Supreme Court dismisses contempt case against Baba Ramdev and Acharya Balkrishna over Patanjali ad controversy

Indian Medical Association accuses Patanjali of smear campaign against Covid vaccination and modern medicine in 2022 petition.

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court dismissed contempt proceedings against Yoga guru Baba Ramdev and Acharya Balkrishna, Managing Director of Patanjali Ayurved. The court accepted their unconditional apology and an assurance that the company would avoid making misleading advertisements for its products in the future as reported by Economic Times.

The case stems from a petition filed in 2022 by the Indian Medical Association (IMA), which accused Patanjali of conducting a smear campaign against the Covid vaccination initiative and modern medical practices.

"The court has closed the contempt proceedings based on the undertakings given by Ramdev, Balkrishna and Patanjali Ayurved," advocate Gautam Talukdar, who represented the yoga guru, Balkrishna and the firm, said.

On May 14, the apex court had reserved its order on the contempt notice.

In the latest hearing, the Supreme Court questioned R V Asokan, president of the Indian Medical Association (IMA), about whether his unconditional apology regarding "damaging" statements made in a PTI interview was published in all newspapers that featured the interview. Asokan had expressed regret over the Supreme Court's criticism of the IMA and certain practices of private doctors in response to queries about Patanjali Ayurved misleading advertisements.

The court emphasised that Asokan must personally ensure the apology is published in the newspapers, rather than using IMA funds for this purpose.

The case centers on Patanjali Ayurved, which markets herbal products claiming to treat serious diseases while disparaging other medical systems in its advertisements. The IMA's plea accused the company of conducting a smear campaign against modern medicine. Despite assurances to the Supreme Court that it would comply with advertising laws, Patanjali was found to be in violation, prompting contempt proceedings.

In response to the court's orders, Baba Ramdev and Acharya Balkrishna submitted an unconditional apology regarding the misleading advertisements and committed to upholding the law and justice moving forward.