Ramdev moves HC against lifting of ban on book on his life

Yoga guru Ramdev has approached the Delhi High Court challenging a trial court order removing the ban on publication and sale of a book purportedly on his life, which he claimed contained defamatory content.

Justice R K Gauba is likely to hear tomorrow his plea which has been filed against the publisher and the author of the book.

Ramdev has challenged a civil judge's April 28 order by which the court had lifted the ban on the book by setting aside the injunction order of the trial court in August last year.

The judge had struck down the order to prohibit/ban the publication and sale of the book by "stifling" the right of freedom and speech and expression guaranteed to the author and the publisher under the Article 19(1) of the Constitution till the final disposal of the suit.

In August last year, a Delhi court had restrained publisher Juggernaut Books from publishing and selling the book titled 'Godman To Tycoon', which was allegedly based on the life of the yoga guru, till further orders.

It had also restrained Amazon India and Flipkart Internet Pvt Ltd from selling the book online and said any pending delivery of the book to buyers be stopped immediately.

The book was published in July last year and authored by journalist Priyanka Pathak Narain, who was represented through advocate Satyajit Sarna in the court.

Ramdev, in his suit, had alleged that the information in the book was false, tended to injure his reputation and led to an inference that the yoga guru had been involved in mischievous and criminal activities to achieve fame and success.

The publisher had earlier said that the book was a work of serious journalism. It was the product of over fifty interviews, many of them taped, with Ramdev and key players in his life, including close aides and family members, it had said.

"The book contains a detailed 25-page note on sources that lists the interviews, articles, police reports and RTI replies that are the basis of each chapter," it had said in the statement.