Yoga guru and Patanjali founder Ramdev found himself once again facing legal fire on Thursday after the Delhi High Court warned of contempt proceedings for failing to fully comply with its earlier directives. The controversy stems from his inflammatory “sharbat jihad” remarks against Hamdard’s popular drink Rooh Afza, which the court had previously deemed “indefensible” and disturbing.
Justice Amit Bansal recorded a fresh undertaking from Ramdev’s legal team, who promised to remove “offending portions” from a recently released video within 24 hours, and file an affidavit within a week confirming the same. However, senior advocate Sandeep Sethi, representing Hamdard, accused Ramdev of worsening the issue by releasing a new video alleging Hamdard’s profits were being diverted to build madrassas and mosques, while contrasting it with Patanjali’s allegiance to Lord Ram.
The judge slammed the tone and content of the new video as a continuation of the earlier offensive stance, remarking that Ramdev “lives in his own world” and had not complied with Para 18 of the court’s April 22 order, which required a clear undertaking not to repeat such remarks.
While Ramdev’s counsel Rajiv Nayyar maintained that he had complied by stating he was a law-abiding citizen who respected all religions, the court appeared unconvinced, calling the affidavit prima facie contempt.
The case, centered on trademark infringement and product disparagement, has been adjourned for further hearing.
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