The Delhi High Court on Tuesday dismissed the Indian Medical Association chief JA Jayalal’s appeal against a trial court order asking him to abstain from using the organisation’s platform to propagate any religion and warning him that loose comments are not expected from a person who is chairing such a prestigious organisation.
A single-judge bench comprising of Justice Asha Menon rejected the petition asking Jayalal to rather concentrate on the welfare of the medical fraternity instead of using his position to spread religion.
Earlier this year, the trial court had observed that “saying Christianity and Allopathy are same and is a gift of the western world would be the “most inaccurate assertion”.
The trial court heard the matter in connection with a suit filed by one Rohit Jha, who had alleged in his plea that Jayalal had started a slanderous campaign against Hindu religion by promoting Christianity
A suit was filed by one Rohit Jha who had alleged that Jayalal had started a defamatory campaign against the Hindu religion by promoting Christianity under the pretext of proving the superiority of Allopathic medicines over Ayurvedic medicines in treating COVID-related complications. Jha had submitted a news article dated March 30, 2021, published in Nation World News along with a TV news debate clip of Jayalal and Baba Ramdev.
This is the second time that the Delhi High Court had pulled up Dr Jayalal for using his platform to propagate Christianity. Earlier in June, the court had come down hard against the IMA chief, asking him to not use his position and the organisation in disseminating any particular religion.
The judge also asked the IMA chief not to indulge in any activity contrary to the principles enshrined in the Constitution of India and maintain the dignity of the position chaired by him.
Use hospitals to convert Hindus to Christianity: Dr Jayalal
Dr Jayalal, in his interview earlier this year, had claimed that Christian doctors are blessed with a special ability to provide “holistic healing”, which includes spiritual, mental and social healing.
“Normally in the medical profession, we talk about the physical curing. But as a Christian, I believe we are not just here to physically cure, but God Almighty has called us to give holistic healing, which includes the spiritual healing, the mental healing, and the social healing,” he had said.
What Dr Jayalal was implying here is that by the virtue of their faith, Christian doctors are gifted with a paranormal ability to effect just not physical curing but mental and spiritual healing as well. He then goes on to say more Christian doctors are required to work more in secular institutions, mission institutions, and medical colleges, who can impart “Christian healing” to the patients.
If Dr JA Jayalal’s utterances are to be believed, he harbours missionary zeal to convert the weak and the vulnerable to Christianity in “secular organisations” that he serves and has contempt for Hindu nationalism and the Government of India.
Further, he said that the coronavirus pandemic has provided “the urgent need of the proclamation of the Gospel to people who are suffering from the virus has allowed us to share the Gospel even in secular institutions”.
In another interview to Christianity Today, Jayalal had said that it was the Church that took care of the poor people, implying that the government did not do anything. He had said that despite the hardships, difficulties, and restrictions that came in the wake of the pandemic, Christianity was growing.