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.