In a major blow to faith healing, the Allahabad High Court has said no person has a right to make a claim of curing ailments and to improve health on the basis of his right to freedom of religion.

In a recent judgment, Justice Sunil Ambvani said: “The Article 21 (the right to life and personal liberty) does not come in conflict or overlaps with the right to propagate and profess religion. The two are separate and distinct rights. Where the right to health is regulated by validly enacted legislations, the right to cure the ailments through religious practices, including ‘faith healing’ cannot be claimed as fundamental right.”

“The claim to cure ailments falls in the domain of right to health. A person has no right to induce others to believe in his faith in religion to cure others from ailments,” the court said.

The court further said, “If such a person is made to believe that the faith of a person in his religion and such belief is cure to all ailments, and on such conviction the person suffering from does not take any treatment and suffers and dies, the person professing such a faith commits a crime, which has no defence in his faith or any right to his religion.”

It may be recalled that one Santosh Saxena, a social activist, had moved an application that one Ajay Pratap Singh along with his disciples had set up Lal Mahendra Shiva Shakti Seva Samsthan, Allahabad and was holding weekly congregation every Thursday at Samya Mai Mandir Park in Allahabad.

The congregation is attended by thousands of disease-afflicted people. Samiti claims remedy for all sorts of serious ailments. The cure process is wholly magical. No known therapy is adopted or administered. Each person is charged Rs 30 and is required to chant “Om Namah Shivai” and this treatment is required to continue for at least 15 days.

While acting on the application, the court restrained up Lal Mahendra Shiva Shakti Seva Samsthan, Allahabad through any of its members, including Ajay Pratap Singh from practising and professing ‘faith-healing’ using public parks, illegally extracting energy from main power lines, using loud speakers, charging consideration by themselves or through their followers and disciples at any place.