The Delhi High Court on Thursday sought a proper clarification from Baba Ramdev regarding his Patanjali ayurveda company’s product ‘Coronil’, on allegations of spreading misinformation about the Covid-19 cure capacity of the product.
Justice Anup J. Bhambhani orally remarked the clarification of the yoga guru seemed “more like pat on his own back” as there was hardly any withdrawal of the claims he made in public.
“You gave the public two impressions: one is that allopathic doctors don’t have a cure and two that Coronil is the cure and treatment. You cannot say it is a supplementary measure. The idea is to be clear in your communication. Words have to express thought. If there is bona fide thought, then it has been concealed in this clarification,” he said orally during the hearing.
The court was dealing with a suit filed by several doctors’ associations alleging Ramdev’s public statement affects them as Coronil does not cure coronavirus and it is misleading.
During the course of the hearing, senior advocate P.V. Kapur, who appeared on behalf of Ramdev, said each medical discipline has a common objective and is neither inferior nor superior to others.
“We have tendered apology about what was said about the allopathic doctors,” he submitted.
On the other hand, senior advocate Akhil Sibal, represented the doctors’ associations, argued that the Patanjali website content claims that Coronil is a treatment to Covid-19.
After the detailed submissions, the court listed the matter for furthe hearing on August 18.
According to an earlier complaint of the Indian Medical Association (IMA), Ramdev has allegedly been propagating false information on social media platforms against medicines being used by the medical fraternity, the Indian government, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), and other frontline organisations invoved in the treatment of Covid patients.