Ramdev tells Delhi HC he will not make remarks targeting Hamdard’s Rooh Afza

Patanjali Ayurved co-founder Ramdev on Friday told the Delhi High Court that he would not make statements or publish social media posts targeting food company Hamdard’s drink Rooh Afza, PTI reported.

The court directed Ramdev to file an affidavit to place on record his promise, Bar and Bench reported.

This came a day after the court warned Ramdev of contempt proceedings for publishing a new video allegedly targeting the food company.

The High Court had on April 22 ordered Ramdev to take down advertisements in which he claimed that Hamdard’s drink Rooh Afza was being used to orchestrate “sharbat jihad”.

On Thursday, the bench of Amit Bansal was informed that Ramdev had published another video with allegedly communal remarks about Hamdard.

The bench said it would issue a contempt of court notice to Ramdev and summon him. The yoga instructor “lives in his own world” and was not “in anyone’s control”, Live Law quoted Bansal as saying.

Ramdev’s counsel had agreed to remove the objectionable portions of the new video from social media within 24 hours.

On April 22, the High Court said that the comment by Ramdev about Hamdard was “indefensible”.

While advertising for a Patanjali product on April 3, Ramdev, without naming Hamdard, claimed that proceeds from the sale of a drink by the company were used to construct mosques. He described this as “sharbat jihad”.

Hamdard had moved the court seeking...

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