Acharya Balkrishna apologises after SC summons Ramdev

Image: AFP

Acharya Balkrishna, Managing Director of Patanjali Ayurved and the assistant of Yoga guru Ramdev, issued an apology to the Supreme Court for the company’s misleading claims about its products and their formulas.

He submitted an apology in an affidavit yesterday, a day after the court summoned him and Baba Ramdev to appear on April 2 for failing to respond to contempt charges over Patanjali Ayurved’s misleading advertisements.

In the affidavit filed in court, Mr. Balkrishna stated that he would “ensure that such advertisements are not issued in the future,” and that he has respect for the rule of law.

Mr. Balkrishna provided clarification, stating that the company is just encouraging the people of our nation to live a healthy life by consuming Patanjali products, which include products for lifestyle diseases, through the use of age-old literature and materials augmenting and backed by ayurvedic research.

He also claimed that the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act’s ban on ads promising magic cures is “archaic,” and said lawmakers introduced the most recent changes because scientific evidence in Ayurveda studies was lacking. The affidavit stated that Patanjali now possesses evidence-based scientific data, including clinical studies carried out in Ayurveda, which would highlight the advancements made by scientific research about the listed illnesses.

Established in 2006 by Mr. Ramdev and Mr. Balkrishna, Patanjali Ayurved is a multinational company that produces a wide range of goods, including food items, cosmetics, and Ayurvedic medicines.

The company has encountered issues due to misleading marketing claims about the effectiveness of its goods.

The bench of Justice Hima Kohli and Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah had asked Balkrishna and Ramdev to appear in court on April 2 and give clarification in person.

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