The Supreme Court during the last hearing severely criticised Patanjali for failing to obey its directives and directed Ramdev and company’s Managing Director Balkrishna to be personally present before the court today.

After the hearing, an unconditional apology was submitted to the court, stating that Patanjali’s intention was only to exhort the citizens of this country to lead a healthier life by using its products.

On February 27, the top court had directed the company to stop all electronic and print advertisements of its medicines giving misleading” information with immediate effect.

It had also pulled up the Centre for not taking action and said they were sitting with their eyes closed. “This is very unfortunate. The government will have to take some immediate action,” the bench had said.

The case began in November last year when the Supreme Court, while hearing a petition filed by the Indian Medical Association (IMA), cautioned Patanjali Ayurved against making “false” and “misleading” claims in advertisements about its medicines.

IMA had referred to several advertisements which allegedly projected the allopathy and the doctors in poor light, saying that “disparaging” statements have also been made by firms, engaged in the production of ayurvedic medicines, to mislead the general public.

These commercials say that the medical practitioners themselves are dying despite taking modern medicines, the counsel for the IMA had said.