Delhi HC closes Hamdard's suit against Baba Ramdev for "sharbat jihad" remark
The controversy began on April 3 when Baba Ramdev, in a promotional video for Patanjali’s Gulab Sharbat, targeted Hamdard's popular Rooh Afza.
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The Delhi Hight Court on Friday closed a suit by Hamdard Foundation against Baba Ramdev and Patanjali for making communal slurs in promotional videos, as per media reports.
The Court had previously directed Ramdev to submit an affidavit confirming that he would refrain from making disparaging comments or videos containing communal slurs about competitor companies.
Justice Amit Bansal acknowledged that Ramdev and Patanjali had complied with the directive to remove the controversial videos. As per the affidavit filed by the defendants, the plaintiff, Hamdard Foundation, chose not to pursue further reliefs, leading to the decree of the suit, the report added.
The controversy began on April 3 when Baba Ramdev, in a promotional video for Patanjali's Gulab Sharbat, targeted Hamdard's popular Rooh Afza. In the video, Ramdev claimed that Hamdard was funnelling money into building masjids and madrasas, and coined the term "sharbat jihad."
The Court had initially slammed Ramdev's remarks, describing them as "indefensible" and a shock to the judicial conscience.
After a warning from the Court, Ramdev's legal team assured that the objectionable videos would be taken down. However, the issue resurfaced on May 1 when Ramdev uploaded a new video containing similar remarks. This prompted the Court to issue a stern warning, threatening to initiate contempt proceedings.
Following this, Ramdev's counsel agreed to remove the controversial portions from the new video within 24 hours across all social media platforms.
With this resolution, the Court has now closed the suit, noting that Ramdev and Patanjali had adhered to the Court and undertook not to issue any such statements or videos in the future.
