Ramdev should remove claims blaming allopathy and promoting Coronil: HC

#News Bureau July29,2024

Patanjali has again suffered a setback from the Delhi High Court. The Delhi High Court ordered Patanjali Ayurved and its promoters, including Baba Ramdev, to retract all claims that Coronil is a ‘cure’ for Covid-19 within three days .It has asked yoga guru Baba Ramdev and Acharya Balkrishna to remove their statements claiming that allopathy is responsible for the death of lakhs of people in Kovid-19 and Patanjali’s Coronil is a cure for the virus. For this, the court has given them three days.

The High Court was hearing an interim injunction application in a suit filed by various doctor associations in 2021. According to a Live Law report, a bench of Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani has asked Ramdev and Balkrishna to remove the objectionable content from social media platforms, the Internet and all websites within three days. It said that if they do not remove the statements within three days, then the social media intermediary should remove it.

Doctor associations have alleged that Baba Ramdev is misleading the public at large by spreading misinformation, which is causing people not to get hospitalised by saying that allopathy is responsible for Covid-19 deaths.

In its 55-page judgment, the court said that the promotion of Coronil as a cure for Covid-19 by Baba Ramdev and Acharya Balkrishna is extremely disgusting. According to a report by this website, which reports court proceedings, the court further said that branding Coronil as a cure may amount to misbranding and is not legally permissible. The judge, however, said that this court leaves it to the competent authorities to examine this aspect.

Justice Bhambhani said that if Ramdev and Balkrishna are allowed to promote and advertise Coronil, not only will the health of the general public be at risk, but the ancient and respected system of Ayurveda may also be defamed.

Further, the court ruled that Coronil tablet was licensed only for use as an immunity booster, which can also help as a supportive measure in the management of COVID-19. It further said that the application made to update the license of Coronil from ‘immunity booster’ to ‘COVID-19 medicine’ was never approved and was rejected after detailed evaluation.