In a blow to yoga guru Ramdev and managing director of Patanjali Ayurved Balkrishna, the Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday refused to accept their affidavits tendering unconditional apologies over publishing “misleading” advertisements. The court said it was “not blind” and the apologies came only when it was “caught on the wrong foot”. The matter will be next heard on April 16.
The court also came down hard on the State Licensing Authority for its inaction on the issue and said it is not going to take it lightly. “We will rip you apart. Do you have the guts to do what you are doing? You are acting as a post office,” the bench said in an unusually stern reprimand.”
The court also criticised the Uttarakhand government for its failure to take action against Patanjali Ayurved for violating the law.
Here’s all you need to know about the case.
WHO FILED IT?
The Indian Medical Association (IMA) had filed a petition in the Supreme Court in August 2022 after Patanjali published an advertisement titled ‘Misconceptions Spread By Allopathy: Save Yourself And The Country From The Misconceptions Spread By Pharma And Medical Industry’ (see below).
The petition mentioned the instances where Ramdev called allopathy a “stupid and bankrupt science”, and made claims about allopathic medicine being responsible for Covid-19 deaths. The IMA also accused Patanjali of contributing to vaccine hesitancy during the pandemic. The IMA stated the “continuous, systematic, and unabated spread of misinformation” comes alongside Patanjali’s efforts to make false and unfounded claims about curing certain diseases through the use of Patanjali products.