Patanjali’s apology in 67 newspapers questioned by Supreme Court: ‘Same size as ads?’
A hoarding with an image of Baba Ramdev is seen inside a Patanjali store in Ahmedabad
The Supreme Court, while hearing the misleading advertising against Patanjali Ayurved, asked Tuesday whether the apology the company issued in newspapers matched the scale of its full-page product advertisements. In court, Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi represented Patanjali founders Ramdev and Balkrishna, stating that they had submitted a new set of apologies.
The judges questioned why the apologies weren't made sooner and why they were filed on Monday. According to Rohatgi, the apology cost ₹10 lakh and was printed in 67 newspapers. "Has the apology been published prominently? Same font and size as your earlier advertisements?," Judge Hima Kohli enquired. In response to Rohatgi's claim that the company had spent lakhs, the court remarked, "We are not bothered."
The court received an appeal for a ₹1000 crore fine against the Indian Medical Association (IMA) for their action against Patanjali. "Is it a proxy plea? We suspect," the bench said. But Ramdev and Balkrishna's lawyer denied any hand in that.
After Ramdev said that hewillissue a more thorough apology in newspapers, the Supreme Court postponed the case for one week.
"Please cut out the ads and then supply it to us. Do not enlarge them and supplyitto us. We want to see the actual size. This is our direction... we want to see that when you issue an ad, it does not mean we have to see it by a microscope," said Justice Kohli.
Patanjali Ayurvedapologisedin national newspapers just hours before the Supreme Court hearing, stressing that they have the highest respect for the court and that they will not make the same mistakes again.
"We tender our heartfelt apology for the mistakes committed in publishing ads and holding press conferences despite the assurances by our counsel. We are committed not to repeat this mistake," the advertisement read.
This comes after a Supreme Court court slammed Patanjali founders Yoga guru Ramdev and his aide Balkrishna for the company's deceptive claims to be able to treat conditions including diabetes and hypertension. The court had dismissed Ramdev and Balkrishna's previous apologies, deeming them "not heartfelt" and "more of a lip service". At the last hearing on April 16, the two were ordered to come today and demonstrate their willingness to apologise.
(With inputs from agencies)
