Delhi HC closes Hamdard’s lawsuit against Ramdev
Hamdard had sought for a permanent injunction restraining Patanjali from infringing and disparaging its trademark, along with damages up to ₹2 crore
The Delhi high court on Friday closed the trademark disparagement lawsuit after Yoga instructor and entrepreneur Ramdev told the court that the video containing his remarks of “sharbat jihad” on Hamdard’s Rooh Afza has been taken down from all his social media accounts.
Justice Amit Bansal passed the order while dealing with the lawsuit by Hamdard National Foundation India against Ramdev and his Patanjali Foods Ltd over the controversial remarks. Hamdard had sought for a permanent injunction restraining Patanjali from infringing and disparaging its trademark, along with damages up to ₹2 crore.
On Friday, Justice Bansal closed the lawsuit after going through the undertakings of Ramdev and Patanjali in their affidavits pledging not to make any statements, social media posts or disparaging videos or advertisements in future regarding Hamdard’s popular drink Rooh Afza. The averments in their affidavits were binding on Ramdev and Patanjali, the court remarked.
In its petition, Hamdard said that while promoting Patanjali’s “gulab sharbat”, Ramdev alleged the money earned from Hamdard’s Rooh Afza was used to build madrasas and mosques.
On April 22, the court said that Ramdev’s remark was indefensible and shook its conscience, prompting the Yoga exponent to assure he would immediately take down the related videos and social media posts. The court asked Ramdev and Patanjali to file their undertaking in affidavits.
Days later, however, Hamdard during a hearing on May 1 pointed out that Ramdev had made the same remarks in yet another video, showing no remorse for his conduct. Following the court’s reprimand, Ramdev agreed to take down the offending portions of the new video within 24 hours.
On May 2, Ramdev and Patanjali agreed to file an affidavit assuring they would not make any statements in future regarding Hamdard’s product and sought the closure of the lawsuit. The court had posted the matter to Friday.
