Patanjali advertisements case: On April 23, the Supreme Court questioned Ramdev and Balkrishna about the magnitude and exposure of Patanjali’s apology for prior commercials.
On Wednesday, April 24, Yoga guru Ramdev and Balkrishna, the co-founders of Patanjali Ayurved Limited, issued a new public apology in newspapers. This move came after the Supreme Court, during a contempt case hearing, raised concerns about the adequacy and prominence of an earlier apology issued by the company regarding misleading advertisements.
“In light of the ongoing proceedings before the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India, we, both personally and on behalf of the Company, extend an unconditional apology for any failure to comply with or disobey the directives/orders of the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India,” reads the new “unconditional public apology” issued by Patanjali. -Patanjali advertisements case
“We hold a meeting/press conference on 22.11.2023 and extend the apology unconditionally. We sincerely apologize for the error in printing our advertisement and it is our wholehearted commitment that such an error will not be repeated. We undertake to follow the directions and instructions of the Honorable Court with the utmost due diligence and fidelity. We are committed to maintain the dignity of the court and abide by the rules and instructions issued by the Hon’ble Court/concerned authorities,” it added.
Previously, Ramdev and Balkrishna had submitted an “unconditional and unqualified apology” to the Supreme Court regarding advertisements released by the company, which made exaggerated claims about the medicinal effectiveness of its products.
Ramdev and his associate Balkrishna were queried by the Supreme Court on Tuesday regarding the visibility of their unqualified apology published in newspapers.
During the court proceedings, a bench comprising Justices Hima Kohli and Ahsanuddin Amanullah inquired, “Are these advertisements of the same size as the ones you usually publish in newspapers?” Supreme Court questioned
Senior counsel Mukul Rohatgi, who represented Ramdev and Balkrishna, told the bench that they had delivered an unequivocal apology for their “lapses” on Monday.
“Where was it printed?” inquired the bench.
Mukul Rohatgi mentioned that the apology had been printed in 67 newspapers nationwide.
“Was it displayed prominently?” the bench inquired further, directing the advocate to file the published apology for the record. They expressed their desire to examine the actual apology as it appeared in the newspapers.
“The said advertisements are not on record. The same has been submitted for compilation and will be forwarded on the day of which copies will be sent to the counsel of the parties. Counsel for the parties will be required to produce copies within two days, ” the bench said.
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It stated that the issue of Ramdev and Balkrishna’s apologies would be addressed on April 30.