The Delhi High Court on Saturday restrained the publication and sale of a book about yoga guru Ramdev, saying that certain portions of the book were defamatory to him, IANS reported. Ramdev had filed a petition against a local court’s order lifting the ban on Godman to Tycoon: The Untold Story of Baba Ramdev.
Justice Anu Malhotra’s judgement said Ramdev was entitled to his right to social reputation and dignity as an ordinary citizen even if he is a public figure. “Portions of the book which make readers think that he is an ambitious villain, until so proved in the court of law, are necessarily to be restrained from being published and distributed for sale till disposal of the suit...pending before the civil judge, Karkardooma Courts Delhi,” the judge said.
The book, written by Priyanka Pathak-Narain and published by M/s Juggernaut Books, investigates the past of the yoga evangelist and businessman, whose business interests currently include the Patanjali Group and had earlier included the Astha TV channel. Among other subjects, it also follows the trail of the deaths and disappearance of people closely connected with Ramdev.
The Delhi High Court ordered the deletion of references to the disappearance of Swami Shankar Dev and the murder of the Swami Yogananda, stating that there was no evidence to support Ramdev’s connection to the two matters.
The book was published on July 29, 2017, but a civil court in Delhi restrained its publication and sale six days later. Another local court lifted the ban in April, but Ramdev then moved the Delhi High Court, which, in an interim order in May, reinstated the ban. The publisher moved the Supreme Court, which asked the High Court to decide on the plea by September-end.
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