'Sharbat Jihad': On Hamdard's petition about Ramdev's allegation on 'Rooh Afza', Delhi High Court said...

Delhi High Court has come down heavily on the comments made by Patanjali's Ramdev. The court slammed the yoga guru for his controversial "Sharbat Jihad" comments allegedly aimed at Hamdard’s popular drink "Rooh Afza." It called the comment "indefensible" and something that "shocks the conscience of the court." While hearing a suit filed by Hamdard Laboratories against Ramdev, Justice Amit Bansal made strong observation. Hamdard accused Ramdev of making defamatory and communal statements targeting its product.

Justice Amit Bansal said, "It shocks the conscience of the court. It is indefensible. You (counsel for Ramdev) take instructions from your client; otherwise, there will be a strong order."

Following the court's warning, Ramdev's counsel said all dvertisements--print or video--aside from social media posts over the contentious remarks will be immediately taken down. The court directed the counsel to file an affidavit on Ramdev's behalf and said, "I could not believe my eyes and ears when I saw this (videos)." 

The order added, "Let an affidavit also be placed on record by defendant number 2 (Ramdev) stating that he undertakes he shall not issue any such statements, advertisements, tweets, or social media posts in the future concerning competitors' products." Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, who was representing Hamdard, said while promoting Patanjali's "gulab sharbat" recently, Ramdev claimed the money earned from Hamdard's Rooh Afza was used to build madrasas and mosques.

Ramdev defended his remarks, saying he did not name any brand or community. Arguing the case had gone beyond disparagement, Rohatgi said it was creating a "communal divide." "This amounts to hate speech. He says it is a sharbat jihad. He should carry on his business. Why is he troubling us?" he said. Senior advocate Sandeep Sethi, also representing Hamdard, said Ramdev should not target the religion of the company founders.

Responding to the submissions, senior advocate Rajiv Nayar, representing Ramdev and Patanjali, argued Hamdard was not a custodian of the religion. Sethi retorted, "I am a custodian of humanity." Rohatgi said Ramdev had previously faced strictures from the Supreme Court for targeting allopathy and that "a hard hand is required to nip this in the bud."

Nayar said Ramdev cannot be stopped from expressing his political views but said an affidavit on the issue of disparagement of the competitors' products will be filed. Ramdev and Patanjali were not against any religion, he added. "If he gives an opinion then he cannot be stopped. You can't stop somebody from expressing an opinion," Nayar said. The court, however, said, "He can hold these opinions in his head, need not express them." 

Ramdev was ordered to file the affidavit within five days, and the matter would come up on May 1. On April 15, senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh approached police for an FIR against Ramdev, accusing him of spreading religious hatred for his "sharbat jihad" remarks.

(With inputs from PTI)