Patanjali Exploited Public Fear, Says Madras HC; Fines Rs 10 Lakh For Chasing Profits By Claiming Covid-19 Cure

Madras HC confirmed the injunction earlier imposed on Patanjali Ayurved from using the trademark and also slapped a fine of Rs 10 lakh for “chasing further profits by exploiting the fear and panic among the people."

(File Photo/ Twitter - @PypAyurved)

New Delhi: In what comes as a massive setback to Yoga guru and businessman Baba Ramdev, the Madras High Court on Thursday ruled against Patanjali Ayurved in connection with the cases pertaining to trademark of 'Coronil'. According to legal news website BarandBench.com, the court confirmed the injunction earlier imposed on Patanjali Ayurved from using the trademark and also slapped a fine of Rs 10 lakh for “chasing further profits by exploiting the fear and panic among the people by claiming Coronil to be a cure for Coronavirus". The injunction was granted by the Madras High Court on a trademark infringement suit filed by Chennai-based Arudra Engineers Private Limited, which was using the registered trademarks Coronil-213SPL and Coronil-92B for its industrial cleaning chemicals for over 30 years. Even last month, an interim injunction was passed after finding a prima facie case in favour of the Chennai-based firm, claiming rights over the trademark. Instead of having registered the trademark in June 1993, the company stated that Patanjali had adopted the name for its ‘immunity booster’ in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. As per the website, the court issued the directive in an order running over a hundred pages where it said that the defendants have directly infringed upon the very word 'Coronil' used by the plaintiff. HC also noted that there is no evidence that it (Coronil) is a cure for Coronavirus. While hearing the case, the High Court also pointed out the previous controversy that broke out after Coronil was projected as a 'cure' for Covid-19 till the Centre intervened in the matter. The court, in its ruling, also directed that the defendants pay Rs 5 lakh to the Adyar Cancer Institute and Rs 5 lakh to the Government Yoga and Naturopathy Medical College and Hospital by August 21. After AYUSH Ministry directed to submit the composition details of Patanjali's claimed Coronavirus medicine 'Coronil', company CEO Acharya Balakrishnan took to twitter and stated that the company has provided the information as demanded. “This government encourages Ayurveda and works for its glory, the communication gap has been filled and the Ayush ministry has been given all the information regarding the 100% fulfillment of all the standard parameters of Randomized Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trials (of Coronil),” Balakrishna said in a tweet in Hindi. Patanjali Ayurved launched the ‘Coronil and Swasari’ products on June 23, with the claim that it has successfully cured scores of under-trial Covid-19 patients with 100 per cent results except for those on life support systems.