'Happened out of excitement, won't repeat': What Ramdev told SC in Patanjali misleading ads case

Ramdev appeared in SC today in the Patanjali misleading ads case

Yoga guru Ramdev on Tuesday told the Supreme Court that he is ready to tender a public apology over the "misleading" advertisements by Patanjali, saying that whatever they did back then was "out of excitement", Bar & Bench reported.

Ramdev, along with Patanjali MD Balkrishna, made a personal appearance in the top court today.

During the hearing, a bench of Justices Hima Kohli and Ahsanuddin Amanullah pulled up Ramdev and Balakrishna for making careless statements about other forms of medicines.

In his response, the yoga guru expressed regret over making such statements and ensured the court that all such claims made in the future will be backed by evidence.

The court told Ramdev that it is not allowed to promote medicines for illnesses and the rule applies for all, including doctors and pharmacists.

"This was absolutely careless [on your part]. The law applies to all citizens of the country," the bench said.

Ramdev, in his response, said he will be mindful in the future. "It happened in excitement. Won't happen again," he assured the judges.

The court also criticised Ramdev and Balakrishna for criticising allopathy in the past.

Ramdev said that allopathy has been called "pseudo science" and there has always been a conflict between the two branches (allopathy and ayurveda). He added that this has also been mentioned in Wikipedia.

The bench told Ramdev that he should not get into such matters and focus on his work.

The apex court said it has not decided yet whether to forgive Ramdev and Balakrishna yet.

"We are not saying that we will accept your apololgy or overlook your past. You've flouted the court orders so you are not that innocent either," the bench told Ramdev.

It posted the matter for further hearing on April 23.

Ramdev and Balkrishna have tendered an "unconditional and unqualified apology" before the apex court over advertisements issued by the firm making tall claims about the medicinal efficacy of its products.