Supreme Court notice to Ramdev on sale and publication of book on him

The High Court had said that the right to freedom of speech and expression does not permit using defamatory insinuations against the yoga guru

The Supreme Court on Friday issued notice to Yoga Guru Ramdev on a plea challenging the Delhi High Court order restraining the publication and sale of the book 'Godman to Tycoon: The Untold Story of Baba Ramdev' until the publisher deleted some defamatory portion written against the guru. Written by Priyanka Pathak Narain, the book chronicles the life of Ramdev from Yoga Guru to entrepreneur.

The bench of Justice Madan B. Lokur and Justice Deepak Gupta sought Ramdev's response on the petition by Juggernaut Book, the publisher. The Delhi High Court had in September restrained the publication and sale of the book until the publisher deleted some defamatory portion written against Baba Ramdev.

The High Court had said that the right to freedom of speech and expression does not permit using defamatory insinuations against the yoga guru. Ramdev had moved the High Court challenging the trial court order, which had in April lifted the interim injunction on publication and sale of 'Godman to Tycoon: The Untold Story of Baba Ramdev.'

The publication and sale of the book had been restrained on August 4, 2017. The publisher has claimed that the book provides an in-depth look into how Ramdev's Patanjali "actually" works. The High Court had said that Ramdev is entitled to be treated with dignity and has a right of social reputation 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 High Court had said.

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