Supreme Court refuses to accept Ramdev's apology in 'misleading' ads case

The Supreme Court on Wednesday said that it will not accept the apology of Yoga guru Baba Ramdev and Patanjali Ayurved managing director Acharya Balkrishna for notices asking them to show cause as to why contempt of court proceedings should not be started against them for violating the top court's directive.

This comes after the apex court ordered Patanjali Ayurved to stop promoting and marketing ayurvedic products, which it claimed to cure critical illnesses like heart issues and asthma. The SC ruling had come following a petition by the Indian Medical Association (IMA), which accused the company of claiming to completely cure sugar and asthma, among other illnesses with yoga.

In March, while hearing a case on alleged misleading advertisement claims by Patanjali Ayurved, a bench of justices Hima Kohli and Ahsanuddin Amanullah passed an order for the personal appearance of Ramdev in the case, saying he and his associate Acharya Balkrishna, who's Patanjali chairman, were prima facie violating the Sections 3 and 4 of the Drugs and magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954.

Justice Kohli on Wednesday said the apology is only on paper after “they were caught on wrong foot in court.” “We do not accept it, we decline to. We consider it a wilful, deliberate disobedience of the undertaking,” Justice Kohli said, as reported by legal news platform Bar and Bench.

On March 19, Patanjali Foods clarified Supreme Court’s directive to yoga guru Baba Ramdev to appear personally before the top court has no bearing on Patanjali Foods.

“We may clarify that this matter is related to the advertisements of ayurvedic products/medicines of Patanjali Ayurved Limited which have no bearing on Patanjali Foods Limited,” the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) company said in a stock exchange filing.

“Patanjali Foods Limited (PFL) is an independent listed entity and operates in the space of edible oil, food FMCG products, oil palm plantation and wind mill only. The directions and observations of Hon’ble Supreme Court of India do not have any bearing on the regular business operations or the financial performance of Patanjali Foods Limited,” the regulatory filing said.

The SC bench had said the company was taking the “country for a ride” by making misleading claims without “empirical evidence”. The top court had also pulled up the government for not keeping a check on such ads. It said Patanjali can't advertise any product that claims to cure ailments specified in the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act.

Patanjali Food clocked a profit of ₹216.54 crore in the quarter ended December as against ₹254.54 crore in the year-ago period. Profit margin fell to 2.74% in Q3 FY24 from 3.24% a year ago. The company's revenue from operations stood at ₹7,910.70 crore.