'Sharbat-Jihad' comment: Baba Ramdev agrees to take down videos against Rooh Afza after Delhi HC rap

Yoga Guru and Patanjali founder Baba Ramdev on Tuesday agreed to takedown the videos in which he had used communal slurs to target pharmaceutical and food company Hamdard and its popular drink Rooh Afza.

Baba Ramdev faced stern judicial rebuke as the Delhi High Court came down heavily on his controversial video targeting popular beverage brand Rooh Afza. A defamation suit was filed by Hamdard Laboratories, the company behind Rooh Afza.

According to Live Law, Justice Amit Bansal lambasted Ramdev’s remarks, declaring them “indefensible” and stating that they had “shocked the conscience of the Court.” The videos, which feature Ramdev accusing Hamdard of funding religious institutions such as “masjids and madrasas,” and invoking the provocative phrase "sharbat jihad," triggered widespread outrage.

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“He can hold these statements in head, not express,” the Court remarked sharply, making it clear that such incendiary rhetoric had no place in civil discourse.

After the bench indicated it would pass a strong order, Senior Advocate Rajiv Nayar, appearing on behalf of Ramdev and Patanjali, conceded that the videos would be removed from all platforms. The court directed Ramdev to submit an affidavit affirming that he would refrain from making similar statements in the future. The matter is now scheduled for further hearing on May 1.

The video, uploaded on April 3 while promoting Patanjali’s Gulaab Sharbat, appeared to single out Hamdard’s Rooh Afza in an attempt to stir public sentiment. Though Ramdev later claimed he hadn't named any specific brand, the damage was done.

Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing Hamdard, condemned Ramdev’s conduct, “This is a case which is shocking, which goes beyond disparagement. This is a case of creating communal divide, akin to hate speech. It will not have protection from law of defamation."

Rohatgi also reminded the bench of previous legal censure faced by Ramdev for his derogatory comments against allopathy. “A hard hand is required to nip this in bud,” he said, urging the judiciary to take firm action against repeated provocations.

In a late-stage development, Advocate Nayar submitted that Ramdev and Patanjali hold no ill will against any religion and requested this to be recorded in the Court’s official order. However, this submission was met with stiff resistance from Hamdard’s counsel, Senior Advocate Sandeep Sethi.

“He should not target the religion of the company founders,” Sethi contended.

In a powerful rebuttal to Nayar’s claim that a company cannot be the custodian of any religion, Sethi retorted, “I am a custodian of humanity.”

Meanwhile, Congress leader Digvijaya Singh had already filed a police complaint against Ramdev in Bhopal last week, accusing him of inciting religious hatred.