11:53:51 AM IST, 22 Apr 2025
Delhi high court slams Ramdev’s “sharbat jihad” remark, calls it shocking
The Delhi High Court on Tuesday censured yoga guru Ramdev for calling Hamdard’s iconic drink Rooh Afza part of a “sharbat jihad”, a phrase used in a video promoting Patanjali’s own line of beverages.
As reported by Bar and Bench, Justice Amit Bansal called the comments “indefensible” and said they “shock the conscience of the court”. The observations came during a hearing on a defamation suit filed by Hamdard Laboratories, accusing Ramdev and Patanjali Foods of communal and defamatory attacks on its product.
Court told remarks go beyond defamation
Appearing for Hamdard, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi argued that the video crossed legal lines and stoked communal tension.
“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 told the court, as per Bar and Bench.
He urged immediate legal intervention, stating, “This should not be even allowed for a moment. We have enough problems in this country.”
The court instructed Ramdev’s counsel to be present at the next hearing and deferred the matter temporarily.
Ramdev’s video claims and viral controversy
The video in question, originally shared by 'Patanjali Products' on Facebook, carried a caption in Hindi that, when translated, read:
“Protect your family and innocent children from the poison of toilet cleaner being sold under the name of ‘sharbat jihad’ and cold drinks. Bring home only Patanjali sharbat and juices.”
In the video, Ramdev compares cold drinks to toilet cleaners, claiming they are harmful and deceptive. Then, pivoting to a more inflammatory tone, he accuses an unnamed company — implicitly Hamdard — of using its profits to fund Islamic institutions.
“In the name of quenching thirst during summers, people drink cold beverages that are basically toilet cleaners. On one side, there’s the attack of toilet-cleaner-like poison, and on the other, there’s a company selling sharbat, which uses the money earned from it to build mosques and madrasas. That’s fine, it’s their religion,” Ramdev says.
He continues, “But if you drink that sharbat, it supports the construction of mosques and madrasas. On the other hand, if you drink Patanjali’s rose sharbat, it supports the setting up of gurukuls, Acharyakulam, Patanjali University, and the Bharatiya Shiksha Board.”
He then invokes the term “sharbat jihad” and draws a provocative parallel.
“That’s why I say, just like there is love jihad and vote jihad, there is also sharbat jihad. So, you must protect yourself from this sharbat jihad,” he adds.
Congress MP calls for FIR under new criminal code
The controversy has spilled into politics. Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP Digvijaya Singh filed a police complaint against Ramdev at TT Nagar police station in Bhopal, demanding that a case be registered under the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita.
Singh cited Sections 196(1)(a) and 299 of the newly enacted penal code, which criminalise inciting religious enmity and deliberate attempts to offend religious sentiments. He also invoked provisions of the Information Technology Act.
In his complaint, Singh claimed that Ramdev’s statements were “aimed at inciting religious sentiments among people to increase the sales of Patanjali Ayurved's products”.
Hamdard, founded in 1906, is one of India’s oldest Unani pharmaceutical and beverage firms. Rooh Afza, its flagship drink, is popular across India, especially during Ramadan.
Patanjali, on the other hand, has grown into a major FMCG and Ayurvedic company under Ramdev’s leadership, often blurring the lines between commerce and ideology.
This is not the first time Ramdev has faced backlash for controversial comments. His companies have previously been pulled up by the Supreme Court and regulatory bodies over misleading health claims.