The Supreme Court on Tuesday, April 23, asked Yoga guru Baba Ramdev and his aide Acharya Balkrishna if the apology they issued in newspapers today was similar to their full-page advertisements for their products.
A bench comprising Justices Hima Kohli and Ahsanuddin Amanullah was considering the contempt case against Patanjali Ayurvedi, its Managing Director (MD) Balkrishna and co-founder Baba Ramdev for publishing misleading medical advertisements in violation of an undertaking given to the Supreme Court in November 2023.
The bench asked why the apologies were filed yesterday and that it should have been done earlier. Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Patanjali founders Ramdev and Balkrishna, said they have filed a fresh set of apologies before the court.
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Rohatgi further stated that the apology was published in 67 newspapers at a cost of R 10 lakh. "Has the apology been published prominently? In the same font and size as your earlier advertisements?" Justice Hima Kohli asked. When Mr Rohatgi said the company had spent lakhs, the court replied, "We are not bothered."
Yesterday, Patanjali Ayurved published advertisements in certain newspapers expressing an apology for the "mistake of publishing advertisements and holding a press conference even after our advocates made a statement in the apex court". Patanjali's lawyer, Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, informed the bench about the advertisements.
While adjourning the hearing till April 30, the bench asked Patanjali's lawyers to bring on record the copy of the apology advertisements. The bench reprimanded Patanjali's lawyers for not producing the apology advertisement.
"Cut the actual newspaper clippings and keep them handy. For you to photocopy by enlarging, it may not impress us. We want to see the actual size of the ad. When you issue an apology, it does not mean that we have to see it by a microscope.," Justice Kohli said.