Baba Ramdev apologises to Supreme Court in misleading ads case

New Delhi: Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev on Tuesday issued an unconditional apology to the Supreme Court for not complying with its order in the misleading advertisements case.

Baba Ramdev and Patanjali Ayurved's managing director Acharya Balkrishna appeared before the Supreme Court today, days after it issued show cause notices asking why contempt proceedings shouldn't be initiated against them.

On March 19, the apex court 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.

The top court had said it deemed it appropriate to issue a show cause notice to Ramdev as the advertisements issued by Patanjali, which were in the teeth of the undertaking given to the court on November 21, 2023, reflect an endorsement by him.

The court had severely criticised the company for not complying with its undertaking that it would not publish advertisements of products claiming cure for diseases.

"Requesting the court to note my presence and unconditional apology," Ramdev's counsel said.

The Supreme Court asked Baba Ramdev to abide by his company's undertaking given to the court. "You have broken every barrier," the court observed.

"This is absolute defiance. Not just SC, every order passed by courts across the country has to be respected," the court added.

Patanjali Ayurved Ltd. had assured the top court on November 21, 2023 that it would not violate any law, especially the laws relating to advertising or branding of products manufactured and marketed by it.

The firm had also assured the bench headed by Justice Hima Kohli 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 is hearing a plea of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) alleging a smear campaign by Ramdev against the Covid vaccination drive and modern system of medicine.