Baba Ramdev: The Yoga Guru And The Court Scrapes Behind His Business Empire

Meet Baba Ramdev - 'yoga guru', entrepreneur, and, over the past few years - a regular in courtrooms across India, courtesy patently misleading ads, unsubstantiated remarks about his Patanjali products' ability to 'cure' diseases such as COVID, and sexist remarks about women.

The most recent court case involving the 60-year-old was May 1 - Labour Day - when his counsel was hauled up by the Delhi High Court for Ramdev blatantly violating its gag order in the 'Rooh Afza' case.

Baba Ramdev "lives in his own world" was Justice Amit Bansal's withering response.

Many might agree with the Delhi High Court's observation, particularly since Ramdev seems to flout, judging by the cases against him, laws and violate ethical boundaries regularly.

For example, the Delhi court's comment came after Ramdev this month promoted his herbal drink by speaking disparagingly - his remarks flagged by many as communal - about its primary competitor, Rooh Afza, a popular herbal drink made by Hamdard Laboratories (India).

A 'sherbet jihad' controversy sprang up and Ramdev was warned to take down all related promo content, including advertisements and social media posts.

Many were, but that did not stop Ramdev from a repeat of the 'sherbet jihad' rant.

He then earned himself a contempt of court notice from the Delhi High Court.

His critics believe much of the impunity with which he operates his mammoth multinational FMCG empire - which sells everything from cookies and shampoos to Ayurvedic concoctions and food grains - is because of a 'hotline' to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his BJP.

Such links, though, have never been acknowledged by the ruling party.

Ramdev himself believes he is a 'scientist'; in a 2015 interview with NDTV he called himself a 'scientist Baba'. "I was born in a farmer's house... and the work that we have done, we have connected yoga with science. You can talk to me about botany... medical science," he said.

READ | 'I Am a Scientist Baba', Yoga Guru Ramdev Tells NDTV

He then also swatted away talk of more of his contentious claims, including claiming he could 'cure' homosexuality and that his concoctions can 'guarantee' the birth of a male child.

Ramdev's Patanjali Ayurved

Patanjali Ayurved, Ramdev's holding company, was founded in 2006. Based in Haridwar, in Uttarakhand, it recorded Rs 9,335 crore in revenue in FY24 and a profit of Rs 2,901 crore.

The total income for FY23 was Rs 7,580 crore.

For a company set up only 17 years earlier, in a space dominated by global heavyweights like Hindustan Unilever, Dabur, Nestle, Colgate-Palmolive, ITC, and Godrej, among others, these are impressive figures. And that includes the period of the pandemic, when it continued to grow.

Alongside that growth are a long line of controversial statements, which has led to over 100 cases filed against him and/or his company; these cases include alleged labour law violations, selling substandard packaged food, and misbranding products as 'vegetarian only'.

'Toxic' Drugs And Covid 'Cure'

Among the biggest of those controversies was from 2021 and 2022, when the COVID pandemic was killing millions and governments worldwide were urging people to vaccinate themselves.

Then Ramdev claimed "lakhs died in India due to allopathic medicines" and called them "stupid and bankrupt", insisting they were 'designed' by foreign pharma firms to get Indians addicted.

This was months before he launched 'Coronil', an "evidence-based ayurvedic medicine" that could 'cure' COVID and, remarkably, had a 'certification' from the World Health Organization.

Baba Ramdev at the launch of 'Coronil' (File).

Only, it did not. The WHO promptly said it had not certified 'Coronil', forcing company execs who echoed Ramdev's claims to delete tweets and the opposition to lament being embarrassed.

It then emerged the government had tagged 'Coronil' as an 'immunity booster only.

The row that should have ended there did not.

In August 2022 his comments about allopathy reached the Supreme Court; the Indian Medical Association had taken exception to his 'toxic drugs' and 'stupid' comment and filed a case.

Those comments included claims Patanjali could cure diseases like diabetes.

The then-Chief Justice NV Ramana told Ramdev he was free to promote Ayurveda, but not at the cost of criticising allopathy.

That, incidentally, was a week after the Delhi High Court told him to refrain from making such statements. Unsurprisingly, in the intervening days he did just that.

Baba Ramdev endorsing a range of his products (File).

This case dragged on for a couple of years, in which time the government was also pulled up.

In 2023 Ramdev, a day after he was told, again, not to make false statements, did just that, declaring he had a "database... of preclinical and clinical evidence", and lashed out "some stubborn and so-called frustrated doctors... who oppose yoga, ayurveda, and naturopathy'.

Then Ramdev and Balkrishna were told to apologise and stop running false ads, including those unfairly criticising allopathy and allopathic doctors. But they did neither.

READ | 'Absolute Defiance': Court Rebukes Patanjali, Centre In Fake Ads Row

The initial apology was slammed by the court as " indefensible" and "humbug", and the government and Patanjali were fiercely reprimanded for allowing the ads to continue.

READ | 'Apology Same Size As Ads?' Court Grills Ramdev, Aide Balkrishna

Eventually Ramdev submitted a proper apology, at least one the court accepted.

The Toothpaste Row

First there was 'Coronil', then 'Divya Dant Manjan', Patanjali's herbal tooth powder.

In August 2024 a petition in the Delhi High Court said the packaging featured a green dot - used to signify vegetarian products - but the list of ingredients included cuttlefish bone derivates.

It was also claimed Ramdev had admitted as such in a YouTube video.

The brand reportedly posted sales of Rs 425 crore in 2016. Current figures are not available but, for context, in that year Colgate India posted revenue of Rs 982 crore.

Ramdev hasn't responded to this case so far, but the product remains in the market.

The Male Child 'Guarantee'

We rewind a little now, to January 2015, when a remedy for infertility was allegedly sold as a 'guarantee' for the birth of a male child, problematic in a misogynistic and patriarchal society.

'Divya Putrajeevak Seed', sold in Patanjali Pharmacies, a chain of shops owned by Ramdev, is described in catalogues as a natural herb for treatment of infertility. It does not promise a male child but the name is misleading, said doctors who pointed out 'Putrajeevak' means 'son's life'.

The concoction reportedly sold well in Haryana, which has among the worst sex ratios in India and where Prime Minister Modi, a week earlier, launched a campaign to save the girl child.

The Defence

Ramdev and his lawyers have repeatedly argued that his comments, and the company's ads, reflect information from 'clinical evidence' of the crores who use Patanjali products.

They have also argued, as in the 'sherbet jihad' case, that Baba Ramdev cannot be stopped from expressing his personal opinions on healthcare, medicine, or anything else. It was pointed out, as in the Rooh Afza case, that Ramdev had never mentioned any specific brand.

The Delhi High Court was unimpressed. "He can hold these opinions in his head; need not express them," Justice Bansal responded.

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