Supreme Court accepts Patanjali’s undertakings to stop issuing misleading ads
The Supreme Court dismissed contempt proceedings against yoga guru Baba Ramdev and Acharya Balakrishna on Tuesday after they agreed to stop making deceptive ads and other claims about Patanjali Ayurvedic products.
But the highest court threatened to “come down heavily” if its directives were broken. On May 14, a panel of Justices Hima Kohli and Ahsanuddin Amanullah had postponed making a decision about the contempt notice.
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The action is based on a petition filed by the Indian Medical Association (IMA) alleging Patanjali engaged in a smear campaign against the Covid immunization initiative and modern medicine.
After being chastised by the Supreme Court in November 2023, Patanjali promised to stop running such commercials.
However, in February, the court found that the false ads had continued and issued contempt orders to the company and managing director Balkrishna. After Balkrishna and Baba Ramdev failed to respond to the contempt notice, the court ordered their personal appearance.
The duo went before the court and apologized unconditionally on April 16
On April 16, the duo went before the Supreme Court and apologized unconditionally for printing deceptive advertisements and making statements about allopathic medications.
The court also criticized Acharya Balakrishna for Patanjali’s apologies, citing issues with its wording and length in newspapers. Following the court’s indictment, Patanjali released a second apology and named co-founder Ramdev and Acharya Balkrishna in newspapers.
