Lip service, broke every barrier: Ramdev gets lashing from Supreme Court [2.4.2024]

The Supreme Court on Tuesday told yoga guru Ramdev he had “broken every barrier” by violating its directives on misleading advertisements for Patanjali Ayurved's medicinal products and his apology was just “lip” service.

Ramdev and Patanjali Ayurved managing director Acharya Balkrishna were in court to face contempt proceedings. "We are tendering an unconditional apology. He [Ramdev] is here personally present to apologise," Patanjali’s lawyer told the court.

However, the court dismissed it as mere "lip service" and asserted that Patanjali "owes an apology to the entire nation" for its misleading claims. "You have broken every barrier... Now you say that you are sorry," said the court.

The court also pulled up the government, saying had it turned a blind eye when Patanjali was publicly claiming that allopathy had no remedies for Covid-19. It granted a "last opportunity" to Ramdev and Balkrishna, asking them to file fresh affidavits within a week.

The court also warned them of perjury charges while noting that the documents submitted with the affidavit by Patanjali were created later. "This is a clear case of perjury. We are not closing the doors on you, but we are telling you all that we have noted," the court added.


02 Apr 2024