Sewa Nyaya Utthan foundation
Service. Justice. Inclusion
New Delhi: Sewa Nyaya Utthan Foundation (SNU) has launched a program in jhuggi and low-income settlements in Delhi to educate and aware residents about false miracle-healing claims, fraudulent faith-based cures, and the legal protections available against such illegal practices.
The campaign comes amid growing concerns over the targeting of economically vulnerable communities with promises of supernatural healing, instant solutions to illnesses, and claims of miraculous deliverance from personal and financial hardships. This targeting is often carried out by groups with a religious conversion agenda.
Through these workshops, SNU team is also educating residents about the provisions of the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954, which prohibits advertisements and representations claiming magical remedies or miraculous cures for diseases and medical conditions.
Participants are being informed about how many so-called miracle cures lack scientific evidence and how reliance on unverified claims can delay proper medical treatment, often worsening health outcomes.
The training sessions, taken by our team member Ajay Yadav, emphasise the importance of consulting qualified doctors, accessing evidence-based healthcare, following medical advice, and seeking treatment through recognised health institutions rather than depending upon claims of supernatural healing.
During one such awareness drive in a jhuggi settlement in the Punjabi Bagh area, SNU team came across pamphlets promoting miraculous healing and inviting residents to a centre in West Patel Nagar.
The pamphlets suggested that illnesses, suffering, and personal difficulties could be resolved through “acceptance of Yeshu” and participation in activities at the centre. SNU subsequently conducted a field inquiry, interacted with local residents, collected copies of the pamphlets, recorded witness statements, and visited the centre mentioned in the literature.
Following the inquiry, SNU submitted a detailed complaint to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) seeking investigation into the matter and also approached the police, requesting examination of possible violations of law relating to miracle-healing claims, exploitation of vulnerable persons, and other unlawful activities.
The case demonstrated precisely why grassroots awareness programmes are necessary.
As part of the programme, residents are being encouraged to ask critical questions whenever extraordinary healing claims are made.
The Foundation is also educating participants about their constitutional duty under Article 51A(h) of the Constitution of India, which calls upon citizens to develop scientific temper, humanism, and the spirit of inquiry and reform.
Economically distressed families are often targeted because illness, unemployment, debt, and social challenges can make individuals more susceptible to extraordinary promises and claims of instant transformation. The workshops therefore focus not only on legal awareness but also on empowering residents to seek scientific, medical, and institutional solutions to their problems.
So far, nine settlements including JJ (jhuggi jhopdi) colonies have been covered by SNU team including in Burari, Punjabi Bagh, Budh Vihar phase 2, Chandrawal, Taatar Colony in Rohini Sector 37, Qadipur in Narela and Shahbad Dairy.
