MUMBAI: So, finally, India’s leading Ayurveda flagbearer has Patanjali Ayurved has bent its knees. The firm has issued an “unqualified apology” to India’s supreme court  about its stance of issuing misleading advertisements and criticism  modern medicines. It has assured the court that it will put a full stop to issuing such ads. 

The apex court had on 19 March ordered the Swami Ramdevi Acharya Balkrishna owned Patanjali Ayurved to appear before it to clarify the failure to respond to the contempt notice, and misleading advertisements about medicinal cures.

The supreme court had earlier reprimanded the company from issuing false ads and the counsel for the company had on 21 November 2023 assured it that “henceforth there shall not be any violation of any law(s), especially relating to advertising or branding of products manufactured and marketed by it and, further, that no casual statements claiming medicinal efficacy or against any system of medicine will be released to the media in any form.”

But Patanjali Ayurved had continued to do so unafraid which led to the court rapping it hard on its knuckles on 27 February banning it from issuing ads for medicines with misleading claims. It had also slapped the central government on its wrists for “sitting with eyes closed” while the entire country was “taken for a ride.”

The apex court had issued contempt of court notices against both Swami Ramdev and Acharya Balkrishna citing flouting of previous court orders by continuing to peddle misleading claims.