Patanjali Ayurved MD & CEO Acharya Balkrishna
Ayurved director Acharya Balkrishna on Thursday filed an ‘unconditional apology’ in the Supreme Court over alleged misleading advertisements.
“The defense attorney (Balkrishna) regrets that the advertisement in question, which was intended to contain only general statements, inadvertently contained the offensive sentences,” the affidavit said.
The court on Tuesday directed Patanjali Ayurved co-founder Baba Ramdev and Managing Director Acharya Balkrishna to appear personally before the court on April 2 for failing to respond to the court’s contempt notice against them and the company in the misleading advertising case.
The court had on February 27 issued a contempt order against Patanjali Ayurved and Balkrishna for defying their earlier orders by continuing to promote false and misleading claims about the ability of their products to cure diseases.
Both the company and Balkrishna had been asked to respond within three weeks as to why no action should be taken against them.
Balkrishna told the court on Thursday that he will “ensure that such advertisements are not published in future.”
He further said that their intention was only to “encourage the citizens of this country to live a healthier life by consuming Ayurvedic company products, including products for lifestyle ailments, through the use of age-old literature and materials that are supplemented and supported through Ayurvedic research. ‘
The court had earlier said that Ramdev and Balkrishna had violated Sections 3 and 4 of the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertising) Act, 1954.
The paragraphs discuss the ban on advertising of certain medicines for the treatment of certain diseases and conditions and the ban on misleading advertisements regarding medicines.
The Justices Hima Kohli and Ahsanuddin Amanullah had temporarily restrained Patanjali Ayurved from advertising or branding its products intended to address the diseases/disorders specified under the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertising) Act 1954.
The court was hearing a petition filed by the Indian Medical Association (IMA) alleging that the ‘yoga guru and his company’ had started a ‘smear campaign’ against the COVID-19 vaccination and modern medicine.
In his affidavit, Balkrishna said the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertising) Act, 1954 was “archaic”.
“The respondent (Patanjali) now has evidence-based scientific data with clinical research conducted in Ayurveda, which would demonstrate the progress made through scientific research in the context of diseases mentioned in the Schedule to the 1954 Act” , the filing said.
The scheme provides a list of diseases for which advertising claiming a cure is prohibited.
“The Schedule to the Act, 1954, read with the Drugs and Magical Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Rules, 1955, is in an archaic state and the last amendments were introduced in 1996. The Drug & Cosmetic Act, 1940 was passed when scientific evidence in Ayurveda research was lacking,” the statement said.
First print: March 21, 2024 | 9:06 PM IST