Today(on 29th July), The Delhi High Court has ordered Patanjali Ayurved and Baba Ramdev to retract statements blaming allopathic doctors for Covid-19 deaths while promoting Coronil as a “cure.” This directive comes amid ongoing controversy surrounding the product’s claims.
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NEW DELHI: Today(on 29th July), The Delhi High Court issued a significant directive, ordering Patanjali Ayurved and its prominent figures, including Baba Ramdev, to retract all statements attributing the deaths of numerous individuals during the Covid-19 pandemic to allopathic doctors. These statements were made while promoting Patanjali’s product, Coronil, as a “cure” for Covid-19.
Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani, who presided over the case, passed an interim order restricting Ramdev, his associate Acharya Balkrishna, and Patanjali Ayurved from continuing with these allegations.
He stated-
“I have instructed the defendants to remove specific tweets within three days. If they fail to comply, social media intermediaries will be required to take down the content.”
This court action came as a response to a defamation lawsuit filed by several medical associations, including the Resident Doctors’ Association of AIIMS Rishikesh, Patna, and Bhubaneswar, the Association of Resident Doctors, PGIMER Chandigarh, the Union of Resident Doctors of Punjab (URDP), the Resident Doctors’ Association of Lala Lajpat Rai Memorial Medical College, Meerut, and the Telangana Junior Doctors’ Association, Hyderabad.
The defamation suit highlighted several claims made by Ramdev and his associates, which were deemed false and damaging:
- Allopathy is responsible for the deaths of lakhs of people due to COVID-19.
- Allopathic doctors have been causing the deaths of thousands of patients.
- Allopathic doctors have been profiteering off patients and advising medicines that act like poison.
These allegations, according to the doctors, were misleading and detrimental, causing the public to question the safety and efficacy of allopathic treatments, including the Covid-19 vaccines. The interim order aimed to halt Ramdev, Balkrishna, and Patanjali Ayurved from spreading defamatory allegations against allopathy and from promoting Coronil as a cure for Covid-19.
The doctors argued that Ramdev’s statements amounted to public nuisance and misrepresentation, undermining public trust in allopathic medicine while promoting Coronil. They emphasized that such misinformation campaigns could divert people from allopathic treatments, which are prescribed as the standard form of care by the Government of India.
The plaint stated-
“The misinformation campaign regarding the alleged negative effects and inefficacy of allopathy during the ongoing pandemic has the potential to divert people from following the standard allopathic treatments recommended by the Government of India. This directly infringes upon the right to health of Indian citizens, which is protected under Article 21 of the Constitution.”
