New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked while hearing the misleading ads case against Patajnali Ayurved if the size of apology the company published in newspapers were of the ‘same font and size’ as its advertisements, NDTV reported.
When Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing Patanjali founders Ramdev and Balkrishna, told the court they filed fresh set of apologies, the court said it should have been done earlier.
When Rohatgi said the apology was put out in 67 newspapers at a cost of ₹ 10 lakh the court asked ‘Has the apology been published prominently? Same font and size as your earlier advertisements?’
The court said it had received a plea seeking ₹ 1000 crore fine against the Indian Medical Association (IMA) for its case against Patanjali, and asked ‘Is it a proxy plea?’ Rohatgi reportedly responded that his client had nothing to with the plea.
Regarding the ads Justice Kohli was quoted as saying: ‘Please cut out the ads and then supply it to us. Do not enlarge them and supply it to us. We want to see the actual size. This is our direction... we want to see that when you issue an ad, it does not mean we have to see it by a microscope.’
Subsequently, Ramdev said he will publish a bigger apology in newspapers and the court adjourned the matter for a week.
Patanjali Ayurved published an apology in national dailies, saying they will not repeat mistakes and expressed utmost respect for the court.
"We tender our heartfelt apology for the mistakes committed in publishing ads and holding press conferences despite the assurances by our counsel. We are committed not to repeat this mistake," the ad by the Patanjali reportedly read.
The development comes after a Supreme Court bench criticised Yoga guru Ramdev and his aide Balkrishna over their misleading ads claiming cure for diseases such as diabetes and high blood pressure.
Earlier rejecting their apologies the court said they were ‘more of a lip service’ and ‘not heartfelt’.