The Supreme Court on Tuesday faulted the Indian Medical Association (IMA) President R V Asokan’s apology as being “illegible” and having font size “minuscule” after Asokan tendered an apology in a newspaper in reaction to statements he had made during an interview with a news agency. The bench of the Supreme Court comprising Justice Hima Kohli & Justice Sandeep Mehta said that the extract of the apology filed before them was completely illegible and, therefore, ordered the physical copies of 20 editions of The Hindu newspaper containing the apology from senior counsel P S Patwalia who appeared for Asokan.
The bench stated that they were desirous of knowing whether the apology provided was adequate in its printed form or not. The bench said, “We don’t want to compromise on this until we see advertisements in physical form. Show us the actual size.” This means that the court’s expectations from an apology are not only its content but also how it is formulated and perceivable in a legal proceeding.
Before that, on July 9, Asokan had submitted that he had tendered an apology to the press and the apex court, as reported in several newspapers. This was due to the remarks that the court deemed proper on May 14 on the court, and concerning the issues of the misleading advertisement by Patanjali Ayurved Ltd. While the Supreme Court made it clear that it would not accept his apology affidavit at that stage.
The court’s displeasure was evident, especially because Asokan had made the comments a day before the status briefing. The Supreme Court of India had also issued notice to an application filed by Patanjali Ayurved Ltd, where through the applicant had prayed to this court to take notice of Asokan’s statements. In his talk with news agency editors on April 29, Asokan voiced his anger at the Supreme Court for pointing an accusing finger at the IMA and some unfair practices of private doctors.
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