Baba Ramdev moves Supreme Court seeking stay on multiple FIRs, wants cases transferred to Delhi

He sought the transfer of the FIRs lodged by the Patna and Raipur branches of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) to Delhi.

New Delhi: Yoga teacher and businessman Baba Ramdev has moved the Supreme Court seeking a stay of the multiple FIRs filed against him over his “offensive” remarks against allopathy.

He also sought the transfer of the FIRs lodged by the Patna and Raipur branches of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) to Delhi.

Last week, the Chhattisgarh Police has registered an FIR against Ramdev for allegedly spreading "false" information about the medicines being used by the medical fraternity for the treatment of COVID-19.

“The case was filed on Wednesday night against Baba Ramdev based on a complaint filed by the Chhattisgarh's unit of the Indian Medical Association (IMA),” Raipur's Senior Superintendent of Police Ajay Yadav said.

"Ramdev has been booked under sections 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant), 269 (negligent act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) and others of the IPC and provisions of Disaster Management Act, 2005," he said.

Ramdev called allopathy “a stupid science" following which the IMA had filed a Rs 10 crore defamation suit against him.

The IMA has demanded that the Centre should take strict action against Ramdev for allegedly misleading people by making "unlearned" comments and describing modern medicine as "stupid science”.

The Resident Doctors' Associations of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and Safdarjung Hospital too condemned Ramdev's statement and demanded that "strictest steps" be taken against him.

Reacting to the controversy, Patanjali Yogpeeth Trust issued a statement, denying the comments, and said, "It is clarified that the truncated version of the video is totally out of context of what is sought to be conveyed by Swami jee."

Asserting that Ramdev has "utmost regards" for doctors and support staff who have been working day and night during such a challenging time of the pandemic, the statement signed by Trust General Secretary Acharya Balakrishna said, "Swami jee has no ill-will against the modern science and good practitioners of modern medicine. What is being attributed against him is false and nugatory."