FIR Against Baba Ramdev Closed in Chhattisgarh, Bihar Case Still Pending

The Supreme Court was informed on Tuesday that Chhattisgarh Police has filed a closure report in the case against yoga guru and Patanjali founder Baba Ramdev over his remarks against allopathic medicines during the COVID-19 pandemic [Swami Ram Dev vs. Union of India & Ors.].

Ramdev had moved the Court seeking the clubbing of multiple FIRs registered across States after his controversial comments, where he claimed that lakhs of people had died after taking allopathic treatment for COVID-19. Although he later withdrew his statement, it had triggered strong criticism from medical bodies and led to several FIRs.

A Bench of Justices MM Sundresh and Satish Chandra Sharma was told that the criminal case in Chhattisgarh is being dropped, though an FIR in Bihar is still pending.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta argued that such cases were driven by vested interests and not genuine grievances. “These FIRs are obviously sponsored by some interested groups,” he submitted.

Ramdev’s counsel, Senior Advocate Siddharth Dave, however, pointed out that the closure report in Chhattisgarh had not yet been formally placed before the Court. He added that the matter could be revived if the complainant filed a protest petition.

The Court will take up the case again in December, after the Bihar government files its response.

It may be recalled that in 2022, the Supreme Court had criticised Ramdev during a petition filed by the Indian Medical Association, which alleged that his statements amounted to a smear campaign against modern medicine and COVID-19 vaccination. Around the same time, the Delhi High Court had also restrained him from making misleading remarks about allopathy.