The Supreme Court on Tuesday exempted yoga guru Baba Ramdev and Patanjali Ayurved managing director Acharya Balkrishna from physical presence in court hearings related to the misleading advertisements case.
The top court reserved its order on contempt notices issued to Baba Ramdev and others.
A bench of Justices Hima Kohli and Ahsanuddin Amanullah asked Patanjali to file a detailed affidavit in three weeks on the steps taken to pull down existing misleading ads for its products. The court also asked Patanjali to detail the steps taken to recall ads of its products whose licences have been suspended.
"We are reserving orders on the contempt plea and dispensing the presence of both Baba Ramdev and Acharya Balkrishna. We need a detailed affidavit explaining the steps taken to recall advertisements and also for withdrawal of banned products from the respective stores," the Supreme Court said.
Justice Amanullah said there should be synergy between allopathy and Ayurveda and the public should be well-informed.
Addressing the counsel appearing for Baba Ramdev, Justice Amanullah said, "Your client had to go to AIIMS two years back for a heart ailment. Baba Ramdev has a lot of aastha, and it should not be taken for granted. He should use it wisely."
"Public is cognisant, if they have choices, they make well-informed choices... Baba Ramdev has a lot of influence, use it in the right way," the court said.
Appearing for Baba Ramdev and Balkrishna, senior advocate Balbir Singh told the court that Patanjali had stopped the sale of banned products from offline and online markets.
"We have ads running in 500 odd places, including channels. We are asking them to bring it down. We are seeking withdrawal of banned products," Singh said.
The Supreme Court is hearing a plea filed by the Indian Medical Association (IMA) alleging a smear campaign against the Covid vaccination drive and modern systems of medicine.
