New Delhi: A view of the Supreme Court (SC) of India, in New Delhi, Friday, July 12, 2024. SC on Friday granted interim bail to Kejriwal in a money laundering case linked to the alleged excise policy scam. (Photo: PTI)
The Supreme Court on Tuesday closed the contempt proceedings against Patanjali Ayurved co-founders Baba Ramdev and Acharya Balkrishna, and their company in the misleading advertisements case.
The court, however, warned that both of them must comply with all future orders and not repeat their past conduct.
A bench of Justices Hima Kohli and Ahsanuddin Amanullah, which had reserved orders on May 14, said that proceedings are being closed, accepting the apology tendered by the parties after they took steps to rectify their mistake. The court said it would reopen the proceedings if the parties do anything in the future in violation of the court orders, Justice Kohli said.
The court was hearing a petition filed by the Indian Medical Association (IMA) against Patanjali’s advertisements attacking allopathy and making claims about curing certain diseases.
On November 21, 2023, Patanjali Ayurved co-founders Baba Ramdev and Acharya Balkrishna had assured the court that they would not make any “casual statements claiming medicinal efficacy or against any system of medicine.”
But just a day later, on November 22, Ramdev held a press conference saying remedies for blood pressure were “lies spread by allopathy.”
And on December 4, the unlisted firm in which Balkrishna holds about a 94 per cent stake, issued a similar advertisement. It irked the apex court.
The court had on February 27 this year issued a contempt notice to Patanjali Ayurved, its managing director Acharya Balkrishna, and Baba Ramdev for flouting earlier orders and continuing to propagate false and misleading claims about curing diseases with the company’s products.
The court also temporarily restrained Patanjali Ayurved from advertising or branding its products which are meant to address the diseases/disorders specified in the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act 1954.
While the court had banned Patanjali advertisements with misleading claims, it came down heavily on the Central government, saying it was “sitting with eyes closed” as the entire country was “taken for a ride.”
Following this, on March 19, 2024, when the court was informed that the reply to the contempt notice was not filed, it went on to pass an order seeking the personal appearance of Acharya Balkrishna and the company’s co-founder Baba Ramdev.
The court also took exception to the explanation given in managing director Acharya Balkrishna’s affidavit that the media department of the company was not aware of the Supreme Court’s order.
First Published: Aug 13 2024 | 7:12 PM IST
