The Court has now directed Baba Ramdev to give a written promise (affidavit) that he will not make such comments again in the future, whether in videos, advertisements, social media posts or any other public form.
NEW DELHI: Today, 2nd May: The Delhi High Court has strictly warned Baba Ramdev, the founder of Patanjali, for making offensive and communal comments against competitor companies, especially the well-known Unani product maker Hamdard Foundation, which manufactures the popular drink Rooh Afza.
The Court has now directed Baba Ramdev to give a written promise (affidavit) that he will not make such comments again in the future, whether in videos, advertisements, social media posts or any other public form.
The direction was given by Justice Amit Bansal. The case was filed after Baba Ramdev, in a video promoting Patanjali’s new product ‘Gulab Sharbat’, used controversial and religiously sensitive language against Hamdard’s Rooh Afza.
The Court clearly ordered:
“Let an affidavit be also placed on record by both the defendant no.1 and defendant no.2 stating that defendants no.1 and 2 shall not issue any statements, social media posts or disparaging videos/advertisements in future similar to those which are subject matter of the present suit in respect of products of the competitors.”
This means both Patanjali and Baba Ramdev must submit affidavits assuring that they won’t make any more such remarks about competing brands like Hamdard in future.
ALSO READ: Baba Ramdev to Take Down Rooh Afza Videos After High Court Slams ‘Sharbat Jihad’ Remark
The video, which was posted on April 3, shows Baba Ramdev promoting Patanjali’s Gulab Sharbat. In the video, he claimed that Hamdard was using its profits to support religious activities like building masjids and madrasas.
He also used the term:
“sharbat jihad”
These statements were seen as highly communal and caused serious concern.
When the case was first heard on April 22, Justice Amit Bansal was visibly disturbed by the video.
“I could not believe my eyes and ears when I saw this [videos],” the judge said.
Calling the statements indefensible, the Court warned that it would pass strong orders. In response, Senior Advocate Rajiv Nayar, representing Baba Ramdev and Patanjali, assured the Court that all such advertisements — whether in print or video format — would be removed.
The Court then ordered Baba Ramdev to file an affidavit saying he would not issue such statements, ads, or posts in future.
In the hearing held on Friday, the Court asked whether Ramdev had followed its earlier directions. Senior Advocate Sandeep Sethi, representing Hamdard, said that although the video was removed from public view, it was still available to Baba Ramdev’s YouTube subscribers.
“There is a difficulty. On YouTube, they have made the video private. So, any subscriber to the channel can view it. Public cannot view it but subscribers can,” Sethi told the Court.
To this, Patanjali’s lawyer Rajiv Nayar replied:
“We will take it down, we have 24 hours. We will comply with orders of the court,”
He also assured the judge that compliance affidavits would be filed soon and requested the Court to dispose of the case.
Interestingly, even after the earlier warning, Baba Ramdev released another video that allegedly contained more objectionable comments against Hamdard. This was pointed out to the Court during the May 1 hearing.
The Court was shocked and strongly criticised Ramdev’s behaviour. It warned that it would issue a contempt of court notice and may even call him to personally appear before the Court.
After this warning, Baba Ramdev’s legal team agreed to remove the controversial parts from all platforms within 24 hours.
The Court then ordered that:
An affidavit of compliance must be filed within one week to confirm that the new video has also been taken down properly.
Senior Advocates Mukul Rohatgi and Sandeep Sethi appeared for Hamdard, along with lawyers Pravin Anand, Dhruv Anand, Nikhil Rohatgi, Udita Patro, Shivender Singh Pratap, Dhananjay Khanna, Nimrat Singh, Sampurnaa Sanyal, Navdeep and Mehak Khanna.
The case will now be heard again on May 9 to check whether Baba Ramdev has fully complied with all court orders.
Case Name: Hamdard National Foundation India v. Patanjali Foods Limited & Anr
