File photo of Yoga guru Ramdev addressing the media during the launch of 'Coronil'
Credit: PTI Photo
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday reserved its order on a plea by several doctors’ associations against yoga exponent Ramdev over his alleged 'unsubstantiated' claim about 'Coronil' being a 'cure' for COVID-19 and not just an immunity booster.
The plea forms part of a 2021 lawsuit by doctors' associations against the yoga guru, his aide Acharya Balkrishna as well as Patanjali Ayurveda founded by Ramdev, and seeks an interim relief of removal of statements from various media platforms with respect to the claim.
According to the lawsuit, Ramdev made unsubstantiated claims about 'Coronil' being a cure for COVID-19, contrary to the licence granted to the drug for merely being an “immuno-booster”.
The senior counsel appearing for the plaintiffs also sought a direction to restrain the defendants from making further similar statements.
Ramdev's senior lawyer said he was bound by the undertaking given in the Supreme Court in the case concerning advertisements of Patanjali products, adding that he was willing to make a similar statement in the high court as well.
The plaintiffs' senior lawyer, however, urged the court to pass an order on the interim application stating that the undertaking before the apex court was with regard to not making 'causal statements' that are not in compliance with the law.
Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani said the matter before him concerned 'specific instances' and reserved the order.
Three Resident Doctors' Association of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences at Rishikesh, Patna and Bhubaneswar as well as Association of Resident Doctors, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education & Research, Chandigarh; Union of Resident Doctors of Punjab (URDP); Resident Doctors' Association, Lala Lajpat Rai Memorial Medical College, Meerut, and Telangana Junior Doctors' Association, Hyderabad had moved the high court in 2021 against Ramdev and others.
In their lawsuit filed through advocate Harshavardhan Kotla, the associations have submitted that the yoga guru, who is a highly influential person, was sowing doubts in the minds of the general public about the safety and efficacy of not only allopathic treatments but also COVID-19 vaccines.
They alleged that the 'misinformation' campaign was nothing but an advertisement and marketing strategy to further the sales of the product sold by Ramdev, including 'Coronil', which he claimed to be an alternative treatment for COVID-19.
On October 27, 2021, the high court had issued summons to Ramdev and others on the lawsuit, saying it was not a frivolous matter and a case was “definitely” made out for its institution.