Supreme Court Rejects IMA Chief's Apology

The Supreme Court refused to accept an apology from IMA Chief R V Asokan for comments made about the court in a PTI interview. The court found the apology excerpt illegible and demanded physical copies of publications. The case ties to misleading advertisement allegations against Patanjali Ayurved Ltd.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected the unconditional apology made by Indian Medical Association (IMA) Chief R V Asokan, in light of his comments regarding the court in a PTI interview, as the apology printed in a newspaper was deemed illegible due to minuscule font size.

Asokan's remarks were in response to questions about the misleading advertisement case against Patanjali Ayurved Ltd. A bench comprising Justices Hima Kohli and Sandeep Mehta directed Asokan's counsel to submit 20 physical copies of The Hindu newspaper, where the apology appeared, within one week.

The bench emphasized seeing the actual size of the apology and dismissed arguments until then. Asokan's apology had been published in various formats but failed to meet the court's standards. Further hearings will be overseen by a new bench after Justice Kohli retires in September 2024.

(With inputs from agencies.)