NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday closed contempt proceedings initiated against Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev and Patanjali MD Acharya Balkrishna upon accepting their apologies for breach of undertaking on advertising their products.
A bench led by Justice Hima Kohli said both of the contemnors published their apologies for their acts and thereby mended their ways.
A petition was filed by the IMA in 2022 alleging a smear campaign by Patanjali and Ramdev against the Covid vaccination drive and modern systems of medicine.
On February 27, the Supreme Court had issued show cause notice to Baba Ramdev and Balkrishna and slammed the Centre for its inaction against Patanjali's "misleading and false" advertisements claiming cure for various diseases and restrained the company run by Baba Ramdev from making such announcements from now.
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The court had said the entire country is being taken for a ride, while issuing a show cause contempt notice to the company and its MD Acharya Balkrishna.
On March 19, the court had directed Ramdev and Balkrishna to be personally present for failing to file a reply to show cause notice in contempt proceedings against them.
On April 2, the court had rejected their apologies, saying it is "perfunctory and mere a lip service" and there was "absolute defiance and belligerence" by them.
On April 10, the court had once again declined to accept the apologies tendered by them for their wilful, and deliberate disobedience of undertaking in relation to misleading advertisements claiming cures for various diseases.
On April 16, the court had granted them more time "to take steps to redeem themselves and show their bona fide" in the case.
Subsequently, they published apologies in all leading national dailies, prompting the court to accept it.
