SC criticises illegible apology from IMA President over 'damaging' statements

New Delhi: New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday criticised the apology issued by Indian Medical Association President R.V. Asokan, describing it as difficult to read due to its small font size. The court found the published apology to be inadequate in addressing the concerns raised.

Justices Hima Kohli and Sandeep Mehta instructed senior advocate P. S. Patwalia, representing Asokan, to provide physical copies of 20 editions of The Hindu newspaper where the apology was printed. This submission is required within one week.

"We will not budge until we see advertisements in physical form, show us the actual size...The excerpt of the apology filed before us is illegible in as much as the font is miniscule. Counsel for IMA president is directed to file physical copies of 20 publications of The Hindu where the publication of apology has been done within one week," the bench said.

On July 9, Asokan had informed the court that his unconditional apology regarding "damaging" remarks made during an interview with PTI had been published in various newspapers. The comments were related to Patanjali Ayurved Ltd’s misleading advertisements.

During a hearing on May 14, the court had questioned Asokan about his statements against the court in the PTI interview and indicated that it would not accept his affidavit of apology at that time, “"You cannot sit on a couch giving an interview to the press and lampooning the court."

The court had expressed dissatisfaction with Asokan’s comments, especially given that the matter was to be discussed soon. It had requested his response to an application from Patanjali Ayurved Ltd, which sought judicial notice of Asokan’s statements.

In an April 29 interview with PTI for its program '@4 Parliament Street,' Asokan had expressed regret that the Supreme Court criticised the Indian Medical Association and some practices of private doctors.

Agency