The Court also issued notice to the Bihar and Chhattisgarh governments in the plea filed after FIRs were registered over Ramdev’s adverse remarks on the use of modern medicine for COVID treatment.
On Monday, the Supreme Court called for responses from the Indian Medical Association (IMA) and the governments of Central, Bihar, and Chhattisgarh in connection with a petition lodged by yoga guru and Patanjali ambassador Baba Ramdev. The petition concerns the numerous cases filed against him due to his critical remarks about the use of modern or allopathic medicine in the treatment of COVID-19.
This move came after Senior Advocate Siddhartha Dave, representing Baba Ramdev, presented his arguments before the bench of Justices AS Bopanna and MM Sundresh.
In 2021, Baba Ramdev approached the Supreme Court, seeking a stay on the ongoing proceedings in multiple cases filed against him in different states over his comments on allopathy. In these comments, he had criticized doctors and the COVID-19 treatment protocol. Ramdev requested a halt to the proceedings related to the first information reports (FIRs) initiated by the IMA through its branches in Patna and Raipur, and further sought the transfer of these FIRs to a court in Delhi.
Baba Ramdev has been charged under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including Sections 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by a public servant), 269 (negligent act likely to spread life-threatening infection), and 504 (intentional insult with intent to instigate breach of the peace).
The IMA’s complaint against Ramdev alleged that he spread false information on social media regarding medicines used by the medical community, the Indian government, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), and other organizations during the pandemic for treating COVID-19.
In an interlocutory application filed in this case, the IMA emphasized that Ramdev’s statements were based on multiple incidents, each constituting a separate cause of action. The IMA asserted that despite the immense suffering caused by the pandemic, Ramdev had demonstrated a primary interest in deceiving the public for financial gain. The IMA also highlighted his derogatory comments directed at the individuals who lost their lives due to oxygen shortages, emphasizing that Ramdev did not deserve any special treatment.
In August of the previous year, while hearing a petition filed by the IMA against Baba Ramdev, the Supreme Court had questioned the yoga guru about his efforts to disparage allopathy and its practitioners during the COVID-19 pandemic.
