Delhi High Court Slams Ramdev Again Over ‘Communally Divisive’ Video Targeting Hamdard, Warns Of Contempt Proceedings

Patanjali chief Baba Ramdev was put on the back foot by the Delhi High Court on Thursday (1 May) over a video that allegedly insulted the food and pharmaceutical company Hamdard and its goods in a “communally divisive” way, the Indian Express reported.

Taking note of a new video of Ramdev, Justice Amit Bansal observed that Ramdev appeared “not in control of anyone” and “lived in his own world" and warned of contempt notice. Responding to it Ramdev said, he would remove the offensive part of the video from all social media sites.

The controversy began when Hamdard National Foundation filed a suit against Ramdev and Patanjali Foods Ltd, alleging that while promoting Patanjali’s “gulab sharbat,” Ramdev claimed that profits from Rooh Afza were being used to build madrasas and mosques, a statement Hamdard argued was both defamatory and communally divisive.

The court had previously described Ramdev’s “sharbat jihad” remark as “shocking the conscience” and “indefensible,” prompting Ramdev to assure the court that all related videos would be taken down.

However, Hamdard’s counsel informed the court on Thursday that a new video with similar content had surfaced online.

Hamdard’s counsel Sandeep Sethi stated, as mentioned by the Hindustan Times, that Ramdev had deliberately opted not to provide an undertaking in the affidavit and instead released a new video aimed at creating communal divisions among consumers to influence them toward choosing Patanjali products.

The video had already garnered 90,000 views and 22,000 comments.

Following the court’s stern observations, Ramdev’s counsel assured that the offending portion of the video would be removed from all social media platforms within 24 hours and that an affidavit of compliance would be filed.

The court will continue to hear Hamdard’s application for contempt proceedings against Ramdev on Friday (2 May).