NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev to be personally present before it for failing to file a reply to a show cause notice in contempt proceedings against him over alleged misleading advertisements of Patanjali Ayurved.
A bench of Justices Hima Kohli and Ahsanuddin Amanullah expressed displeasure and objected to non filing of the written response by Ramdev and Acharya Balkrishna to file a response.
"You were not responding to the notice. (Instead) Press conference was held," the bench said.
"How can you be in teeth of our orders?...Earlier our hands were tied," the bench told the counsel.
Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi for Ramdev contended that the violation of the law is not contempt.
"What was relied on (earlier) in open court has to be recorded," he said, alluding to the court's reliance on certain materials related to alleged misleading advertisements.
"This is not fair. There is procedure. I am allowed to make submissions. Please put that on record," the counsel said.
The bench said there is no question of modification of the previous order.
The counsel again asked as to how Ramdev comes into picture.
"You are appearing, we will see on the next date," the bench told him.
On February 27, 2024, the Supreme Court had taken an exception to inaction by the Union government against Patanjali's "misleading and false" advertisements claiming cure for various diseases and restrained the company run by Baba Ramdev from making such announcements for now.
The court had then said the entire country is being taken for a ride.
It had then issued a show cause contempt notice to the company and its MD Acharya Balkrishna for alleged violations of the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act.
The Indian Medical Association was aggrieved with Baba Ramdev and Patanjali Ayurved for defaming allopathy medicine.
In November, 2023, the court had cautioned Patanjali Ayurved against making "false" and "misleading" claims in advertisements about its medicines as a cure of several diseases.
