Baba Ramdev Counters Supreme Court: Defends Ayurveda, Blames Doctors for Negative Narrative

Following the Supreme Court's warning to Patanjali Ayurved about making potentially misleading statements in its medicine advertisements, the company's co-founder, yoga guru Baba Ramdev, defended his firm on Wednesday. He alleged that a group of doctors was stirring up negative propaganda against Ayurveda.

During a press conference in Haridwar, Ramdev responded to the Supreme Court's statement that false propaganda would be met with fines, stating that while he respects the Supreme Court, he is not involved in spreading misinformation. He mentioned that a group of doctors has been consistently spreading negative information about yoga and Ayurveda. He challenged that if he is found to be lying, he should be fined Rs 1000 crore and is even prepared to face the death penalty. However, if he is innocent, those who are truly spreading false propaganda should be punished. He pointed out that for the past five years, there has been a targeted propaganda campaign against him and Patanjali.

On Tuesday, Patanjali Ayurved was instructed by the supreme court to refrain from disseminating deceptive statements against contemporary medical systems. The court also indicated that the bench might contemplate levying a penalty of Rs 1 crore on each product if it is falsely advertised as a cure for a specific disease.

“Money cannot decide truth and lie. They (allopathy) may have more hospitals, doctors and their voice may be heard more, but we have the inheritance of the wisdom of sages, we are not poor.”, Baba Ramdev said.

The Supreme Court bench, consisting of Justices Ahsanuddin Amanullah and Prashant Kumar Mishra, expressed these views in a verbal exchange during a hearing involving a petition from the Indian Medical Association (IMA). On August 23, 2022, the apex court had sent notifications to the Union Health Ministry, the Ministry of Ayush, and Patanjali Ayurved Ltd, in response to the IMA's complaint of a defamation campaign led by Ramdev against the vaccination initiative and contemporary medicine.