The Yoga guru Ramdev and MD Balkrishna Acharya of Patanjali Ayurved Ltd have been given a week by the Supreme Court to take corrective measures for their alleged contempt in a misleading advertisements case. Their lawyers have expressed willingness to issue a public apology. The next hearing is scheduled for April 23rd. Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing Ramdev and Balkrishna, informed the bench of Justices Hima Kohli and Ahsanuddin Amanullah that they are prepared to offer a public apology, as reported by news agency PTI.

Read: Supreme Court Demands Public Apology from Patanjali’s Ramdev within One Week

The Supreme Court requested Ramdev and Balkrishna to have a direct interaction with the bench during the proceedings. The bench emphasized the importance of establishing a connection between the two parties and the court.

The ongoing hearing involves an interaction between the bench and Ramdev, while both Ramdev and Balkrishna have presented affidavits to the court, tendering an unqualified apology for the misleading advertisements that made exaggerated claims about the effectiveness of their products.

In a previous order from November 21, 2023, the Supreme Court had noted that Patanjali Ayurved’s counsel had assured the court that the company would not violate any laws pertaining to advertising or branding of their products. They were also prohibited from making casual statements regarding medicinal efficacy or criticizing any system of medicine in the media.

Based on this assurance, Patanjali Ayurved Ltd was bound to comply. However, the court grew dissatisfied when the company failed to fulfill this commitment and issued subsequent media statements. Consequently, the court issued a notice to Ramdev and Balkrishna, asking them to explain why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against them.