SC rejects Baba Ramdev's apology in Patanjali misleading ads case

The Supreme Court declined to accept an apology from Baba Ramdev and Patanjali Ayurved Managing Director Acharya Balkrishna regarding misleading advertisements. They tendered the apology after being issued show-cause notices for allegedly flouting court directives. Now, the apex court has instructed them to submit fresh responses.

In their 'unconditional apology,' Baba Ramdev and Acharya Balkrishna claimed that their media department was unaware of the court’s directives. However, the Supreme Court dismissed this, stating it was a mere lip service. Justice Kohli remarked that the company's actions were a blatant violation of court orders.

The Supreme Court bench, comprising Justices Hima Kohli and Ahsanuddin Amanullah, admonished senior advocate Balbir Singh, representing Ramdev, for disregarding the court's instructions. The bench emphasized the importance of respecting court orders and expressed dissatisfaction with the apology.

Patanjali Ayurved was directed to submit two affidavits regarding separate instances of contempt. One affidavit was to address the company's persistence in airing deceptive advertisements despite previous court commitments. The other was related to its failure to respond to the contempt notice served to Balakrishna and the company.

The next hearing is scheduled for April 10.

In November 2023, the Supreme Court issued a notice to Patanjali Ayurved following a plea by the IMA, instructing it to refrain from releasing misleading advertisements or making disparaging remarks about allopathy. The IMA accused Patanjali of defaming evidence-based medicine and sought court intervention to curb negative advertisements against the vaccination drive and modern medicines.

Patanjali faced further scrutiny on February 27 when the Supreme Court issued a contempt notice to the company and Acharya Balakrishna for violating previous court orders.