News Brief
Supreme Court Slams Patanjali: Apologies Rejected, Accountability Demanded - Here's What Happened
Patanjali Ayurved's co-founder Ramdev and managing director Balakrishna.
In a scathing rebuke, the Supreme Court dismissed another set of apologies filed by Patanjali founders Ramdev and Balkrishna for the company's misleading advertisements, asserting that "we are not blind" and refusing to accept the apologies as genuine.
The bench of Justice Hima Kohli and Justice A Amanullah highlighted the Patanjali founders' delay in submitting apologies to the court, noting that they were initially sent to the media before reaching the court.
Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing the Patanjali founders, faced sharp criticism from the bench as he read out the affidavits, with Justice Amanullah questioning the sincerity of the apologies.
"We decline to accept this, we consider it a deliberate violation of undertaking," remarked the bench, as reported by NDTV.
"Tendering apology is not enough. You should suffer the consequences for violating the court's order. We do not want to be generous in this case," Justice Kohli asserted.
The court also criticized the Uttarakhand licensing authority's prolonged inaction against Patanjali while expressing dissatisfaction with the Centre's response to the matter.
"We have strong objection to the use of the word 'bonafide' for officers. We are not going to take (it) lightly. We will rip you apart," it said, demanding suspension of negligent officers.
Highlighting the potential harm to consumers, the court urged swift action to rectify the situation, questioning, "What about all the faceless people who have consumed these Patanjali medicines stated to cure diseases which cannot be cured?"
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