Patanjali Misleading Ads Case: SC comes down heavily on IMA over inadequate apology

New Delhi: The Supreme Court's two-judge bench, consisting of Justice Hima Kohli and Justice Sandeep Mehta, came down heavily on the Indian Medical Association (IMA) for issuing a limited apology in newspapers, while hearing misleading advertisement case involving Patanjali on Tuesday.

The counsel for IMA, PS Pathwalia, informed the bench that the interview in question was given to the Press Trust of India (PTI). On this, Justice Kohli questioned Pathwalia regarding the scope of the apology. "Besides the ones you are referring to, which other publications was it [the interview] shared with? You have to send [the apology] to all of them. You cannot just wash your hands off. No assumptions here in your favor just because you say so. Your public apology has to be... You are inviting trouble on yourself and we are not taking your apology," she stated.

The court insisted that the apology should be issued personally by Ashokan, a member involved in the case, and not funded by the IMA. "Apology needs to be tendered by you (Asokan) and from your own pocket, not IMA," observed the bench during the proceedings.

The Supreme Court also noted Pathwalia's request to defer the contempt orders against Ashokan, allowing time for him to take appropriate steps to address the contempt charge.

The next hearing in the case has been scheduled for September 2024.