SC Grants One-Week Time To Baba Ramdev, Balkrishna For Apology In Contempt Case

The Supreme Court has granted Yoga guru Ramdev and Patanjali Ayurved Ltd MD Balkrishna Acharya a week to rectify the alleged contempt they face over misleading advertisements. Their lawyers offered to issue a public apology, leading to the adjournment of the matter to April 23.

Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing Ramdev and Balkrishna, expressed their willingness to issue a public apology during the hearing before a bench of Justices Hima Kohli and Ahsanuddin Amanullah.

The bench, aiming for a better rapport with the defendants, asked Ramdev and Balkrishna, present in court, to interact directly with them.

Ramdev and Balkrishna have already submitted an "unconditional and unqualified apology" to the court for the advertisements that made exaggerated claims about the effectiveness of their products.

In their affidavits, they apologized for breaching the court's statement in its November 21, 2023 order, where counsel for Patanjali Ayurved had assured the court that there would be no further violations of advertising laws and no misleading statements about medicinal efficacy.

The court, noting the non-observance of the assurance and subsequent media statements, issued a notice to explain why contempt proceedings should not be initiated.

On April 10, the Supreme Court rejected the "unconditional apology" from Baba Ramdev and Acharya Balkrishna, stating that their actions were "wilful, deliberate, and repeated violations" of the court's orders.

During the April 10 hearing, Justices Kohli and Amanullah criticized Patanjali Ayurved for not taking contempt of court proceedings seriously, expressing dissatisfaction with the company's affidavit.

The court also condemned the Uttarakhand government for granting a license for Patanjali products, questioning the authority's decision, and stating, "Do you have the guts to do what you are doing? You are acting as a post office."

"We strongly object to the use of the word 'bonafide' for officers. We are not going to take this lightly. We will scrutinize this thoroughly," Justice Amanullah remarked.