Supreme Court Accepts Apology; Closes Contempt Case Against Ramdev, Patanjali (Photo @yogrishiramdev)

The Supreme Court today closed a contempt case against Baba Ramdev and Patanjali Ayurved MD Acharya Balakrishna in a misleading advertisement case. The closure of the case came after Ramdev and Patanjali MD issued an unconditional public apology in April, admitting their mistake and vowing commitment not to repeat the error.

The top court today accepted the apology of Ramdev and Patanjali Ayurved MD Acharya Balakrishna, underscoring that Patanjali would desist from issuing misleading advertisements in future.

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The dispute was started when the Indian Medical Association filed a petition before the Supreme Court about an advertisement of Patanjali in August 2022 and filed a 1000 crore defamation under Section 499 of IPC (Indian Penal Code 1860) in May the same year. During the COVID-19, Patanjali claimed that its drug “Coronil” was enough to cure the pandemic while asserting that it was approved by the World Health Organization (WHO). The WHO later denied the approval claim.

Patanjali had also ran an ad named “Misconceptions Spread by Allopathy: Save Yourself and the Country from Misconceptions Spread through the Pharma and Medical Industry,” claiming that its medicines are scientifically proven to cure various diseases. It also depicted allopathic medicine as having severe side effects, paving the way for defamation.

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However, accepting the Patanjali owners’ apology, a bench of justices Hima Kohli and Sandeep Mehta closed the case while warning the firm that the contempt case would be reopened if any terms of their undertaking were violated in the future.

Ramdev and Balakrishna published several apologies on the front pages of several newspapers in the country.