Patanjali assured the court that it would issue another, more prominently displayed apology in the media within a week.
New Delhi The Supreme Court on Tuesday questioned yoga guru and entrepreneur Ramdev and Patanjali’s managing director Balkrishna on the size and visibility of an apology issued by Patanjali for previous misleading advertisements, even as it broadened its judicial scrutiny into deceptive advertisements to include “alleged unethical practices” among doctors practising modern medicine.
“Is the apology the same size as your advertisements? When you issue an apology, it does not mean that we have to see it by a microscope…It does not have to only be in papers but is meant to be read…somebody in the dock has to come clean,” a bench of justices Hima Kohli and Ahsanuddin Amanullah remarked, highlighting the possible discrepancy in the scale between Patanjali’s widespread misleading advertisements and their comparatively inconspicuous apology published in newspapers.
Seeking to wriggle out of the contempt charge for disobeying previous court orders, senior counsel Mukul Rohatgi and Balbir Singh, appearing for Ramdev and Balkrishna, assured the court that Patanjali would issue another, more prominently displayed apology in the media within a week.
Rohatgi also informed the bench that Patanjali has issued an apology in 67 publications, which, along with a fresh apology to be printed within a week, will be presented to the bench before the next hearing on April 30.
Responding, the bench said: “Cut the actual newspaper clippings and keep them handy. For you to photocopy by enlarging, it may not impress us. We want to see the actual size of the ad.”
The public apology issued by Patanjali in various publications between April 22 and 23 stated: “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.”