New Delhi: In a recent development, the Supreme Court has refused to accept the apology offered by the President of the Indian Medical Association (IMA), Dr. RV Asokan, regarding his comments made in a media interview concerning certain observations made by the Court.

Dr. Asokan appeared before the Court in response to a notice issued on an application by Patanjali Ayurved seeking contempt action against him. Despite conveying an unconditional apology to the bench of Justices Hima Kohli and Ahsanuddin Amanullah, the Court expressed dissatisfaction with his conduct.

Justice Kohli expressed disappointment, stating, "Dr. Asokan, with your experience, we would have expected more sense of responsibility from you." Justice Amanullah labeled Dr. Asokan's conduct as "unfortunate," equating it with Patanjali's behavior, for which the Court had already discarded an apology.

The bench questioned the sincerity of Dr. Asokan's apology, pointing out that he hadn't issued a public apology before appearing in court. Dr. Asokan emphasized his respect for the institution but faced further skepticism from the judges.

Despite pleas from IMA's counsel Senior Advocate PS Patwalia, the Court remained unwilling to accept Dr. Asokan's apology at this stage. Justice Kohli reiterated, "We are not at this stage inclined to accept the apology tendered by your client."

The controversy arose in a case filed by IMA against Patanjali Ayurved for allegedly making misleading claims and disparaging advertisements against the Allopathic system of medicine. The Court had initiated contempt proceedings against Patanjali Ayurved and its founders for continuing to publish misleading medical advertisements in violation of a previous undertaking.

The recent turn of events came after Dr. Asokan criticized the Supreme Court's observations in a press interview following the Court's focus on IMA's internal practices. This led to Patanjali seeking action against Dr. Asokan for his remarks against the Court.

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Mathura (UP), May 16 (PTI): As many as 90 Bangladeshi nationals, including many children, were apprehended from Uttar Pradesh's Mathura district on Friday for alleged illegal stay in India, officials said.

They were taken into custody from local brickyards at Khajpur village under the Naujheel police station limits, a senior officer said.

"Regular searches were being conducted throughout the district. During one such operation, police were searching some local brickyards when they came across Bangladeshi nationals working there," SSP Shlok Kumar said.

Giving a break-up, the officer said in all, 35 men, 27 women and 28 children have been taken into custody.

"During interrogation, all of them admitted to being Bangladeshi nationals living illegally in India. They moved to Mathura three to four months back from a neighbouring state. Police are trying to establish their links," the SSP said, adding that their job contractor and other associates are also being questioned.

The officer told PTI that police also recovered some Aadhaar cards from the Bangladeshi nationals, apparently issued on forged documents in some other state.

Further legal proceedings are underway, Kumar said.