'Money Used To Build Mosques': Ramdev In Court Trouble, Courtesy Rooh Afza

Yoga guru Ramdev has run into fresh trouble with the courts. The Delhi High Court has observed that the Patanjali Ayurved founder's 'sherbet jihad' remark on popular squash drink 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, Live Law reported.

Earlier this month, Ramdev put out a promotional video for Patanjali's rose sherbet. Without naming Hamdard, he said, "A company uses money earned from selling sherbet to build mosques and madrasas. If you drink that sherbet, mosques and madrasas will be built. But if you drink Patanjali rose sherbet, gurukuls and Patanjali university will be built. Like love jihad and vote jihad, a sherbet 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 goes beyond the disparagement of the Rooh Afza product and is also a case of "communal divide." He said Ramdev's remarks were like hate speech.

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.

In the Delhi High Court today, a proxy counsel appeared for Ramdev and sought a passover because the main counsel was unavailable. Justice Bansal, however, asked the main counsel to appear at noon and indicated that not doing so would invite a "very strong order." Ramdev's lawyer Rajiv Nayar later appeared in court and said the Patanjali founder was withdrawing the ads against the Hamdard product. The court then asked Ramdev to give undertaking that he shall not issue any statements or advertisements or social media posts that Hamdard is aggrieved by. The court has said an affidavit must be filed within a week and listed the matter for May 1.