New Delhi: Yoga guru Baba Ramdev on Tuesday issued an unconditional apology to the Supreme Court for not complying with its order in the misleading advertisements case.
The Supreme Court later allowed one more opportunity to Baba Ramdev to file his response to the alleged contempt proceedings. It also termed his unconditional apology in person to be “lip service”.
The Court will now hear the matter on April 10.
Baba Ramdev and Patanjali Ayurved's managing director Acharya Balkrishna appeared before the Supreme Court today, days after it issued show cause notices to them, asking why contempt proceedings shouldn't be initiated.
"Requesting the court to note my presence and unconditional apology," Ramdev's counsel said.
The Supreme Court today asked Baba Ramdev to abide by his company's undertaking given to the court. "You have broken every barrier," the court observed.
"This is absolute defiance. Not just the Supreme Court, every order passed by courts across the country has to be respected," the court added.
Patanjali Ayurved Ltd. had assured the top court on November 21, 2023 that it would not violate any law, especially the laws relating to advertising or branding of products manufactured and marketed by it.
Also read: Appear in person in contempt case, SC directs Ramdev
{{/usCountry}}Also read: Appear in person in contempt case, SC directs Ramdev
{{/usCountry}}The firm had also assured the bench headed by Justice Hima Kohli that “no casual statements claiming medicinal efficacy or against any system of medicine will be released to the media in any form."
However, the Supreme Court found the company in violation of its order.
On March 19, the apex court directed Ramdev and Balkrishna to appear before it after taking exception to the company's failure to respond to the notice issued in the case.
The top court is hearing a plea of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) alleging a smear campaign by Ramdev against the Covid vaccination drive and modern system of medicine.
With inputs from PTI