NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday cautioned yoga guru Ramdev and aide Acharya Balkrishna against disparaging allopathy, allowing them to issue a public apology within a week in the contempt case related to misleading advertisements by Patanjali Ayurved.
The duo pleaded with the court to allow them to redeem themselves by unilaterally taking some steps, including giving a public apology in the media for their conduct.
A two-judge bench of the top court, led by Justice Hima Kohli and also comprising Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah, however, made it clear that they had not decided yet as to whether the alleged perpetrators (Ramdev and Balkrishna) would be given forgiveness for it or not.
"We will see it later; we will hear it next on April 23," Justice Kohli, for the bench, said.
The top court also directed both Ramdev and Balkrishna to appear before it on the next date of hearing and allowed them to take the necessary steps as contended by them to "redeem" themselves.
The apex court said that the duo are not off the hook yet and will think about accepting their apologies. "This is irresponsible behaviour. The previous history of yours is damaging. We will think over it, whether to accept your apology or not," Justice Kohli said.
"You are doing good work but you can't degrade allopathy," the bench told Balkrishna while interacting with him.
The bench told Ramdev that he was "not so innocent" and criticised him for his "irresponsible behaviour."
The apex court said:
"We are not saying we will forgive you. We cannot be blind to your earlier history; we will think about your apology. You are not so innocent that you were completely unaware of what was going on in court. At this moment, we are not saying they are off the hook."
Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Patanjali, told the top court that they are "ready to give a public apology to show contrition."
Rohatgi stated that to prove their sincerity and make amends, Ramdev and Balakrishna will voluntarily take certain steps of their own accord.
Meanwhile, Ramdev, while being directed to speak in the matter, told the court with his folded hands that he would never "disrespect the court's orders." The yoga guru also mentioned that, influenced by the treatment and its outcomes, he had committed these errors and assured that they would not recur in the future.
Before the hearing started, Ramdev and Patanjali Ayurved's Managing Director, Balkrishna, arrived at the Supreme Court at around 10am to attend the hearing relating to misleading advertisements by Patanjali Ayurved after complying with the SC's last order.
During the course of the hearing today, the judges wanted to know their view on the isse and asked them why they did so after acknowledging the fact that they have a large number of followers and that Ramdev also popularised yoga around the globe.
Notably, the top court has rejected repeated apologies from Patanjali.
It had twice rejected the second affidavit of apology filed by Patanjali Ayurved in the contempt case over the publication of misleading medical advertisements, allegedly violating the undertaking given to the Court for not publishing such advertisements.
"You need to respect the rule of law. The law is equal for everyone," the bench observed and asked Ramdev to follow it.
The SC also, in its last hearing, slammed the Uttrakhand government for not taking enough action against Patanjali Ayurved for violation of the law.
"You kept twiddling your thumb when the law was being violated with impunity. The concerned officers must be taken into task," SC said while slamming the Uttarakhand government.
Patanjali Ayurved and Ramdev had assured the top court that it would not violate any law in the future, especially those related to the advertising or branding of products manufactured and marketed by it.
The top court was hearing the petition filed by the Indian Medical Association (IMA), alleging that this was completely wrong, improper and misinformation on the part of Patanjali Ayurveda's advertisements, which claimed to cure certain diseases, including high blood pressure, diabetes and asthma. "It is completely wrong to advertise on such kinds of diseases and to cure such diseases," the IMA said.
The apex court, in its earlier order, restrained a temporary ban—including print and TV—on Patanjali medicine advertisements.
Relying on the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act 1954, the apex court, in its order, restrained Patanjali Ayurved from advertising its products relating to diseases or disorders.
