Patanjali Issues Unconditional Apology For Airing Misleading Ads
Patanjali's intention was only to exhort the citizens of this country to lead a healthier life by using its products, it said.
Patanjali Ayurved Ltd., through its Managing Director Acharya Balkrishna, has filed an unconditional apology before the Supreme court, in response to a contempt notice that was issued for flouting the court's order restraining the conglomerate from advertising certain medicinal products.
As per the apology, the ads in question were only meant to contain general statements and that certain offending statements were inadvertently added by its media team because they were not aware of the court's order.
Patanjali's intention was only to exhort the citizens of this country to lead a healthier life by using its products, which have been formulated through the use of age old literature and materials supplemented and backed by ayurvedic research, it said.
It also said Patanjali possesses evidence backed scientific data, with clinical research conducted in ayurveda, which would demonstrate the advances made through scientific research in the context of diseases mentioned in the schedule to the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act.
This act prohibits misleading advertisements for drugs and also the advertisement of magic remedies for the treatment of certain diseases and disorders, like obesity, asthma, diabetes and cancer.
In November last year, the top court issued a stern warning to Baba Ramdev and his multinational conglomerate, for downplaying the effects of modern medicine.
The court had said that it would issue a hefty penalty for all those misleading advertisements that promise to cure the diseases mentioned above.
At the time, Patanjali told the court that it would make sure that going forward, no casual statements claiming medicinal efficacy against any system of medicine would be released to the media in any form.
However, a day after the court's stern remarks, Patanjali came out with a media statement saying that it was not making any "false advertisements or propaganda" regarding its products and that it would not object if the top court were to impose a fine or "even give us a death sentence", if found making misleading claims.
This prompted the apex court to served a contempt notice to Patanjali and MD Acharya Balkrishna, for publicly disobeying its orders as the company had continued to run its false ads even after giving an undertaking.
The top court is expected to hear the case in two weeks, when both Baba Ramdev and Acharya Balkrishna will be present before the court in person.
