Delhi High Court Lambasts Baba Ramdev, Directs him to Withdraw Remarks against Rooh Afza
Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Apr 22: After his brush with the medical fraternity that forced him to submit a public apology, the Yoga guru Baba Ramdev has run into fresh trouble on his remark of “sherbat jihad” that apparently took on Hamdard’s popular squash drink Rooh Afza.
The Delhi High Court on Tuesday observed that the Patanjali Ayurved founder’s ‘sherbet jihad’ remark on Rooh Afza was “indefensible” and shook the “conscience” of the court. “It shocks the conscience of the court. This is indefensible,” Justice Amit Bansal said while hearing a suit by Rooh Afza manufacturer Hamdard.
The High Court ordered Baba Ramdev’s Patanjali to immediately take down all its videos allegedly targeting the drink. Mr Rajiv Nayar, representing Mr Ramdev, said his client will immediately take down the video. The court ordered Mr Ramdev to submit an affidavit undertaking that he shall not issue any statements or advertisements or social media posts in the future. It granted a week’s time to Mr Ramdev to submit an affidavit and listed the matter for next hearing on May 1.
Earlier this month Baba Ramdev, in a video introducing the firm’s new drink communally targeted Rooh Afza. Ramdev put out a promotional video for Patanjali’s rose sherbat. Without naming Hamdard, he said, “A company uses money earned from selling sherbat to build mosques and madrasas. If you drink that sherbat, mosques and madrasas will be built. But if you drink Patanjali rose sherbat, gurukuls and Patanjali university will be built. Like love jihad and vote jihad, a sherbat jihad is also on.”
When the video sparked a row, Ramdev said he did not name any brand. Rooh Afza manufacturer Hamdard went to court against Ramdev and sought the removal of the video from social media. Appearing for Hamdard, Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi said it was a shocking case that go beyond the disparagement of the Rooh Afza product and was also a case of “communal divide.” He said Ramdev’s remarks were like hate speech.
Hamdard National Foundation (India), manufacturer of popular ‘Rooh Afza’ sherbat, is engaged in the business of manufacturing and selling unani and ayurvedic medicines, oils, syrups, and non-alcoholic beverages for over 100 years.
Mr Rohatgi said Ramdev’s Patanjali was a well-known brand that can sell its products without disparaging any other product. The senior lawyer also referred to the Supreme Court proceedings against Ramdev and his aide Balkrishna in a misleading ads case. Interestingly, it was Mr Rohatgi who appeared for the Patanjali founders then.
The matter dated back to the Covid years, when Patanjali launched a drug, Coronil, in 2021 and Ramdev described it as the “first evidence-based medicine for COVID-19”. Patanjali also claimed that Coronil had certification from the World Health Organization, but the Indian Medical Association called this a “blatant lie.”
In August 2022, IMA moved a petition against Patanjali after it issued an advertisement in newspapers titled ‘Misconceptions Spread By Allopathy: Save Yourself And The Country From The Misconceptions Spread By Pharma And Medical Industry’. The ad claimed that Patanjali drugs had cured people of diabetes, high blood pressure, thyroid, liver cirrhosis, arthritis and asthma.
The doctors’ body said the “continuous, systematic, and unabated spread of misinformation” comes alongside Patanjali’s efforts to make false claims about curing certain diseases through use of Patanjali products. Eventually, the Patanjali founders had to issue public apologies and faced strong rebuke from the top court.
