Ramdev Releases Second Apology After SC ‘Sizes’ Him Up; Is It As Big As Patanjali’s Misleading Ad?

New Delhi: A day after the Supreme Court, while hearing a contempt case, asked them whether the size of the apology was of the same size as its advertisements or not, Patanjali Ayurveda co-founders Yoga guru Ramdev and Balkrishna issued a new public apology in newspapers on Wednesday (today).

The ad published this morning covers one-fourth of a newspaper page and is titled “Unconditional Public Apology”. “In wake of ongoing matter before the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India (Writ Petition C. No. 645/2022), 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 Hon’ble Supreme Court of India,” it read.

Patanjali Ayurveda had issued an apology on Tuesday while stating that they would not commit any such mistake in the future. “We unconditionally extend the apology for holding meeting/press conference dated 22.11.2023. We earnestly apologize 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 Hon’ble 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 Hon’ble Court of law/relevant authorities. Sincerely, Patanjali Ayurved Limited, Acharya Balkrishna, Swami Ramdev, Haridwar, Uttarakhand,” the note added.

The ad published yesterday was smaller and did not specifically mention the names of Ramdev and Balkrishna.

Hearing the misleading advertisements case against Patanjali Ayurveda, Baba Ramdev and Acharya Balkrishna on Tuesday, the top court also noted that the ‘Union Government must wake up to this’ and take strong action on the matter. Justice Kohli, while hearing the case, said, “I want to see the actual size of the ad.” The judge further asked if the size of the apology was the same size as its advertisements or not.

“Now we are looking at everything… we are looking at children, babies, women, and no one can be taken for a ride and the Union government must wake up to this,” the bench said on Tuesday.

Notably, on February 27 this year, the court issued a contempt notice to Ramdev and Balkrishna for engaging in distributing misleading health cure advertisements and barring Patanjali from promoting products with unsubstantiated claims of curing diseases like heart conditions and asthma.