NEW DELHI: The Delhi high court on Monday issued an order to Baba Ramdev and Patanjali, instructing them to remove claims promoting Coronil as a “cure” for Covid-19.
The order was passed by Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani on Monday, in response to an interim injunction application filed as part of a suit by various doctors’ associations in 2021.
The court ordered the removal of certain offending posts and content within three days.If the direction is not followed, X (formerly Twitter) will be required to take down the content. The order is part of a 2021 lawsuit filed by the doctors’ associations against Ramdev, his associate Acharya Balkrishna, and Patanjali Ayurveda.
The lawsuit alleges that Ramdev made unsubstantiated claims about Coronil being a cure for COVID-19, despite the drug only being licensed as an “immuno-booster.”
Several resident doctors’ associations from various institutes across India, including AIIMS Rishikesh, Patna, and Bhubaneswar, as well as associations from Chandigarh, Punjab, Meerut, and Hyderabad, filed the lawsuit in 2021.
The associations accused Ramdev and others of conducting a misinformation campaign and employing a marketing strategy to boost sales of their products, including Coronil, which they claimed to be an alternative treatment for Covid-19. In October 2021, the high court issued a summons to Ramdev and others, stating that the lawsuit was not frivolous and that a case for its institution was definitely made out.
Earlier, Bombay high court imposed a cost of Rs 4 crore on Patanjali Ayurved Ltd for allegedly violating a 2023 interim order that prohibited the company from selling its camphor products. The order was related to a trademark infringement case filed by Mangalam Organics Ltd.
Justice R I Chagla, presiding over a single bench, observed that Patanjali had “wilfully and deliberately” breached the court order, with the intention to flout it.
The court’s decision came in response to a petition filed by Mangalam Organics Ltd, seeking contempt action against Patanjali for continuing to sell its camphor products despite the restraining order. Justice Chagla ordered Patanjali to deposit Rs 4 crore within two weeks, in addition to the Rs 50 lakh the company had been directed to deposit earlier this month.
The interim order, issued by the high court in August 2023, prohibited Patanjali from selling or advertising its camphor products following a copyright infringement suit filed by Mangalam Organics. The latter subsequently filed an application claiming that Patanjali had breached the interim order by continuing to sell the products.





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