'Is your apology same size as misleading ads?' SC asks Patanjali founders

Ramdev says he would publish a bigger apology in newspapers; court adjourns matter for a week

The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked Patanjali Ayurved whether its apology in newspapers this morning matched the scale of its full-page product campaign.

Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, who represented Patanjali founders Ramdev and Balkrishna, said the company has submitted a new apology to the court for misleading ads, according to a report in NDTV. The Supreme Court adjourned the matter for a week after Ramdev said he would publish a bigger apology in newspapers.

The court inquired why the apology was submitted on Monday, suggesting that they ought to have been presented earlier. Rohatgi said the apology was published in 67 newspapers at a cost of Rs 10 lakh.

Justice Hima Kohli asked, "Has the apology been published prominently? Same font and size as your earlier advertisements?" Rohatgi said that the company has spent lakhs on the advertisement. However, the court replied, "We are not bothered."

In the ad published in a national Hindi daily on Monday, Patanjali said it has utmost respect for the Supreme Court's statue. "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 ad read.

The NDTV report said the court observed that it had received an application requesting a fine of Rs 1,000 crore against the Indian Medical Association (IMA) in relation to its case against Patanjali. "Is it a proxy plea? We suspect," said the court, as Rohatgi said that his clients have nothing to do with it.

This follows a reprimand by a Supreme Court Bench directed towards Patanjali founders, Ramdev and his associate Balkrishna, regarding the company's misleading claims regarding the treatment of ailments such as diabetes and high blood pressure.

Previously, the court dismissed apologies from Ramdev and Balkrishna, deeming them insincere and superficial.

During the last hearing on April 16, the duo was instructed to attend today's session and demonstrate their intent to apologise.

The issue dates back to the Covid-19 period, when Patanjali introduced a drug called "Coronil" in 2021, which Ramdev claimed as the "first evidence-based medicine for Covid-19". Patanjali further asserted that "Coronil" was certified by the World Health Organisation (WHO), a claim refuted by the Indian Medical Association (IMA) as a "blatant lie".

In August 2022, the IMA moved a petition against Patanjali after it published an advertisement in newspapers titled, "Misconceptions spread by allopathy: Save yourself and the country from the misconceptions spread by pharma and medical industry". The ad claimed that Patanjali drugs had cured people of diabetes, high blood pressure, thyroid, liver cirrhosis, arthritis and asthma.

The doctors' body said the "continuous, systematic, and unabated spread of misinformation" comes alongside Patanjali's efforts to make false claims about curing certain diseases through use of Patanjali products.