[BREAKING] Patanjali Case | "Publish Apology In Newspapers Using Own Money": SC Slams IMA President

The Supreme Court Today (August 6th) told Indian Medical Association (IMA) President Dr. RV Asokan that he has to publish apology in all prominent newspapers for his statements criticising the Supreme Court. A Bench of Justices Hima Kohli and Sandeep Mehta also said that the same should be done by him personally and not on IMA’s behalf and the expenses for the same should be borne out of his own pocket.

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[BREAKING] Patanjali Case | "Publish Apology in Newspapers Using Own Money": SC Slams IMA President

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed Indian Medical Association (IMA) President Dr. RV Asokan to publish apologies in all prominent newspapers for his statements criticizing the Supreme Court.

A Bench of Justices Hima Kohli and Sandeep Mehta clarified that these apologies should be issued personally by Dr. Asokan and not on behalf of the IMA, with the expenses borne out of his own pocket. The Court emphasized,

“Apology needs to be tendered by you and from your own pocket, not IMA.”

The matter was then adjourned to give Asokan time to publish the apologies.

The Court noted,

“It is submitted that the contempt proceedings may be deferred to enable the applicant to publish his apology in prominent newspapers and purge himself of the contempt.”

The case originated from a suit filed by the IMA against Patanjali Ayurved and its promoters, Baba Ramdev and Acharya Balkrishna, for allegedly publishing misleading advertisements targeting evidence-based medicine.

Over time, the case expanded to include broader issues such as misleading advertisements by others, the liability of celebrity influencers endorsing such ads, and unethical practices in modern medicine.

The IMA had accused Patanjali of conducting a smear campaign against modern medicine, leading to the Court issuing several strong strictures against Patanjali. However, the IMA later faced criticism from the Court when Dr. Asokan made comments to the press, describing the Supreme Court’s criticism of the IMA as “unfortunate” and stating that doctors were demoralized by the Court’s remarks.

The Bench, including Justices Hima Kohli and Ahsanuddin Amanullah, took strong exception to Asokan’s statements and ordered him to publish public apologies in prominent newspapers, including those where the controversial interview was published.

When the matter was reviewed, the Court inquired with IMA counsel Senior Advocate PS Patwalia about the details of the apology’s publication. The Court questioned,

“Except your own in-house publication, where have you published? Your newsletters are not good enough. Was it published in all newspapers where your interview was published?”

The Court observed that the order to publish the apology had not been fully complied with and warned Dr. Asokan of the potential consequences.

“Besides the ones you are referring to, which other publications was it (interview) shared with? You have to send (apology) to all of them. You cannot just wash your hands off. No assumptions here in your favor just because you say so. You are inviting trouble on yourself and we are not taking your apology.”

The Court also suggested that Dr. Asokan might be required to appear personally before the Bench, remarking,