Patanjali Ads Case: Supreme Court Refuses IMA Chief’s Apology, Issues Strong Rebuke

Patanjali Ads Case: Supreme Court Refuses IMA Chief’s Apology, Issues Strong Rebuke

On Tuesday, May 14, the Supreme Court postponed deciding the contempt notice sent to Patanjali Ayurved Ltd., yoga teacher Ramdev, and his assistant Balkrishna in the matter of deceptive ads. It also conveyed discontent with the apologies that Dr. RV Asokan, the president of the Indian Medical Association, had to provide for his comments in a media interview on certain of the court’s findings. The personal attendance of Ramdev and Balkrishna was also dispensed with by a panel of judges, Hima Kohli and Ahsanuddin Amanullah. As per its previous directive, Ramdev and Balkrishna were present before the Supreme Court. In addition, the bench gave Patanjali three weeks to submit affidavits detailing the actions taken to retract deceptive advertisements for Patanjali goods, for which licenses have been revoked.

“The public is aware, and when given options, they make well-informed decisions… After delaying orders in the contempt case, the bench declared, “Baba Ramdev has a lot of influence; use it in the right way.” Solicitor General Tushar Mehta stated that Ramdev has done a lot for yoga, to which Justice Kohli retorted, “What has been done for yoga is good, but Patanjali products are another matter.” “The public is aware, and when given options, they make well-informed decisions… After delaying orders in the contempt case, the bench declared, “Baba Ramdev has a lot of influence; use it in the right way.” Solicitor General Tushar Mehta stated that Ramdev has done a lot for yoga, to which Justice Kohli retorted, “What has been done for yoga is good, but Patanjali products are another matter.”

Supreme Court on IMA Chief

The IMA filed a complaint with the Supreme Court challenging what it claimed to be a smear campaign against modern medicine and the COVID-19 immunization effort by Patanjali Ayurved Ltd. and its founders. The top court said that it was not persuaded by the affidavit that IMA president Dr. RV Asokan submitted offering unqualified apologies, and it pulled Asokan for speaking to the media about the Supreme Court’s rulings in the case. It is precisely what Patanjali did that you do. You realize the repercussions of such actions, don’t you? You are not a layperson. When Asokan arrived at the court, the bench said, “You can’t sit on your couch lamenting the court’s order.”

“Freedom of expression is something we have always respected first. Nonetheless, self-control is called for at certain moments. You have to exercise self-control as IMA President. It’s the main idea. Your interviews didn’t show that,” the bench remarked. “Dr. Asokan, you are also a citizen of this country,” it said. Given the volume of criticism judges get, why do they not respond? We are generous people who don’t have a lot of ego. Although we have the right to act, we don’t do so very often. We seldom do that. We use caution while using our discretion. However, that does not imply you should make outrageous remarks like this.”

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Asokan stated in an interview that it was regrettable that the Supreme Court had criticized the practices of private physicians and the IMA. In an application against the IMA president, Patanjali requested that the judge take judicial notice of Asokan’s “wanton and unwarranted comments.” The words made by Asokan were deemed “very, very unacceptable” by the highest court during its hearing on the subject on May 7.