Justice C Hari Shankar said that at the present stage, it only needs to “see whether the allegations made in the plaintiffs are worth considering in any case”.
“The allegations may be true or may be false. He can say that he didn’t say anything like that… it needs to be looked into.’
“Prima facie, it appears that the present trial cannot be thrown on the threshold without allowing the trial to proceed,” the court said, after the court had earlier sought Ramdev’s stand on the institution of the proceedings.
The court listed the matter on October 27 so that Ramdev’s lawyers can present their arguments.
Three Resident Doctors Association of All India Institute of Medical Sciences at Rishikesh, Patna and Bhubaneswar as well as Resident Doctors Association, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh; Association of Resident Doctors of Punjab (URDP); The Resident Doctors’ Association, Lala Lajpat Rai Memorial Medical College, Meerut and Telangana Junior Doctors’ Association, Hyderabad had moved the high court earlier this year.
He alleged that Ramdev was misleading the public at large and misrepresenting that allopathy was responsible for the deaths of many people infected with Covid-19, and was indicating that allopathic doctors were killing patients. are causing.
Senior advocate Akhil Sibal, representing the associations, said that amid a pandemic, Yoga Gugu made baseless claims on Coronil for the treatment of Covid-19, contrary to the license granted to the drug to be only an ‘immuno booster’ .
The senior counsel claimed that Ramdev’s statements were not “genuine opinions” but were made for marketing and commercial use.
“This is a man who has no degree. He is giving medical opinion in a regulated area, endangering lives amid a pandemic. People are naive. He is a repeat offender. He claimed that yoga could cure AIDS and cancer. You can’t just say things and deceive people. Business speech comes with some responsibility,” he said.
In their petition filed through advocate Harshvardhan Kotla, the associations had submitted that the yoga guru, who is a highly influential figure, was creating doubts in the minds of the general public about the safety and efficacy of not only allopathic remedies but also Covid-19. Were were Comments.
The petition alleged that the misinformation campaign was nothing but an advertising and marketing tactic to push the sale of a product sold by Ramdev, including Coronil, claimed to be an alternative treatment for Covid-19. does.
Other respondents in the petition include Acharya Balkrishna and Patanjali Ayurved.
The court had on June 3 summoned Ramdev on a plea by the Delhi Medical Association regarding his alleged statements against allopathic medicines and claims of Patanjali’s Coronil kit.
The court at that time refused to restrain Ramdev, saying that the allopathic profession was not that delicate.
However, it had orally asked Ramdev’s counsel not to make any provocative statements to him.
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