Supreme Court rejects Ramdev’s apology, stating “We Are Not Blind” in Patanjali case.

The court criticized the Uttarakhand licensing authority for not taking action against Patanjali and expressed dissatisfaction with the Centre’s response. The court deemed the apologies from Ramdev and Balkrishna to be insincere and deliberate violations of an undertaking.

Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing the Patanjali founders, read out the apologies but faced criticism from the court for their perceived lack of sincerity. The court emphasized that tendering an apology was not a sufficient consequence for violating its order.

The court also criticized the Uttarakhand government for not taking action, questioning the conduct of licensing inspectors and calling for the suspension of three officers. It highlighted the state’s failure to act on a misleading advertisement and noted that the licensing authority had let off the company with a warning, which was not provided for in the 1954 Act.

The court accused the authority of being in collusion with Patanjali and admonished them for their conduct. Furthermore, the court expressed concern for the individuals who might have consumed Patanjali medicines and questioned whether similar actions would be taken against an ordinary person.

The licensing authority apologized to the court and assured them that they would act in the matter. The court also noted that Ramdev and Balkrishna had tried to avoid appearing in court by claiming to be traveling abroad.

The court instructed all district ayurvedic and unani officers who held posts from 2018 onwards to file replies on the actions they had taken against the advertisements. It announced that it would pass orders on Ramdev and Balkrishna on April 16.