Day after being rapped by the Supreme Court, Yoga guru Ramdev and Patanjali Ayurved Limited’s Balkrishna seem to have complied with the apex court’s order to publish a much bigger apology in newspapers over the case of the misleading ads.
On Wednesday, newspapers of various publications carried a bigger public apology than the previous days after the top court asked the company if their sorry post was as big as their misleading advertisements.
What did the apology say?
Titled “Unconditional Public Apology”, Patanjali’s statement covered almost one-fourth of newspapers.
“In wake of an on going matter before the Honourable Supreme Court of India, we in our individual capacity as well as on behalf of the company, unconditionally apologise for the non-compliance or disobedience of directions/orders of the Honourable Supreme Court of India,” the apology read.
It added, “We unconditionally extend the apology for holding meeting/press conference dated 22.11.2023. We earnestly apologise for the mistake made in publishing our advertisements and it is our whole-hearted commitment that such errors will not be repeated. We undertake to abide by directions and instructions of the Supreme Court with due care and utmost sincerity. We undertake to uphold the majesty of the court and comply with applicable laws and directions of the court of law/relevant authorities.”
The letter was signed by Balkrishna and Ramdev.
How big was the apology last time?
Patanjali issued a similar apology day before yesterday but the size of the letter was much smaller than the one published on Wednesday.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsScamdev senior and Scamdev junior, owners of pride of India, Patanjali Ayurveda, has issued what "they" consider a public apology for decades of anti-science promotions and defrauding Indian public through misleading advertisements of their absolutely worthless Ayurvedic herbal… pic.twitter.com/mmjZ3F7xya
— TheLiverDoc™ (@theliverdr) April 22, 2024
Why didn’t Patanjali issue a bigger apology before?
During a Supreme Court hearing on Tuesday, Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Ramdev informed the apex court that Patanjali has now published public apologies in 67 newspapers over its conduct which reportedly cost “tens of lakhs”.
Replying to Rohatgi, Justice Hima Kohli asked, “Is the apology of the same size as your earlier advertisements?”
The court also noted that the apology was only issued on April 22.
A bench comprising of Justice Kohli and Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah was hearing the contempt case against Patanjali Ayurveda for publishing misleading medical advertisements in violation of an undertaking given to the Supreme Court in November last year.