Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani restrained Patanjali co-founders Baba Ramdev and Acharya Balkrishna as well as their company from making such claims. (Photo: PTI)
4 min read Last Updated : Jul 29 2024 | 7:24 PM IST
The Delhi High Court on Monday ordered Patanjali Ayurved and its promoters to take down claims that allopathy doctors were responsible for lakhs of Covid deaths while promoting Patanjali’s Coronil as a cure.
The court said such claims were made by the promoters and the company when people were vulnerable and would believe them.
Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani restrained Patanjali co-founders Baba Ramdev and Acharya Balkrishna as well as their company from making such claims.
“I have directed the defendants to take down certain tweets in three days; if they fail to do it, the social media intermediaries (social media platforms) will take down the content,” the judge said.
Terming the act of blaming the allopathy doctors for people dying during Covid as egregious, the court held that labeling Patanjali tablets as a cure is not permitted under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act.
Such misrepresentation will be a deterrent to the public, it said.
“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 also said that the advertisement was put out when people were vulnerable and they would be more likely to believe the claims. Such claims would also bring a bad reputation to Ayurveda, the court said.
“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, but the ancient and venerated system of Ayurveda may also itself come into disrepute,” the court said.
The court was dealing with a defamation case filed against Patanjali and its promoters 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.
The defamation suit claimed Ramdev and his associates had said that allopathy is responsible for the deaths of lakhs of people due to Covid and that allopathic doctors have been profiteering off the patients.
The doctors said Patanjali was sowing doubts in the minds of the general public as to the safety and efficacy of allopathic treatments, and the Covid vaccines.
They had 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.
The Supreme Court is also hearing a petition filed by the Indian Medical Association (IMA) against Patanjali advertisements that attacked allopathy and made claims about curing certain diseases. It has reserved an order in the misleading advertisements case.
The top court had earlier told broadcasters to file the self-declaration on the Broadcast Seva portal run by the Information and Broadcasting Ministry (I&B Ministry). It ordered the central government to set up a new portal for filing such self-declaration forms for advertisements in print media.
Television, radio, and internet associations had then filed applications to intervene in the proceedings, saying the court’s directions would affect the advertising industry.
The court on July 9 told the Centre to meet with stakeholders and senior I&B Ministry officials to resolve issues faced by advertisers. It also said that the Ministry of Consumer Affairs should be made a party.
First Published: Jul 29 2024 | 7:24 PM IST
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