SC adjourns till July Ramdev's plea against FIRs over Covid-19 comments against allopathy

New Delhi, April 19: The Supreme Court on Friday adjourned hearing on a plea filed by Yoga guru Baba Ramdev seeking a stay on the proceedings against him in connection with the multiple FIRs lodged over his alleged remarks against the use of allopathic medicines during the Covid-19 pandemic.

A bench presided over by Justice M. M. Sundresh and Justice P. B. Varale posted the matter for hearing in July after Bihar and Chattisgarh governments sought more time to file their counter affidavits relating to the status of FIRs registered against Ramdev.

In his writ petition filed before the apex court, the Patanjali founder had sought for clubbing of all FIRs against him and their transfer to Delhi. He further pleaded for a halt on the proceedings in multiple cases filed against him and protection from coercive actions.

Multiple FIRs were filed against Ramdev across several states over his controversial comments against allopathic treatment of Covid-19.

In a video, he reportedly said: "More people have died due to allopathic medicines than due to lack of medical oxygen or shortage of beds."

As the video went viral on social media and sparked outrage, FIRs were filed against him by Indian Medical Assocaition's branches of Raipur and Patna.

Ramdev contended that his comments - which he withdrew the next day after receiving a strongly-worded letter from the then Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan - did not amount to any offence under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) or any other law.