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Patanjali Ayurved founders Baba Ramdev and Acharya Bal Krishna display the company’s products at a press conference in New Delhi. (PTI file photo)
The bench recognised the recent public apology issued by Patanjali co-founders Ramdev and Acharya Balkrishna in newspapers on April 24 for the misleading ads
The Supreme Court on Tuesday exempted yoga guru Ramdev and his associate Acharya Balkrishna from personal appearance for the next hearing in the case related to misleading advertisements by Patanjali Ayurveda.
The bench, led by Justice Hima Kohli and Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah, also recognised the recent public apology issued by the duo in newspapers on April 24 for the misleading ads.
Additionally, the top court asked the counsel of Ramdev and Balkrishna to file the original page of each newspaper on record in which the public apology was issued.
The public apology by Ramdev and Balkrishna came after the Supreme Court questioned whether its size would match that of their advertisements during a previous hearing.
“In wake of an on going matter before the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India, we in our individual capacity as well as on behalf of the Company, unconditionally apologise for the non-compliance or disobedience of directions/orders of the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India,” the public apology stated.
On Monday, the Uttarakhand government informed the top court that it has suspended manufacturing licences of 14 products of Patanjali Ayurved and Divya Pharmacy with ‘immediate effect’. The action came after the state authority was criticised earlier for not taking action against Patanjali Ayurved for misleading advertisements.
Further, Patanjali Foods, formerly Ruchi Soya Industries Ltd, received a show cause notice from the GST intelligence department regarding the recovery of input tax credit worth Rs 27.46 crore.
The notice was issued by the Directorate General of GST Intelligence, Chandigarh Zonal Unit, as disclosed in a regulatory filing by the company on April 26.
On February 27, the Supreme Court issued a contempt notice to Ramdev and Balkrishna for distributing misleading health cure advertisements and prohibited Patanjali from promoting products with unproven claims of curing diseases like heart conditions and asthma.
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