Supreme Court on Baba Ramdev: 'Yoga good but Patanjali products...'

When Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said that Ramdev has done good work for Yoga, the Supreme Court made an adverse remark.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday reserved its order in a contempt of court case linked to the misleading advertisements case against Patanjali Ayurved, Baba Ramdev and Acharya Balkrishna. A bench of Justices Hima Kohli and Ahsanuddin Amanullah, which had been making strongly worded observations against the firm and its promoters, exempted the duo from making personal appearances.

Yoga guru and brand ambassador of Patanjali Ayurved, Baba Ramdev. (ANI file photo)

However, the bench appeared to make another critical remark against the Haridwar-based FMCG firm. Reserving its order in the Patanjali case, the bench advised Baba Ramdev, a world-renowned Yoga teacher, to use his influence in the right way.

“The public is cognizant, if they have choices they make well informed choices... Baba Ramdev has a lot of influence, use it in the right way,” the court said, per ANI.

When Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said that Baba Ramdev has done good work for Yoga, the Supreme Court made an adverse remark.

"What has been done for yoga is good, but Patanjali products are another matter," Justice Kohil replied, per ANI.

Last year, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) moved the Supreme Court alleging that Baba Ramdev's Patanjali had launched a smear campaign against modern medicine. It said the firm had been claiming that Patanjali's products could cure diseases.

After critical remarks by the court, the company had given it an undertaking last year, saying it would steer clear of making such claims.

Earlier this year, the Supreme Court found the firm in violation of its undertaking. It later issued contempt notices to the firm, Ramdev and Balkrishna. After the trio failed to respond to the notices, the court ordered the duo to remain physically present.

After the Supreme Court took a tough stance, Baba Ramdev and Acharya Balkrishna recently published full-page apologies in newspapers twice. Earlier this month, the court expressed satisfaction at the apologies.

The bench today granted Patanjali three weeks to file affidavits indicating the steps taken to recall misleading ads for Patanjali products, for which licences have been suspended.

Patanjali's counsel told the bench that the company has asked all platforms to stop running the advertisements for banned products. They also said that the firm has stopped the sale of banned products.