'Shocks the court's conscience': Delhi HC pulls up Baba Ramdev over Rooh Afza remarks, directs video takedown

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday slammed Patanjali Foods Ltd's owner Baba Ramdev for allegedly making communally-charged and disparaging remarks against the 119-year-old Hamdard National Foundation (India), the maker of the popular drink Rooh Afza.

A single-judge bench of justice Amit Bansal directed that a video featuring the yoga guru—wherein he allegedly made controversial references to Rooh Afza targeting the drink as 'Sharbat Jihad'—be taken down immediately.

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The judge said that Ramdev's remark 'shocks the conscience of the court, this is indefensible". The court also instructed Patanjali to file a compliance affidavit and scheduled the next hearing for 1 May.

The court’s remarks came while hearing a plea filed by Hamdard, which accused Ramdev and Patanjali of making communal slurs against the company. In the 3 April video, Ramdev is seen promoting Patanjali’s ‘Gulab Sharbat’ while allegedly making indirect and communal remarks about Rooh Afza, suggesting that proceeds from its sales were used to fund “madrasas and mosques”.

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The issue was further escalated last week when Congress leader Digvijaya Singh filed a police complaint in Bhopal against Ramdev, accusing him of promoting communal hatred.

Ramdev has defended his statements, asserting that he never named any specific brand in the video.

Hamdard, however, moved the Delhi High Court, arguing that the remarks went far beyond brand rivalry and amounted to hate speech.

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Appearing for Hamdard, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi told the court: “This is not just about brand defamation. This is hate speech. He is attacking the religion of the company’s owners.”

Rohatgi also reminded the court of past instances when Ramdev had made unsubstantiated claims, including those against allopathy, for which the Supreme Court had earlier reprimanded him. “A hard hand is needed to nip this in the bud,” he said.

Senior Advocate Rajiv Nayar, representing Patanjali, assured the court that the video would be taken down.

He clarified that Patanjali does not endorse any religious bias. However, he argued that Ramdev had the right to express his political views.

The court, however, rejected that stance. “He can hold these opinions in his head; he need not express them,” Justice Bansal noted.

The sharbat ad row is the latest in a string of high-profile legal battles where rival brands have directly or indirectly targeted each other in advertisements.

Just last week, a legal dispute broke out over a sunscreen ad released by Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) under its Lakmé brand. The ad claimed that a popular “online bestseller” sunscreen provided only SPF 20 protection instead of the advertised SPF 50. While the ad didn’t name any specific competitor, Honasa (the parent company of The Derma Co.) accused HUL of targeting its product and filed a lawsuit alleging the ad was misleading and damaging.

In that case too, justice Bansal ordered HUL to take down the video from all platforms within 24 hours.

On the same day, Royal Challengers Sports Pvt. Ltd, the owner of IPL franchise Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), approached the Delhi High Court against Uber India Systems Pvt. Ltd for allegedly misusing and distorting RCB’s popular slogan in an ad promoting Uber’s bike taxi service. The ad featured a player from rival IPL team Sunrisers Hyderabad—Travis Head—prompting further backlash over ambush marketing.

This isn’t the first time Patanjali and Ramdev have faced legal heat. In May 2024, the Supreme Court initiated contempt proceedings against them for making misleading health-related claims and advertisements against modern medicine.

The court flagged 14 of Patanjali’s products for violating the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954. The case was closed only after Ramdev and the company issued a public apology and committed to adhering to advertising norms.

Hamdard was established in 1906 in Delhi by Hakeem Hafiz Abdul Majeed as a Unani medicine company. Following the partition of India in 1947, the business was divided into separate entities in India and Pakistan. In India, it was converted into a charitable trust known as the Hamdard National Foundation. The company manufactures a range of Unani products, with Rooh Afza—introduced in 1907—being one of its oldest and most commercially recognized drinks.