The Supreme Court was informed on Tuesday that the Chhattisgarh Police have filed a closure report in a case regarding yoga guru Ramdev's alleged remarks against allopathic medicines during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta brought the development to the notice of Justices MM Sundresh and Satish Chandra Sharma. Mehta underscored that the complaints against Ramdev appeared to have been "sponsored" by some interested groups.
Senior advocate Siddharth Dave, representing Ramdev, said that while Chhattisgarh had filed its response in line with previous directions, Bihar had yet to do so. The bench subsequently adjourned the matter until December.
Previously, the complainants had been asked to be included as parties in Ramdev's plea, which seeks a stay on the criminal proceedings against him. The Patna and Raipur chapters of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) had lodged complaints in 2021, alleging that Ramdev's comments were likely to prejudice the Covid-19 control mechanism and could discourage people from seeking proper treatment. In his plea, Ramdev had named the Centre, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, and the IMA as parties.
Dave had earlier stated that his client had made a comment in 2021 that he did not believe in allopathic medicines, which some doctors took offence to, leading them to lodge multiple cases against him. Ramdev had sought an interim stay on the investigations into the criminal complaints.
The yoga guru was booked under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Disaster Management Act, 2005. Ramdev, whose statements had stirred a nationwide debate on Allopathy versus Ayurveda, had, however, withdrawn them after receiving a letter from the then Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, who called his remarks "inappropriate."
In a separate development, the Delhi Medical Association (DMA) sought permission to become a party to the case, alleging that Ramdev had insulted Allopathy and "instigated" people to disregard vaccines and treatment protocols. The DMA, which has 15,000 doctors as members, claimed that Ramdev's company Patanjali earned over ₹1,000 crore by selling "Coronil" kits that were not approved by the competent authority.
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