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Following the controversy surrounding misleading advertisements by Patanjali, Baba Ramdev and Acharya Balkrishna have submitted affidavits to the Supreme Court, offering "unconditional, unqualified" apologies. The duo said that they will comply with order in letter and spirit, uphold the majesty of law and majesty of justice. The Supreme Court is expected to deliver its final decision on the matter on April 10, marking a significant development in this ongoing legal case.SC lashes out at Baba RamdevIn the earlier hearing, the Supreme Court tore into Patanjali Ayurved's defence for putting out misleading advertisements, rejecting the apology from yoga guru Ramdev and the firm's managing director Acharya Balkrishna as "lip service" and saying they had broken "every barrier". The bench, headed by Justice Hima Kohli, also questioned the Centre's alleged inaction over Patanjali's tall claims about the efficacy of its products and denigrating allopathy during the Covid peak and asked why the government chose to keep its "eyes shut".Sternly reprimanding Ramdev and his number two Balkrishna, Justice Kohli said the court was taking their apology with a "sack full of salt". The bench also comprised Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah.The bench also warned Patanjali, Ramdev and Balkrishna that it would take note of "perjury" as certain documents, which were said to be attached with other papers, were created later on."This is a clear case of perjury. We are not closing the doors on you but we are telling all that we have noted," the bench said.The apex court, which granted Ramdev and Balkrishna a last one week opportunity to file affidavits, took strong note of their "absolute defiance" in not adhering to the undertaking given before it in the case filed by the Indian Medical Association (IMA).Patanjali Ayurved Ltd assured the top court on November 21 last year that it will not violate any law, especially those relating to advertising or branding of products manufactured and marketed by it. It also assured the bench that "no casual statements claiming medicinal efficacy or against any system of medicine will be released to the media in any form".The top court had said Patanjali Ayurved Ltd is "bound down to such assurance". The non-observance of the specific undertaking and subsequent media statements irked the bench, which later issued notices to show cause why contempt proceedings should be not initiated against them.On Tuesday, the court strongly disapproved of Balkrishna's statement that the Drugs and Cosmetics (Magic Remedies) Act is "archaic" and said Patanjali Ayurved's advertisements were in the "teeth of the Act" and violated with impunity the undertaking given to the court.The bench warned Ramdev and Balkrishna, who both were present in the court, to be ready to face the consequences."Your apology is not persuading this court really to accept it. We think it is more of a lip service," Justice Kohli told the counsel representing the MD of Patanjali Ayurved.Observing that some matters have to be taken to their logical conclusion, the bench said there cannot be "so much magnanimity"."You have to abide by the undertaking given to the court," Justice Kohli said and added, "The purpose of contempt is to make a person realise that the majesty of the law is above all."Senior advocate Vipin Sanghi, the counsel representing Patanjali, said the firm's media department was not aware of the fact that the top court had restrained it from continuing with advertisements or branding of products manufactured and marketed by it which are meant to cure diseases, disorders or conditions specified in the Act."Mr Sanghi, once it is a court proceeding and there are specific undertaking given by you to the court, whose duty is to convey it to entire chain down the line?" Justice Kohli asked.The bench said the undertaking has to be abided by in letter and spirit."That did not happen. Just to say that now you are sorry, we can also say we are sorry and we are not willing to accept such an explanation… your media department is not a standalone island in your office…," Justice Kohli said.Senior advocate Balbir Singh, appearing for Ramdev, said the yoga guru was tendering an unconditional apology and they will file a better affidavit.Keeping in mind the stature and the social respect of Ramdev and Balkrishna, there was an onerous responsibility on them to behave responsibly and they owe a better explanation not just to the public but to the court, Justice Kohli said.Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, offered his assistance in the contempt proceedings and said he was willing to sit down with the counsel for the parties to resolve the issue."What has happened, should not have happened," he said.Justice Kohli said 2020 and 2021 was a critical period for the whole world with Covid at its peak and there was a recommendation by the Centre's committee that Ayurvedic products were supplementary to main medicines."The contemnors were going to town saying that this is the answer and the cure and there is nothing available in the modern science which can address it. They were aware of the fact that they have been cautioned not to do that… You choose to keep your eyes shut," she said.Mehta said they will place the relevant material before the court.On March 19, the apex court directed Ramdev and Balkrishna to appear before it after taking exception to the company's failure to respond to the notice issued in the case relating to advertisements of the firm's products and their medicinal efficacy.The top court had said it deemed it appropriate to issue Ramdev a show cause notice as advertisements issued by Patanjali, which were in the teeth of the undertaking given to the court on November 21, 2023, reflect an endorsement by him.(With inputs from agencies)

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will approach the Supreme Court against a high court order dismissing the plea against his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate in a money-laundering case linked to the excise policy, the AAP said on Tuesday. Hours after the high court decision, the AAP said the "so-called excise policy scam" is the "biggest political conspiracy" to finish off the party and Kejriwal.Senior AAP leader and Delhi Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj said at a press conference, "We respect the institution of the high court but we respectfully submit that we do not agree with its order and will move the Supreme Court against it."He claimed that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) have failed to recover even one rupee of illegal money in the "so-called excise policy case"."The entire matter is not related to money laundering, rather it's the biggest political conspiracy of the country. It's a conspiracy to crush and finish off Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and AAP governments in Delhi and Punjab," he said.Bharadwaj said they are hopeful that the Supreme Court will provide relief to Kejriwal in the same way it granted bail to AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh in the case.Delhi High Court on Tuesday dismissed Kejriwal's plea."The court is of the view that the arrest of Arvind Kejriwal was not in contravention of legal provisions. The remand can't be held to be illegal," said Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma while delivering the verdict.Besides his arrest, Kejriwal, who is currently in judicial custody, also challenged his subsequent remand in ED custody.The matter pertains to alleged corruption and money laundering in formulating and executing the Delhi government's now-scrapped excise policy for 2021-22.Kejriwal was arrested by the ED on March 21, hours after the high court refused to grant him protection from coercive action by the federal anti-money laundering agency.He was sent to judicial custody on April 1 after he was produced in the trial court on the expiry of his ED custody. He is currently lodged in Tihar jail.

Metal stocks jumped 11% on Tuesday, led by Hindustan Copper and Hindustan Zinc, amid a slew of triggers like strong Q4 updates and improving manufacturing outlook in the world's two largest economies – China and USA. The other major gainers were Vedanta and Steel Authority of India (SAIL) which rose over 4.5% in intraday trade.Hindustan Copper soared 11% to hit its 52-week high of Rs 366.40 on the NSE. The stock traded amid significant volumes with over 4.80 crore shares changing hands on the NSE around 1:30 pm. The company last week reported MIC (Metal in concentrate) production of 27,404 tonnes for FY 2023-24, the highest in the last five years and 11% higher than last year. The company achieved ore production of 3.78 million tonnes in FY 2023-24, the highest in the last four years and 13% over last year, the company said in a filing on April 2. Since then, the stock has seen an unbroken run and rallied for five sessions in a row.Hindustan Zinc also jumped by 11% to hit a fresh 52-week high of Rs 381. The Vedanta subsidiary has remained unbeaten over the last seven trading sessions. The company reported solid Q4 updates with best-ever mined metal production at 1,079 kt, up 2% YoY, driven by improved mined metal grades. Refined metal also achieved its highest annual production.Meanwhile, Vedanta delivered its highest-ever annual volume across key businesses for the reported quarter. The stock also hit its 52-week high of Rs 337.85, gaining 4.5% on the intraday basis.The gains catapulted the Nifty Metal index to its 52-week high of 8,985, with 12 stocks trading in the green. The laggards were Jindal Stainless, Adani Enterprises and Welspun Corp which fell up to 3%.Also Read: Infosys shares gain 2.5% on BofA’s rating upgradeThe other gainers in the index were Hindalco Industries, National Aluminium Company (NALCO), NMDC, Tata Steel, Jindal Steel & Power, JSW Steel, APL Apollo and Ratnamani Metals & Tubes which gained up to 3%. Not just the local factors, the metal stocks have taken cues from improving outlook and appreciation in metal prices in international markets. Last week, data showed US manufacturing growing for the first time in one-and-a-half years meanwhile China's manufacturing activity also expanded for the first time in six months in March."I think if you look at the overall market rally in the last one year, it has been very sector-specific. Now, in the last year, we saw that infrastructure and the realty sector did very well and now the sector rotation is happening and we have seen that metals have taken the lead. So, I think we should go with momentum trading which is the current flavour of the month or the week in the metal sector and best is Jindal Steel," Vishal Malkan, malkansview.com told ET Now.Dr V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services also credited the recent rally in headline indices to the performance of select sectors including metal. "An important feature of the recent rally in India is that it is led by fundamentally strong sectors like capital goods, automobiles, banking and metals," Vijayakumar said.(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of Economic Times)