Several associations of doctors had sued Patanjali and its promoters, including Baba Ramdev, for defamation.
The Delhi High Court on Monday ordered Patanjali Ayurved and its promoters, including Baba Ramdev, to take down claims that allopathy doctors were responsible for the deaths of lakhs of people during the COVID-19 pandemic, while promoting Patanjali’s Coronil as a “cure” [Resident Doctors Association, AIIMS and Ors v. Ram Kishan Yadav Alias Swami Ramdev and Ors].
Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani passed an interim order restraining Ramdev, his associate Acharya Balkrishna and Patanjali Ayurveda from making such allegations.
“I have directed the defendants to take down certain tweets in three days, if they fail to do it, the social media intermediaries will take down the content,” the judge said.
In a detailed judgement, the Court ruled that Ramdev’s conduct in blaming allopathic doctors for lakhs of Covid deaths is “egregious” and labeling Patanjali tablets as Coronil amounts to mislabeling which is impermissible under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act.
The Bench stressed that if Ramdev and Patanjali are allowed to promote and advertise Coronil, the public at large will be at risk and Ayurveda may come into disrepute.
“A plain reading of the impugned material shows that the contesting defendants [Ramdev, Balkrishna and Patanjali] have represented to the public-at-large that the said Tablet [Coronil] is a treatment, medicine and even cure for COVID-19. Such statements and representations are clearly contrary to, and in flagrant violation of, the statutory approvals, certifications and licenses issued by the Ministry of AYUSH and/or by the Licensing Authorities, as detailed above,” the court said.
Justice Bhambhani further said that the statements were made when people were most vulnerable during the pandemic and prone to accepting whatever was put-out by the Ramdev and his associates.
“As a sequitur to the above, this court is constrained to observe that if the contesting defendants are permitted to continue to promote and advertise the said Tablet, not only would the public-at-large be at risk of their health, the ancient and venerated system of Ayurveda may itself come into disrepute,” the Court concluded and passed the interim order.
The Court was dealing with a defamation case filed against Patanjali and its promotors by the Resident Doctors’ Association of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Rishikesh, Patna and Bhubaneswar along with the Association of Resident Doctors, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education & Research, Chandigarh, the Union of Resident Doctors of Punjab (URDP), Resident Doctors’ Association, Lala Lajpat Rai Memorial Medical College, Meerut and the Telangana Junior Doctors’ Association, Hyderabad have filed the defamation suit.
As per the suit, Ramdev and his associates made the following claims which are false and should be taken down:
- 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 the patients and advising medicines to patients that have the effect of poison.
The doctors argued that through such misleading claims, Patanjali was sowing doubts in the minds of the general public as to the safety and efficacy of allopathic treatments, and also of COVID-19 vaccines.
As an interim order, the suit sought to restrain Ramdev, his associate Acharya Balkrishna as well as Patanjali Ayurveda from making defamatory allegations against allopathy and from promoting Coronil as a cure for COVID-19.
The doctors alleged public nuisance and misrepresentation by Ramdev for making statements against allopathic medicine and doctors while promoting his own Coronil as a cure for COVID 19.
“The misinformation campaign as to the alleged ill-effects and lack of efficacy of allopathy during the ongoing pandemic have the propensity to divert people from allopathic treatments prescribed as the standard form of care even by the Government of India, and thereby directly violates the right to health of persons in India/citizens of India, which is a facet of Article 21 of the Constitution,” the plaint filed by the doctors stated.