept your affidavit. We consider what you have done to be wilful, deliberate, repeated violation of our orders,” a bench of Justices Hima Kohli and Ahsanuddin Amanullah said.
The bench also noted that it is not satisfied with the Centre’s reply in the matter.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said that he had advised them to apologise unconditionally, and he had received the same. “We are not satisfied with the apology,” the bench comprising Justices Hima Kohli and Ahsanuddin Amanullah said.
Justice Kohli rebuked Ramdev and Balkrishna and asked how the affidavits they filed were with the media before they were with the court. Justice Kohli also asked them to not take the contempt proceedings too lightly.
Ramdev and Balkrishna tendered unconditional apologies in two separate affidavits filed in the Supreme Court for the “breach of the statement” recorded in the November 21 last year order.
In the 2021 order the apex court had noted that the counsel representing Patanjali Ayurved assured that there would be no violation of any laws “especially relating to advertising or branding of products manufactured and marketed by it”, and there would be no casual statements claiming medicinal efficacy released to the media.