Baba Ramdev's apology is not heartfelt; Supreme Court rejects affidavit

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected the affidavit submitted by Patanjali brand ambassador Baba Ramdev seeking an apology in the case related to misleading advertisements by Patanjali. Baba Ramdev appeared in the Supreme Court today along with Patanjali managing director Acharya Balkrishna in the contempt proceedings related to the misleading advertisements case. Although both of them submitted affidavits apologising unconditionally, the apex court said that it will not accept the affidavits.

The case was considered by the bench comprising Justices Hima Kohli and Ahsanuddin Amanullah. The court had earlier directed both Ramdev and Balkrishna to appear in person in the court. The court refused to accept the affidavits after observing that the apology was not heartfelt. Meanwhile, Ramdev's lawyer said that Ramdev was ready to apologise in person. However, the court responded it was not ready to teach lessons to Baba Ramdev.

Both Balkrishna and Ramdev submitted affidavits in the contempt of court case for violating the assurance of not repeating the misleading ads. In his affidavit, Balkrishna stated that he has huge respect towards the rule of law and that the company will ensure that it will not give such advertisements in the future. He said that the company is creating awareness that people suffering from lifestyle diseases can regain their health by consuming the products manufactured by Patanjali with the help of Ayurveda.

The court will consider the case again on April 10. It also directed Ramdev and Balkrishna to appear in person in the court that day.