Ramdev must restrain himself from “abusing” allopathy and other systems of medicine, the Supreme Court said on Tuesday, pulling up the yoga guru for deriding doctors and allopathy while speaking in favour of Patanjali products.
Issuing notices to the Union government and Patanjali Ayurved on a petition moved by the Indian Medical Association (IMA), a bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) NV Ramana took exception to the content of several advertisements issued by Patanjali to ridicule allopathy and blaming it for deaths and ailments.
“Why should he abuse doctors and other systems of medicine? We respect him because he has propounded yoga. But he cannot criticise other systems. What is the guarantee what he is advocating will cure people of all diseases?” asked the bench, which also included justices CT Ravi Kumar and Hima Kohli.
Advocate Prabhas Bajaj, appearing for IMA, adduced before the bench advertisements in which Patanjali purportedly blamed allopathy for leading to deaths and incurable diseases, adding many of these were printed during the second Covid-19 wave.
The CJI asked: “How can he [Ramdev] say all this…accusing all the doctors as if they are killers. Huge advertisements are there in all newspapers. He cannot abuse doctors and other systems of medicine. It’s better that he must restrain himself from abusing other systems.”
The IMA complained about statements made by Ramdev and Patanjali’s advertisements in newspapers and on TV channels, deriding allopathy and making several contentious accusations against those practising other systems of medicine.
“Many of these advertisements attribute lakhs of deaths to allopathy and such ads were published during the peak of the second Covid-19 wave. They even claim to have a cure for diabetes and blood pressure in the teeth of Union health ministry’s own guidelines,” Bajaj said.
He pointed out IMA lodged complaints with the Ayush ministry, which too agreed that these advertisements were misleading. “Despite agreeing that the ads are misguiding the public, nothing has been done and his smear campaign continues,” said Bajaj.
After hearing IMA, the bench asked solicitor general Tushar Mehta, who was in the court for some other matter, to accept notice on behalf of the Centre.
Last week, the Delhi high court chided Ramdev for “misleading the public” with his claims over Covid-19 vaccines, asking him to refrain from making unsubstantiated claims regarding Patanjali product Coronil.
“You are welcome to have your followers and disciples and people who believe you but don’t mislead the public by saying more than what is official…concern is to save the good name and reputation of Ayurveda. My aim [also] is nobody should be misled against allopathy,” the high court observed on August 17.
The court made the observation while hearing a suit moved by doctors’ associations, accusing Ramdev of misleading the public by questioning the efficacy of interventions such as Covid vaccinations.