SC Grills Team Ramdev | Image:ANI
Ramdev’s Coronil Claims: The Delhi High Court has reserved its order on a plea by several doctors’ associations challenging yoga guru Ramdev’s contentious claims about ‘Coronil’ being a “cure” for COVID-19, rather than merely an immunity booster. This plea is part of a 2021 lawsuit filed by doctors’ associations against Ramdev, Acharya Balkrishna, Managing Director of Patanjali Ayurveda, a company founded by Ramdev. The lawsuit seeks interim relief by requesting the removal of statements from various media platforms where Ramdev claimed ‘Coronil’ as a cure for COVID-19, contrary to its licensed use as an immunity booster.
The plaintiffs’ senior counsel has called for a court order to restrain the defendants from making further similar statements. Ramdev’s senior lawyer countered by referring to an existing undertaking given in the Supreme Court regarding the advertising of Patanjali products, expressing willingness to provide a similar undertaking in the High Court.
The counsel argued that the Supreme Court undertaking pertained to not making statements that are not legally compliant and urged the court to issue an order on the interim application. The matter concerned specific instances and subsequently reserved the order, said the judge.
The lawsuit represents several medical associations including Resident Doctors’ Associations from AIIMS Rishikesh, Patna, and Bhubaneswar; the Association of Resident Doctors, PGIMER Chandigarh; the Union of Resident Doctors of Punjab (URDP); the Resident Doctors’ Association, Lala Lajpat Rai Memorial Medical College, Meerut; and the Telangana Junior Doctors’ Association, Hyderabad. The associations have expressed that Ramdev, with his large-scale clout, has created doubts in the people’s mind about the safety and efficacy of allopathic treatments and COVID-19 vaccines through his misinformation campaign, which they argue is a marketing strategy to boost sales of Patanjali products, including ‘Coronil’. On October 27, 2021, the High Court had issued summons to Ramdev and others involved in the case, stating that the matter was not frivolous and a case was “definitely” made out for its institution.
(With PTI inputs)
