'You can't sit on couch giving interview, lampooning the court,' SC rejects IMA head's apology

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday reproached Indian Medical Association President R V Asokan for his verbal 'attack' on the institution in the ongoing contempt proceedings against Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev and Patanjali's MD Acharya Balkrishna in the misleading advertisements case.

A bench of Justices Hima Kohli and Ahsanuddin Amanullah declined to accept the unconditional apology tendered by him during his personal appearance before the court, saying he has to answer for his conduct.

“We expected more sense of responsibility from you while giving the interview, you cannot vent your internal feelings in the press like this and that too, against the order of this court, words chosen in the interview. How could you do that,” the bench asked the IMA President, who apologised for his statement.

In an application, Balkrishna via his counsel brought those press statements reportedly made by Asokan on record, bringing it to judicial notice and seeking appropriate action against him.

In his statement, Asokan reportedly said, "It does not behove the Supreme Court to take a broadside against the medical profession of the country which after all sacrificed so many lives for the Covid war."

In response to his apology, the bench said judges do not react on criticism of their orders, as they do not have an ego.

“Personally, we are magnanimous… The amount of criticism personally the judges’ face for their order, why do they not react? For the simple reason, personally, they do not have an ego. You attacked the institution; your comment was on the institution. Personally, we are magnanimous… we are entitled to take action, we do not do that because we do not have an ego. We do that seldom, very rarely," the bench said.

Asokan was present in the courtroom on a notice issued on the application.

The bench, citing an affidavit filed by Asokan, asked him how it should accept that the apology was heart felt.

"Very unfortunate….you dragged the other side (Ramdev and Acharya Balkrishna) to the court for valid reasons according to you saying that they are taking the whole world for a ride,” the bench said.

Referring to Swami Ramdev, the bench told Ashokan that he did the same thing in an interview after the court passed the order.

“You did exactly the same, how can we give you the benefit of the doubt… you are the petitioner,” the bench asked him.

The bench said the court took IMA's plea seriously enough to call the other side, Ramdev and Acharya Balkrishna, and reject their apologies not once, not twice, and more than three times, “it was not coming from the heart. We have the same to say about your affidavit.”

“You cannot sit on a couch giving an interview to the press and lampooning the court in a sub judice matter and in a matter which you are a party, we are not all very unhappy with your affidavit, this conduct cannot be condoned so easily,” the bench told him.

“You point fingers at the other side and you behaved in the same manner or worse," bench told him asking him what kind of example the IMA president is setting for the rest of his colleagues, the 3.5 lakh doctors in India.

The bench also asked Ashokan why didn’t he give a public apology.

"Why did you wait to come here? You could have gone to the same news agency and said what you are telling us on the affidavit," the bench told him.

The bench told senior advocate P S Patwalia, representing IMA, “We are not at this stage inclined to accept the apology tendered by your client”.

Patwalia said Asokan is a respected doctor.

“Give us one chance, we will take steps," he said.

In related development, the court allowed a plea by senior advocate Balbir Singh, to dispense with personal appearance for Ramdev and Balkrishna and reserved order in the contempt case against them.

The court said Baba Ramdev enjoyed a lot of influence on the public, and he should use it in the right way.

"What he has been done for yoga is good, but Patanjali products are another matter,” the bench said.

The matter arose out a petition filed by the IMA in 2022 alleging a smear campaign by Patanjali and Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev against the Covid vaccination drive and modern systems of medicine.