The Delhi High Court on Tuesday strongly criticized Baba Ramdev's controversial "Sharbat Jihad" remark against Hamdard's Rooh Afza, calling it shocking and indefensible.

"It shocks the conscience of the Court. This is indefensible," Justice Amit Bansal remarked during the hearing of Hamdard's lawsuit against Baba Ramdev.

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Earlier this month, while promoting Patanjali’s rose sharbat, Ramdev had claimed that the money from the sale of Hamdard’s Rooh Afza was used to build madrasas and mosques. Later, he defended himself saying he did not mention any specific brand or community.

In response, Hamdard filed a suit seeking removal of Ramdev's videos containing the controversial remarks from social media platforms.

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Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi appeared for Hamdard and stated that Ramdev’s remarks were more than just product disparagement and amounted to promoting a “communal divide.” Rohatgi termed Ramdev's comments as similar to hate speech and stressed that by labeling Rooh Afza as “Sharbat Jihad,” he targeted Hamdard based on religious grounds.

He also pointed out that Baba Ramdev, being a popular figure, could easily promote Patanjali’s products without defaming other brands.

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Further highlighting Ramdev’s past conduct, Rohatgi referred to earlier Supreme Court proceedings where suo motu contempt was initiated against Baba Ramdev and Acharya Balkrishna. They were directed to issue a public apology for misleading advertisements and comments against Allopathic medicines, violating previous undertakings to the Court.

A proxy counsel appeared for Baba Ramdev during the hearing and sought a passover, mentioning that the main counsel was engaged in proceedings before the NCLAT.

Justice Amit Bansal directed the main counsel to appear by 12 PM and warned that failure to do so would lead to the Court passing a "very strong order."