Willful noncompliance The Supreme Court rejects Baba Ramdev’s apologies and criticizes Acharya Balkrishna
In the issue of misleading marketing, Baba Ramdev and Patanjali Ayurved MD Acharya Balkrishna submitted an unequivocal apology, but the Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected it. The court stated in strongly worded notes that the reason they issued the printed apologies was primarily because they were facing an impending deadline. The court instructed Patanjali Ayurveda and its representative to be prepared for action in the contempt case, citing the former’s alleged publication of deceptive advertisements despite their promise to stop doing so. “There’s a written apology. They have the wall to their back. Judge Hima Kohli stated, “We refuse to accept this, we consider it a deliberate violation of the undertaking.” The behaviour of Baba Ramdev and Acharya Balkrishna was characterised by the court as deliberate disobedience.
We refuse to acknowledge this; we reject it . We view it as willful and intentional disregard for the undertaking,” the court continued. The message needs to reach society, the Supreme Court remarked, following the reading of Baba Ramdev’s affidavit in which he expressed his “unconditional and unqualified” remorse by senior lawyer Mukul Rohatgi. The “contemnors” sent the affidavits to the media first, the court further noted. The judge noted, They clearly believe in publicity.” As he prepared to face contempt charges on Tuesday, Baba Ramdev expressed his deep regret for the oversight and his desire to guarantee that it would not happen again. I humbly beg your pardon for the statement breach made earlier. I promise to defend the grandeur of the law and grandeur at all times.
Additionally, he stated that no ads promising medical cures will be printed. In addition, Baba Ramdev extended an unequivocal apologies for the press conference he had on November 22, 2023. Acharya Balkrishna declared that he would be more watchful going forward and that he would make sure that such offensive ads are never published again. A bench of justices Hima Kohli and Ahsanuddin Amanullah requested during the previous hearing that the two submit new affidavits and appear in person before the court within a week.
The company was facing contempt proceedings against Baba Ramdev and Acharya Balkrishna for deceptive ads. The court had issued a show cause notice to the company last month, and it was then asking them to appear before it. Additionally, the court noted that they appeared to have broken the November 2023 ruling of the highest court.
