Kerala National News

What The Leftist Media Won’t Tell You About The So-Called The Liver Doc

November 23, 2023
The Commune

The Supreme Court of India has issued a stern warning to Patanjali Ayurveda, co-founded by Baba Ramdev, directing an immediate halt to “misleading advertisements” and cautioning against a ₹1 crore penalty for each product making false cure claims. Justices Ahsanuddin Amanullah and Prashant Kumar Mishra, presiding over petitions from the Indian Medical Association (IMA), emphasized the gravity of false advertising during the hearing. Justice Amanullah asserted that all false and misleading advertisements of Patanjali Ayurveda must cease promptly, and the court may consider imposing costs of ₹1 crore on each product making false claims of curing specific diseases. The court is set to revisit the matter on February 5, 2024. The IMA’s petition not only accused Patanjali of spreading false rumors about COVID-19 vaccines but also highlighted allegations of Swami Ramdev mocking citizens during the second wave and making controversial statements linking cancer cases to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Subsequent to this, a physician whose profile was suspended from social media platform X in September 2023 after Himalaya Group filed a defamation suit on him for his posts raising doubts about certain products of the brand. He is none other than Dr Cyriac Abby Philips, a hepatologist and goes by the X handle “theliverdr”. 

Subsequently Karnataka High Court ordered his account be restored in October 2023.

The Himalaya Wellness Defamation Case

During the Himalaya Group case, a Kerala-based lawyer concurrently filed a separate complaint against the doctor, asserting that he lacked registration as a hepatologist, casting doubt on his credentials as a specialist, and alleging that he practiced without the necessary training—all due to his absence from the Kerala State Medical Council (KSMC) registry. Subsequently, the Council initiated another investigation against him. It is worth noting, however, that the mandate for doctors to register with the KSMC in order to practice in Kerala has been a subject of controversy, with some physicians challenging the directive, contending that it contradicts the Indian Medical Council Act of 1956.

Following this, Dr. Abby provided the KSMC with documentation verifying his completion of the MD (general medicine) and DM (hepatology) training from institutes in Kolkata and New Delhi. Subsequently, he was granted the opportunity to register with the Council, and the registration process is currently in progress. Consequently, the charges against him were ultimately dismissed.

A critic of Ayurveda and indic systems, Dr. Abby Philips says he is a liver doctor and always makes posts denouncing the use of indic medicine systems as well as yoga. Targeting Baba Ramdev, he made an inflammatory post with regard to Ramdev’s claims of curing diseases. He wrote on his X handle, “Hello charlatan Yog Rishi Ramdev, I thought “gurus” are supposed to not lie through their teeth. Did you forget the time when you advertised “cow urine” Godhan Ark as a cure for “any” liver disease?

Did you forget the time when you advertised ancient stretchy Yoga, breathing exercise nonsense, and acupressure for cure from Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, and Cirrhosis? Do you even know that Hepatitis A, B, and C are different viruses requiring different types of treatment or do you think just because “you know your ABCs”, you can act like a doctor?

Did you forget the time you advertised your utterly rubbish multiherbal formulations without any scientific evidence for efficacy and safety for “regenerating pancreatic cells” in diabetes and “curing BP?” 

Do you know that BP stands for blood pressure and blood pressure is not a disease? Do you even know what rubbish you have been feeding the public to sell your totally useless herbal junk based on studies done on zebrafish and cells inside a petri-dish? Pay the 1000 crores fine and go to jail and spare the public your ancient healthcare garbage. Or even better, stay-out-of-jail and stick to selling desi noodles, your Dant-Kanti cuttle-fish flavored toothpaste and Chinese sugar adultered Indian honey ok?”

Who Is Dr Cyriac Abby Philips?

In response to these allegations, netizens pulled out details of Dr Cyriac Abby Philips and his family background. The News Minute also ran an article on him when the Himalaya Group issue broke out and they referred to him as a “Kerala-based hepatologist and clinician scientist who is a popular voice known for his critical comments on alternative health remedies and efforts to call out pseudo-scientific practices.”

It is alleged that Philips works for a missionary-funded Rajagiri Hospital in Kochi. As per Wikipedia, this hospital is owned and managed by the Rajagiri (CMI) group of institutions. On checking who this CMI group belongs to, it becomes clear that CMI stands for Carmelites of Mary Immaculate. 

His Father – Involved In Organ Trafficking?

It is noteworthy that his father Dr Philip Augustine was in the news recently in connection with an organ trafficking case. In November 2009, Abin V J, the victim of a motorcycle accident suffered head injuries and was declared brain dead on 1 December 2009. His organs, including the liver, were subsequently extracted and transplanted into a foreign national, a Malaysian. This incident raised concerns about potential organ trafficking, as the process to harvest Abin’s organs reportedly began immediately upon his transfer from Mar Baselios Hospital to Lakeshore Hospital. The issuance of a Malaysian Embassy Certificate, listing the recipient’s wife as the donor, also added to the suspicion regarding the true origin of the liver.

During the organ harvesting procedure, abnormalities were discovered, including a mutilated heart when the thoracic chamber was opened. Medical experts pointed out additional lapses in Abin’s treatment, questioning the absence of significant brain injuries. It was argued that his death could have been prevented through hematoma evacuation, emphasising that the failure to remove the blood clot led to his demise.

A doctor from Kollam, the complainant, raised concerns about potential violations of existing laws and alleged misrepresentations of parental consent for organ retrieval. The complainant also emphasized procedural irregularities during the declaration of brain death, such as the absence of an essential apnea test and the failure to evacuate blood from the cranial cavity.

The court, recognizing the gravity of the allegations, has issued summons to all accused individuals – Lakeshore Hospital and Research Centre known as VPS Lakeshore Hospital, doctors with the hospital- Dr Philip Augustine, Dr S Mahesh, Dr George Jacob Eraly, Dr Sai Sudarsan, Dr Thomas Thachil, Dr Murali Krishna Menon, and Dr Sujith Vasudevan, and Dr Sajeev S of Mar Beselios Hospital. 

However, Abby Philips claims that the organ donation in question, was conducted ethically with family consent, and had occurred decades ago when his father head the multispecialty hospital in Kochi. Calling one Dr. Ganapathy, a “propagandist”,  Abby says that it was him who later revived this claim, which he claims has been rejected by regulatory bodies and law enforcement due to lack of evidence. He stated that the High Court of Kerala ordered the lower court to halt the summons against his father and that a writ petition to dismiss the allegation is in progress.

Demonising Indic Knowledge Systems In The Name Of Myth-Busting

Dr. Abby Philips has disparaged and demonised indic systems like Ayurveda and Yoga frequently in the name of “myth-busting”. He often shares pictures of his patients’ livers claiming they deteriorated and failed due to consumption of ayurvedic medicines. 

Here are some instances of how Dr Abby Philips demonised indic knowledge systems. In this post, he claimed that his patient had taken herbal medicine and that led to total failure of the liver.

He also attacked those who said daily masturbation was bad for health and promoted retention of the semen. 

He regularly called Ayurveda and Yoga as pseudoscience.

He also claimed that yoga doesn’t help lose weight.

In another post, he was seen promoting the use of painkillers such as paracetamol stating they are perfectly safe for consumption. 

It is unclear whether any action will be taken against such people claiming to denounce/bust “myths” about our knowledge systems. With his questionable family background and his affiliation with missionary linked hospital, surely the “liver doctor” will have to weigh his words in public.

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