HC notice to Jaipur institute, Patanjali over virus cure claim
Court seeks reply from National Institute of Medical Science University, Patanjali, central, state governments on July 13
DEHRADUN : The Uttarakhand high court on Wednesdayv issued notices to Patanjali Ayurved and National Institute of Medical Science (NIMS) University, Jaipur to reply on July 13 on a PIL alleging that Swami Ramdev and Acharya Balkrishna claimed to have found ayurvedic medicine Coronil for curing Covid-19 though they had not sought permission from the authorities concerned regarding the same.
Advocate Mani Kumar, petitioner in the case, said the HC served a notice to NIMS University as trials of ayurvedic medicines were conducted by it. “Besides the two, central and state governments have been directed to submit their counter-affidavits by July 13, when the matter will be heard again,” he said.
Assistant solicitor general Rakesh Thapliyal, who is representing the Centre in the case, confirmed that notices were issued to NIMS University and Patanjali Ayurved, central and state governments.
US Nagar-based Mani Kumar Kumar, in his PIL, has alleged that Patanjali’s Divya Pharmacy had sought permission for immunity boosters, but they claimed on June 23 to have found ayurvedic medicine Coronil for curing Covid-19 .
Kumar said the Rajasthan government has also stated that it hadn’t given any permission for clinical trials at NIMS Jaipur. “Ramdev had stated that his company had developed the ayurvedic medicine in collaboration with privately-owned NIMS.”
On Wednesday, Ramdev reaffirmed that Patanjali followed all legal procedures in carrying out clinical control trials of the drugs on Covid-19 positive patients. After successful clinical control drug trials on asymptomatic and patients with mild symptoms of the viral disease, Patanjali also carried out advanced stage research on serious patients, he said.
On June 24, a day after Patanjali launched a new ayurvedic product claiming it can cure Covid-19, Uttarakhand licensing authority (Ayush) issued a notice to Patanjali’s Divya Pharmacy stressing that the licence was issued by it for producing immunity boosters and not Covid-19 ayurvedic medicine. Divya Pharmacy was directed to reply within seven days.
On June 23, Ramdev had announced ‘Coronil’ and ‘Swasari’ as a cure for Covid-19, stressing that they “conducted a clinical case study and clinical controlled trial, and found 69 per cent of patients recovered in three days and 100 patients recovered in seven days”.