Kozhikode: The Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum at Kozhikode slapped a Rs 4 lakh fine on a nature cure activist and anti-vaccine propagator Jacob Vadakkanchery and others in a petition filed by relatives of advocate Vinayanadan, who died during treatment.
Vinayanandan, 40, a lawyer in Kozhikode was suffering from diabetes, peptic ulcer and kidney stone and got admitted at the Nature Life Hospital and Remedies in Kochi, which is being run by Vadakkanchery, on November 7, 2005. After five days, Vinayanandan suffered fatigue, collapsed and subsequently died at the hospital. The petitioners approached the forum alleging that the hospital authorities’ insistence on practising yoga in the morning that day led to Vinayanandan’s death as the deceased was also a heart patient.
The forum president Rose Jose in her order said that though the direct cause of the death was not because of the treatment at hospital there was gross negligence on the part of Vadakkanchery, his hospital, Joshi M. Vargeese, a naturopathy practitioner at the hospital and Director of Sujeevitham, self-treatment centre in Aluva in giving care and attention to the patient.
The forum took into consideration the submission of the hospital and Vadakkanchery that the relatives had not shown the ECG report of Vinayanandan at the time of admission indicating that the deceased was a heart patient.
In its order, the forum also said that during the cross examination, Vadakkanchery and Joshi M. Vargeese had admitted that both of them did not know how to read and understand ECG. Advocate Vinayanandan had come to know about Vadakkanchery and his treatment after hearing a speech of the former in Kozhikode.
Jacob Vadakkanchery’s stance against modern medicine practice and vaccination has reached a scary level where a strong group was formed to campaign against immunisation programme.
