A Delhi court has restrained Juggernaut Books from publishing From Godman to Tycoon: The Untold Story of Baba Ramdev after the yoga guru and businessman himself filed a petition against it. The injunction also bars Amazon and Flipkart from selling the book – written by Priyanka Pathak-Narain – in both print and online formats, the publisher said in a blog on Thursday.
Ramdev’s petition said that he had received calls from devotees and also noticed the “irresponsible, false, malicious content” from the book on social media. “Certain content has been added without evidence and verification,” the plea claimed, further accusing the defendants in the case of adding controversial material in the book to enhance sales.
The court of the ACJ-CCJ-ARC (East) at the Karkardooma District Courts in Delhi. Juggernaut said they had complied with the order issued on August 4, after receiving it on August 10.
“As the matter is sub judice, we cannot comment on the merits of the case,” the publisher said. “However, we stand by our book, will defend the case and will move the court to vacate the injunction.”
Neither the publisher nor the author was present at the hearing, where the order was passed ex-parte, reportedly to avoid “the delay which would be caused during the process of serving the notice and hearing the defendants”.
The book investigates the past of the yoga evangelist and businessman Ramdev, whose business interests currently include the Patanjali Group and had earlier included the Astha TV channel. It also follows the trail of the deaths and disappearance of people who were closely connected with Ramdev, among other subjects.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!