'Shocks the conscience': Delhi HC tears into Ramdev over 'sharbat jihad' ad

The Delhi High Court came down heavily on yoga guru Ramdev over his controversial remarks against Hamdard’s popular drink, Rooh Afza. Criticising his statements as "indefensible," the court said, "It shocks the conscience of the court."

The controversy began on April 3, when Ramdev alleged that the profits from Hamdard’s Rooh Afza were being used to build mosques and madrasas. "There’s a company that gives you sharbat, but the money it earns is used to construct madrasas and mosques," he claimed during a public event.

Taking the promotion of his own brand forward, Ramdev said, "If you drink that sharbat, madrasas and mosques will be built. But if you drink this [referring to Patanjali’s rose sharbat], gurukuls will be built, Acharya Kulam will be developed, Patanjali University will expand, and the Bharatiya Shiksha Board will grow.”