Yoga guru and entrepreneur Baba Ramdev has approached the Supreme Court with a plea for protection from multiple criminal FIRs filed against him in different states in relation to his controversial comments on the effectiveness of evidence-based medicines in treating Covid-19. The bench of Justices AS Bopanna and MM Sundresh has issued notices to the central government and the Indian Medical Association (IMA) in response to Ramdev's request.
In his plea, Ramdev has sought the consolidation of these FIRs and their transfer to Delhi. Additionally, he has requested a halt to proceedings in multiple cases against him and protection from coercive actions related to FIRs filed by the IMA's Patna and Raipur branches. Ramdev's legal team argued that he is a public figure and expressed his viewpoint at a private event, emphasizing his right to express his opinion regarding the effectiveness of various medical approaches, according to media reports.
The FIRs against Ramdev have been registered under various sections, including Section 188, Section 269, and Section 504 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005. The controversy stemmed from a video in which Ramdev allegedly criticized modern medicines, claiming that drugs like Remdesivir and Fabiflu, which are approved by the Drugs Controller General of India, had failed to effectively treat Covid-19 patients.
In the video, Ramdev was seen expressing his skepticism about allopathy, stating that several medications had not proven effective in treating Covid-19 patients. These comments sparked outrage, leading to the Indian Medical Association issuing a legal notice to him.
In response to the legal notice, an FIR was filed against Ramdev in Raipur, Chhattisgarh, by the local IMA unit. The complaint alleged that Ramdev had disseminated false information and made threatening statements on social media about medicines used by the medical community, the Government of India, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), and other frontline organizations involved in Covid-19 treatment.
