Delhi High Court - Orders
Swami Ramdev vs John Doe (S) And Ors on 18 February, 2026
Author: Jyoti Singh
Bench: Jyoti Singh
$~81
* IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI
+ CS(COMM) 147/2026
SWAMI RAMDEV .....Plaintiff
Through: Mr. Rajiv Nayar, Senior Advocate
with Mr. Rahul S. Sahay, Mr. Simranjeet Singh,
Mr. Rishabh Pant, Ms. Osheen Verma, Mr.
Abhijeet Kumar Pandey, Ms. Apurbaa Dutta, Mr.
Raghav Rajmalani, Mr. Prabhav Bahuguna, Mr.
Naman Maheshwari and Mr. Pratham Arora,
Advocates.
versus
JOHN DOE (S) AND ORS .....Defendants
Through: Ms. Mamta Rani Jha, Mr. Rohan
Ahuja, Ms. Shruttima Ehersa and Mr. Ankit
Tripathi, Advocates for Defendant No. 2/Google
LLC.
Mr. Ankit Parashar, Mr. Abhishek Kumar, Mr.
Tejpal Singh Rathore and Ms. Tanish Gupta and
Ms. Sanchli Sethi, Advocates for D-4.
Mr. Akshay Maloo, Mr. Vivek Ayyagari and Mr.
Gynendra Rathore, Advocates for D-5.
Mr. Angad Singh Dugal, Mr. Govind Singh
Grewal, Mr. Jagtej Singh Kang, Advocates for D-8
with AR Ms. Sanya Malik.
Mr. Sahil, Advocate for Defendant No. 10.
Mr. Satya Ranjan Swain, CGSC, Mr Kautilya
Birat, GP, Mr. Ankush Kapoor and Mr.
Vishwadeep. Advocates for D-11 and D-12.
CORAM:
HON'BLE MS. JUSTICE JYOTI SINGH
ORDER
% 18.02.2026 I.A. 4157/2026 (u/S 151 CPC)
1. Allowed, subject to all just exceptions.
CS(COMM) 147/2026 Page 1 of 33This is a digitally signed order.
The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 24/02/2026 at 20:33:40
2. Application stands disposed of I.A. 4154/2026
3. This application is filed on behalf of the Plaintiff for discovery of interrogatories.
4. Issue notice.
5. Counsels, as above, accept notices on behalf of the respective Defendants and seek and are granted time of three weeks to file replies.
6. Notice be issued to remaining Defendants through all permissible modes, returnable before the learned Joint Registrar on 16.03.2026. I.A. 4158/2026 (for pre-institution mediation)
7. This application is filed on behalf of the Plaintiff under Section 12-A of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015 r/w Section 151 CPC seeking exemption from Pre-Institution Mediation.
8. Having regard to the facts of the present case wherein urgent relief is prayed for and in light of the judgment of Supreme Court in Yamini Manohar v. T.K.D. Keerthi, (2024) 5 SCC 815, as also Division Bench of this Court in Chandra Kishore Chaurasia v. RA Perfumery Works Private Ltd., 2022 SCC OnLine Del 3529, exemption is granted to the Plaintiff from Pre-Institution Mediation.
9. Application is allowed and disposed of.
I.A. 4155/2026 (u/O XI Rule 1 (4) r/w 151 CPC)
10. This application is filed on behalf of the Plaintiff seeking to place on record additional documents.
11. Plaintiff, if it wishes to file additional documents at a later stage, shall do so strictly in accordance with provisions of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015.
CS(COMM) 147/2026 Page 2 of 33This is a digitally signed order.
The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 24/02/2026 at 20:33:40
12. Application is allowed and disposed of. I.A. 4156/2026 (u/S 80 CPC)
13. This application is filed on behalf of the Plaintiff seeking leave to institute the suit without serving of statutory notice to the concerned government authorities.
14. For the reasons stated in the application, the same is allowed and disposed of.
I.A. 4159/2026 (u/S 151 CPC)
15. This application is filed on behalf of the Plaintiff seeking extension of time for filing certificate under Section 63 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023.
16. For the reasons stated in the application, the same is allowed, permitting Plaintiff to file the said certificate under Section 63 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023.
17. Application stands disposed of.
CS(COMM) 147/2026
18. Let plaint be registered as a suit.
19. Issue summons.
20. Counsels, as above, accept summons on behalf of the respective Defendants.
21. Written statement shall be filed by the Defendants within 30 days from today along with affidavits of admission/denial of the documents filed by the Plaintiff.
22. It will be open to the Plaintiff to file replications within 30 days from the date of receipt of written statement along with affidavits of admission/denial of documents filed by the Defendants.
CS(COMM) 147/2026 Page 3 of 33This is a digitally signed order.
The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 24/02/2026 at 20:33:40
23. Upon filing of process fee, issue summons to the Defendants No.6, 7 and 9 through all permissible modes, returnable before the learned Joint Registrar on 16.03.2026.
24. Summons shall state that the written statement shall be filed by Defendants No.6, 7 and 9 within 30 days from the receipt of summons along with affidavit of admission/denial of the documents filed by the Plaintiff.
25. It will be open to the Plaintiff to file replication within 30 days from the date of receipt of written statement along with affidavit of admission/ denial of documents filed by the Defendants No. 6, 7 and 9.
26. If any of the parties wish to seek inspection of any documents, the same be sought and given the timeline prescribed in Delhi High Court (Original Side) Rules, 2018.
27. Learned Joint Registrar will carry out admission/denial of documents and marking of exhibits.
I.A. 4153/2026 (u/O XXXIX Rules 1 and 2 r/w Section 151 CPC)
28. This application is filed on behalf of the Plaintiff under Order XXXIX Rules 1 and 2 read with Section 151 of CPC for grant of ex parte ad interim injunction.
29. Issue notice.
30. Counsels, as above, accept notice on behalf of the respective Defendants.
31. Issue notice to Defendants No. 6, 7 and 9 through all permissible modes, returnable on 12.03.2026.
32. The case of the Plaintiff as set out in the plaint is that Plaintiff is a renowned yoga guru and has achieved national and international recognition through decades of work in the fields of yoga, Ayurveda and public health.
CS(COMM) 147/2026 Page 4 of 33This is a digitally signed order.
The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 24/02/2026 at 20:33:40 His name 'Swami Ramdev', his visual likeness including his characteristic appearance, voice, beard, saffron robes and style of speech as also his image are unique and are exclusively associated with him. Plaintiff enjoys immense recognition, popularity and respect worldwide.
33. It is stated that Plaintiff has established Patanjali Yog Peeth, an institution for treatment and research in Yoga and Ayurveda in Haridwar with his ascetic discipline and leaning towards ancient culture and tradition. Plaintiff has founded a number of institutions as symbols of meditation, yoga etc., such as Divya Yog Mandir (Trust) in 1995 at Kankhal, Haridwar, Uttarakhand, lndia, Meditation Centre at Gangotri in the Himalayas, Brahmakalpa Chikitsalaya, Divya Pharmacy, Divya Prakashan, Divya Yog Sadhana, Patanjali Yogpeeth (Trust) in Delhi in 2005, Patanjali Yogpeeth, Haridwar, Mahashaya Hiralal Arsh Gurukul, Kishangarh Ghaseda, Mahendragarh, Haryana Yog Gram and recently the Bharat Swabhiman (Trust) in Delhi.
34. It is stated that Plaintiff is the guiding force behind Patanjali Yogpeeth Trust, Patanjali Ayurved Limited and several allied institutions engaged in education, healthcare, research, and humanitarian services. These institutions, under his leadership, have been instrumental in advancing public welfare, providing affordable Ayurvedic medicines, supporting rural employment and promoting Swadeshi (indigenous) entrepreneurship. Over the years with the constant efforts of the Plaintiff, practice of yoga has become a household name across the world. Beginning in early 1990s, Plaintiff initiated large-scale public Yoga Camps, which were attended by lakhs of participants and were also broadcasted live on national television channels and later through digital media platforms. Plaintiff has conducted CS(COMM) 147/2026 Page 5 of 33 This is a digitally signed order.
The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 24/02/2026 at 20:33:40 yoga workshops in more than 100 countries, including India transcending barriers of language, religion, caste and nationality.
35. It is stated that Plaintiff has been awarded many honours and honorary doctorates by universities in India and abroad, for his tremendous contributions, which includes honorary doctorate degree in 2007 by KIIT University for his efforts in popularizing Vedic science of Yoga. In 2017, on the third edition of the World Yoga Day, Plaintiff organized the largest yoga event, which was attended by three lakh people at Ahmedabad, Gujarat. In 2016, Plaintiff was acknowledged by UNESCO for his efforts in yoga and in 2022, he has been ranked 78th by the Indian Express in the list of 100 Most Powerful Indians in the said year.
36. It is stated that Plaintiff has devoted his life and personal resources to humanitarian, educational and social welfare causes and the institutions run by him and under his aegis, provide free yoga education, healthcare and Ayurvedic treatment to millions, particularly, to underprivileged section of the society. The institutions organize regular health camps, provide medicines at subsidised rates and run rural outreach programs promoting hygiene, nutrition and preventive health. Plaintiff's personality, goodwill and reputation are intrinsically tied to his name, voice, image, likeness, manner of speech and other characteristics that are uniquely identifiable and exclusively associated with him. Plaintiff exercises complete control over the commercial and non-commercial use of these distinctive attributes, which collectively constitute his personality and publicity rights, judicially recognized as emanating from Articles 19(1)(a) and 21 of the Constitution of India.
CS(COMM) 147/2026 Page 6 of 33This is a digitally signed order.
The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 24/02/2026 at 20:33:40
37. It is further stated that by reason of Plaintiff's unparalleled contributions in the fields of yoga, Ayurveda, spirituality, public health and social reform, he has attained a unique and exclusive public identity recognised world over. Plaintiff's name, appearance, voice, manner of speech, gestures and attire, particularly, his saffron robes, long beard etc., have acquired distinctive characteristics, which the public instantly associates with him. Plaintiff operates and communicates with the public only through his verified and official social media pages, profiles and websites, maintained either in his own name or through his recognized organizations, details of which are provided in the list of documents filed before the Court. Accordingly, any content uploaded, circulated or published online in Plaintiff's name, likeness or voice without his authority, is unlawful and liable for action.
38. It is stated that Plaintiff has discovered extensive and continuing instances of unauthorized digital use and misrepresentation as also exploitation of his name, image, likeness and persona across multiple online platforms, including YouTube, Facebook and e-commerce websites. The contents constitute a deliberate exploitation of Plaintiff's persona for commercial gain, entertainment and viewership generation, without the consent, knowledge and authorization of the Plaintiff, the details of which are furnished in the plaint and the documents appended thereto.
39. Learned Senior Counsel for the Plaintiff submits that the aggregate impact of the impugned publications and the videos on various platforms is that of dilution of Plaintiff's reputation and goodwill as also distortion of his spiritual character. The use of AI generated, meme-based and fabricated CS(COMM) 147/2026 Page 7 of 33 This is a digitally signed order.
The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 24/02/2026 at 20:33:40 content, apart from deceiving the public into believing that Plaintiff endorses or participates in such material ventures, also undermines the dignity and genuineness of his persona. The content is widely circulated on social media algorithms making it reach virtually without any control or regulation and the injury and harm caused to the Plaintiff is thus irreparable and continuous.
40. It is argued that apart from the infringing content set out in detail in the plaint, there exists numerous additional posts on the internet as a whole, where the very same content is reproduced, reuploaded or otherwise circulated as separate posts, thereby substantially amplifying the reach and impact of the content. These reposts often carry identical or marginally altered captions and are calculated to evade detection and takedown measures while continuing to misappropriate Plaintiff's persona. Each such reproduction garners its own set of views, likes, shares and comments, cumulatively resulting in an exponential spread of the offending content and causing aggravated harm to Plaintiff's reputation and goodwill.
41. It is urged that no individual or entity can be allowed to utilize, misappropriate, imitate or create a deceptive representation of any aspect of Plaintiff's persona and his personal attributes without his prior consent or express authorization. Every individual and especially a public figure of Plaintiff's stature has an enforceable and exclusive right to use his or her name, image etc., and this flows from right to privacy and personality rights. It is only the Plaintiff who can decide as to when, where and how the various aspects of his persona can be used. It is also urged that Plaintiff is the author and owner of numerous original works, including photographs, CS(COMM) 147/2026 Page 8 of 33 This is a digitally signed order.
The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 24/02/2026 at 20:33:40 audio and audio-visual recordings of his speeches and spiritual discourses, published writings and other creative material in which copyright subsists under the provisions of The Copyright Act, 1957. Hence, any reproduction, adaptation or manipulation of these works, including AI-based alterations, deepfake visual overlays or voice cloning, without authorization constitutes copyright infringement.
42. It is submitted that infringing contents brought forth in the present suit not only infringe the personality/publicity rights of the Plaintiff but also pose a serious risk to public health and safety. Some of the infringing content falsely projects the Plaintiff as endorsing medical or health-related products/advice, whereas the Plaintiff has made no such endorsement and the people are naturally at risk by using the products and accepting the advice, if the products turn out to be of inferior quality and/or the advice is wrong. In this backdrop, learned Senior Counsel submits that this is a fit case for grant of ex parte ad interim injunction against the Defendants for their wrongful actions, including unidentified infringers, which are causing serious and irreparable harm to the hard earned reputation and goodwill of the Plaintiff, besides loss and damage, both tangible and intangible, including erosion of public trust, dilution of brand value and commercial misappropriation of Plaintiff's persona. During the course of hearing, learned Senior Counsel hands over a note in a tabular form bifurcating the infringing and illegal activities carried out by the Defendants on their social media accounts as also providing the URLs, websites etc., which is scanned and placed below for ready reference:-
CS(COMM) 147/2026 Page 9 of 33This is a digitally signed order.
The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 24/02/2026 at 20:33:40 CS(COMM) 147/2026 Page 10 of 33 This is a digitally signed order.
The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 24/02/2026 at 20:33:40 CS(COMM) 147/2026 Page 11 of 33 This is a digitally signed order.
The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 24/02/2026 at 20:33:40 CS(COMM) 147/2026 Page 12 of 33 This is a digitally signed order.
The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 24/02/2026 at 20:33:40 CS(COMM) 147/2026 Page 13 of 33 This is a digitally signed order.
The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 24/02/2026 at 20:33:40 CS(COMM) 147/2026 Page 14 of 33 This is a digitally signed order.
The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 24/02/2026 at 20:33:40 Table-C Infringing Content published by John Does (Dl) and Pinterest (D7) liable to be take down as per the Plaintiff CS(COMM) 147/2026 Page 15 of 33 This is a digitally signed order.
The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 24/02/2026 at 20:33:40
43. Learned counsel for Defendant No. 3/Meta Platforms, Inc. submits that Plaintiff cannot be granted the relief of global blocking injunction as sought as this question is currently pending before the Division Bench of this Court in Meta Platforms, Inc. v. Swami Ramdev & Anr., FAO(OS) 212/2019. He also hands over a tabular note of the status, content description and poster accounts of the identified URLs pertaining to Defendant No. 3. It is also stated on instructions that the 27 URLs enlisted CS(COMM) 147/2026 Page 16 of 33 This is a digitally signed order.
The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 24/02/2026 at 20:33:40 under Table 'D' given by the Plaintiff are admittedly not accessible as on date and therefore, no order is required to be passed in respect of these URLs.
44. Learned counsel for Defendant No. 4/X Corp. submits that the present case identifies 23 URLs pertaining to X Corp., which include 16 accounts and 7 posts. Without prejudice to the rights and contentions of the answering Defendant, it has suspended 14 accounts as being in violation of X's Terms of Service and two posts were deleted by users. The remaining 7 URLs which are active do not commercially exploit Plaintiff's persona. The Madras High Court in T. Rangaraj v. Joy Crizildaa and Another, 2026 SCC OnLine Mad 56, has declined interim relief in the absence of commercial gains to the Defendants therein. Moreover, the active URLs are satire, parody and lampooning, which are permissible facets of freedom of speech under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution and do not infringe personality/publicity rights. Reliance is placed on the decisions in D.M. Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. v. Baby Gift House and Others, 2010 SCC OnLine Del 4790; Digital Collectibles Pte Ltd. and Others v. Galactus Funware Technology Private Limited and Another, 2023 SCC OnLine Del 2306; and Karan Johar v. Ashok Kumar/John Doe and Others, 2025 SCC OnLine Del 6108.
45. Learned counsel vehemently submits that the X account at serial No.26 of the table handed over by the Plaintiff is a labelled parody account, while the account at serial No.27 now operates under the name 'Karlmarxist' and has only one follower. It is further pointed out that the remaining X posts from serial Nos. 28 to 32 are satirical and posts at serial Nos. 30 to 32 are in the context of Plaintiff's own statements. During CS(COMM) 147/2026 Page 17 of 33 This is a digitally signed order.
The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 24/02/2026 at 20:33:40 COVID-19, Plaintiff had publicly stated that 'Allopathy is a stupid and bankrupt science' and 'more people died of Allopathic treatment that those who died of oxygen shortage or because of COVID-19' and advertised his Ayurvedic product 'Coronil' as cure for COVID-19. This had attracted negative response from a number of doctors, citizens as also the Central Government and in fact, the Supreme Court had directed the Plaintiff to refrain from making such statements in order dated 27.02.2024 passed in Indian Medical Association and Another v. Union of India and Others, 2024 SCC OnLine SC 2328. It is further submitted that these posts are merely a commentary on these newsworthy events of public importance and in any event, the mere fact that the Plaintiff is displeased or annoyed with the posts does not give rise to actionable right to censor free speech.
46. Heard learned Senior Counsel for the Plaintiff and counsels for Defendants No. 3 and 4.
47. In the present suit, Plaintiff asserts violation of his personality/ publicity rights, statutory rights, common law rights as also right to privacy and seeks protection from harm and damage to his goodwill and reputation, garnered over the years by hard work. Broadly understood, Plaintiff emphasizes that he is a renowned personality in the field of yoga, Ayurvedic medicines etc., and by reason of his extensive public engagement, goodwill and reputation, various attributes of his persona such as name, image, likeness, voice have acquired commercial distinctiveness and secondary meaning and his personality attributes as brought forth in the plaint are associated with him exclusively. Defendants are using Plaintiff's image, persona, likeness etc., for their commercial gains without any prior consent CS(COMM) 147/2026 Page 18 of 33 This is a digitally signed order.
The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 24/02/2026 at 20:33:40 or express authorization from the Plaintiff. The grievance ventilated is that for the past few months, Plaintiff has been subjected to an unprecedented and alarming onslaught of AI-generated deepfake videos, manipulated photographs, impersonating social media accounts, distorted caricatures and fabricated endorsements, disseminated across multiple digital platforms, including YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, X Corp. as well as e-commerce websites. These activities, according to the Plaintiff are not accidental but are orchestrated to misuse and exploit Plaintiff's personality rights. Plaintiff also alleges violation of his right to privacy and infringement of copyright. Defendants No. 3 and 4 submit that while as intermediaries they have nothing to state on the merits of the dispute, however, while passing direction to takedown the social media posts and URLs, the Court must bear in mind that some of these may fall in the categories of caricature, lampooning, satire and parodies, which are judicially recognized as exceptions to the personality rights.
48. From the averments in the plaint and the documents on record, it emerges that Plaintiff is a known and renowned personality in the fields of yoga and ayurvedic medicine, in India and abroad. As noted above, through several institutes run by the Plaintiff, he is advancing yoga education, healthcare and Ayurvedic treatment and is also engaged in various philanthropic endeavours. Owing to his contributions in these fields, Plaintiff has earned a formidable goodwill and reputation and has received several awards, honours and accolades. In the case of D.M. Entertainment (supra), it was held by this Court that individual's right to permit or not to permit commercial exploitation of his likeness and/or his personality attributes falls under the right of publicity and consequently, use of persona CS(COMM) 147/2026 Page 19 of 33 This is a digitally signed order.
The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 24/02/2026 at 20:33:40 of a celebrity for commercialization without consent or authority would be illegitimate and will amount to dilution of uniqueness of his/her personality. In Jaikishan Kakubhai Saraf v. Peppy Store and Others, 2024 SCC OnLine Del 3664, this Court held that right of publicity grants protection against unauthorized use of name, image, voice and other distinctive attributes and granted ex parte ad interim injunction restraining Defendants therein from infringing the personality rights of the Plaintiff.
49. Court has perused the social media posts and uploads as also e-commerce listings brought forth in Tables 'A' to 'D' referred above. In so far as the URLs in Table 'D' are concerned, it is conceded on behalf of the Plaintiff that the contents are not accessible as on date. Mr. Nayar also fairly states, on instructions, that Plaintiff does not press for global injunction since this legal issue is pending consideration before the Division Bench and would restrict his claim for injunction at this stage within India only.
50. On prima facie assessment of 'A' to 'C', it is evident that there is exploitation and unauthorised use of Plaintiff's name, voice, image, likeness and other attributes of his persona, which is liable to be injuncted. Illustratively, the listings on e-commerce website 'Amazon' reflect sale of diverse products bearing Plaintiff's photographs giving an impression that the products are endorsed by the Plaintiff, with the objective of unauthorized commercial gain. Needless to state that these listings are without the consent and/or authorization of the Plaintiff. One of the videos available at YouTube by AI Short Video Channel features an AI-generated and morphed depiction of the Plaintiff alongside another spiritual personality, presented in a meme format for amusement and online engagement. The video ridicules and trivialises Plaintiff's persona and exploits his image. As another illustration, CS(COMM) 147/2026 Page 20 of 33 This is a digitally signed order.
The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 24/02/2026 at 20:33:40 one of the videos uploaded on YouTube shows Plaintiff endorsing a liquor brand.
51. This Court prima facie finds that the impugned contents are not only violative of Plaintiff's rights to protect his image, voice, likeness and other attributes of his persona and personality but go a step further wherein, by use of modern technology such as AI, the images of the Plaintiff have been modified and/or associated with people and products he has no connection with. The unauthorized creation and circulation of deepfake videos and social media webpages depicting the Plaintiff as endorsing products, cures or medicines with which Plaintiff has no association, in my prima facie view constitutes misappropriation and exploitation of his goodwill, amounting to passing off. Some of the digitally created publications contain statements or messages, endorsements in Plaintiff's name, likeness and voice, which affect his public image and may tarnish his credibility and undermine the trust reposed in him. The posts/uploads etc. have the potential to mislead the public into believing that the accounts are the authorised and official accounts of the Plaintiff. It is a plausible contention that some of the infringing content which falsely projects that Plaintiff is endorsing medicines or health-related products and/or giving advice, can be detrimental not only to his reputation but the misinformation can lead to serious and adverse consequences to public interest, if the members of the public were to believe the endorsements or buy the products and/or follow the advice.
52. From the pleadings and other material on record, I am of the view that Plaintiff has made out a prima facie case for grant of ex parte ad interim injunction. Balance of convenience lies in favour of the Plaintiff and he is CS(COMM) 147/2026 Page 21 of 33 This is a digitally signed order.
The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 24/02/2026 at 20:33:40 likely to suffer irreparable harm in case ex parte ad interim injunction as prayed for, is not granted. It be noted that during the course of hearing, argument was canvassed on behalf of the intermediaries that some of the alleged URLs are covered by the exception of parody, caricature and lampooning and therefore, opportunity must be granted to file replies in respect thereof before take down orders are passed. Accordingly, the URLs in respect of which take down directions are not being passed in the present order, rights of the respective parties are reserved to address arguments on the next date.
53. It is directed that till the next date of hearing, Defendants No.1 to 10, their associates, servants, agents, affiliates, partners, holding companies, assignees, licensees, substitutes, representatives, group entities, their subscribers, employees and/or persons claiming through them or under them and all other persons are restrained from publishing any material which violates Plaintiff's publicity/personality rights by utilising and/or in any manner, directly or indirectly, using or exploiting or misappropriating Plaintiff's (a) name "Ramdev", "Swami Ramdev" "Baba Ramdev", "Yog Guru Ramdev", "Yog Guru Swami Ramdev" and/or any abbreviation, moniker, title or variation thereof; (b) voice; (c) image; (d) likeness; (e) unique style of discourse and delivery; and/or (f) any other attributes which are exclusively identifiable/associated with him, for any commercial and/or personal gain, without Plaintiff's consent and/or authorization in all formats and on all mediums, such as but not limited to Artificial Intelligence generated content, deepfake videos, voice-cloned audio, metaverse environments.
54. Defendants No. 1 to 10 are further restrained till the next date from CS(COMM) 147/2026 Page 22 of 33 This is a digitally signed order.
The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 24/02/2026 at 20:33:40 importing, manufacturing, warehousing, selling, offering for sale, advertising, or otherwise directly or indirectly dealing in any manner in goods, services, schemes, or content, using Plaintiff's (a) name "Ramdev", "Swami Ramdev" "Baba Ramdev", "Yog Guru Ramdev", "Yog Guru Swami Ramdev" and/or any abbreviation, moniker, title or variation thereof;
(b) voice; (c) image; (d) likeness; (e) unique style of discourse and delivery; and/or (f) any other attribute which is exclusively identifiable with him, without the Plaintiff's consent and/or authorization, amounting to passing off and/or causing dilution or tarnishment and/or from using/exploiting any work which forms part of original works of the Plaintiff in which he has copyright, so as to amount to copyright infringement.
55. It is further directed that Defendant No. 2 shall take down, disable and block the URLs enlisted from serial Nos. 1 to 24 in Table-A of Annexure A enclosed with this order. Defendant No. 5/Amazon India shall take down, disable and block the URLs enlisted from serial Nos. 25 to 28 in Table-A of Annexure A enclosed with this order. Defendant No. 2 shall take down, disable and block the URLs enlisted at serial No. 1 in Table-B of Annexure A enclosed with this order. Defendant No. 3 shall take down, disable and block the URLs enlisted from serial Nos. 17 to 25 in Table-B of Annexure A enclosed with this order. Defendant No. 4 shall take down, disable and block the URLs enlisted from serial Nos.27, 30 to 32 in Table-B of Annexure A enclosed with this order. The needful shall be done within 72 hours of receipt of this order.
56. Defendant No. 7 shall take down, disable and block the URLs enlisted from serial Nos. 7 to 9 in Table-C of Annexure A enclosed with this order. Defendants No. 11/DoT and Defendants No.12/MeitY shall issue necessary CS(COMM) 147/2026 Page 23 of 33 This is a digitally signed order.
The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 24/02/2026 at 20:33:40 directions to disable and block all URLs enlisted from serial Nos. 1 to 6 in Table-C of Annexure A enclosed with this order.
57. Plaintiff shall comply with the provisions of Order XXXIX Rule 3 CPC within a period of two weeks from today.
JYOTI SINGH, J FEBRUARY 18, 2026/AK CS(COMM) 147/2026 Page 24 of 33 This is a digitally signed order.
The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 24/02/2026 at 20:33:40 Annexure 'A' TABLE - A Infringing Content liable to be take down as per consensus between the Plaintiff and the Defendants (Total - 28 links) S. Document Pg. No. of URL No. No. (as per Document Para 57 of Part Plaint/Para 11 of IA No. 4153/2026) Google (YouTube)
1. 1 25 https://www.youtube.com/shorts/5nu3TC93ZFw
2. 2 28 https://www.youtube.com/shorts/pfIKSECizpg
3. 5 37 https://www.youtube.com/shorts/OKpzF46CLY
4. 6 40 https://www.youtube.com/shorts/hTmMv6jlxQg
5. 8 46 https://www.youtube.com/shorts/VOvYUq21xw4
6. 9 49 https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Aafn7YPypTA
7. 11 55 https://www.youtube.com/shorts/JeXWjDw3FEI
8. 13 61 https://www.youtube.com/shorts/_yCekfULX6E
9. 16 70 https://www.youtube.com/shorts/doFAX7ySeVI
10. 17 73 https://www.youtube.com/shorts/gDXKMZLxj6U
11. 18 76 https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ENdAI158POQ
12. 19 79 https://www.youtube.com/shorts/i0Z00J1OiZI
13. 20 82 https://www.youtube.com/shorts/SFjLRctQzWs
14. 21 85 https://www.youtube.com/shorts/HRrPEEaCp7A
15. 22 88 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKFfNeyTt1M
16. 23 91 https://www.youtube.com/shorts/tTXDE8mmxs8
17. 24 94 https://www.youtube.com/shorts/0jSt57kam3I
18. 25 97 https://www.youtube.com/shorts/vlAHOzAtX6w
19. 26 100 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_l6IxO81I0
20. 27 104 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0izwfSGeS0
21. 28 107 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpxCKB02-TQ
22. 30 115 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nc3m6uXe-VE
23. 31 117 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tclqp1qM720
24. 32 122 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUfyPl94_Bo E-Commerce (Amazon)
25. 76 190 https://amzn.in/d/1lvXBHz
26. 77 191 https://amzn.in/d/2E1fn7u
27. 78 192 https://amzn.in/d/3MgBqE0
28. 79 193 https://amzn.in/d/3IxpXm6 CS(COMM) 147/2026 Page 25 of 33 This is a digitally signed order.
The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 24/02/2026 at 20:33:40 TABLE - B Infringing Content not liable to be taken down as per the Defendants (Total - 32 links) S. No. Document Pg. No. of URL Remarks by the No. (as per Document Plaintiff Para 57 of Part Plaint/Para 11 of IA No. 4153/2026) Google (YouTube)
1. 29 110 https://www.yo Video showing images from utube.com/wat Plaintiff at a press conference ch?v=2jdcreqI with obscene background Rnw audio/commentary addressing him as "Kaamdev Baba" and statements such as "Baba Kaamdev aur us sarkaar ke saath agreement sign karte hue nazar aa rahe hain.
Kaamdev Baba aadhi zindagi yahin par aakar logon ko kaha kya? "Kaam- dhandha chhodo, yoga karo" and "Modi meri gaand maar le, main vote Modi ko doonga." etc.
2. 33 127 http://youtube. Video showing images of com/watch?v= Plaintiff doing Yoga with JOTyeIge 3lY comedic background music depicting him flying, thereby ridiculing him.
3. 34 130 https://www.yo Clips of Plaintiff riding a utube.com/wat bicycle, doing Yoga and sitting ch?v=KPjv0- atop an elephant and Pig6Y addressing media persons placed out of context in between cheap, vulgar and abusive clips taken from different movies/tv shows thereby ridiculing him.
4. 87 204 https://share.goo Cartoon image of Plaintiff gle/Iny2Go804v along side security personnel 3ayBIrN doing Yoga with the caption "Z category security"
CS(COMM) 147/2026 Page 26 of 33This is a digitally signed order.
The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 24/02/2026 at 20:33:40 thereby ridiculing him.
5. 88 205 Clip of Plaintiff doing Yoga https://tenor.co m/YKun.gif alongside a famous actress made into a GIF in order to ridicule him.
6. 89 206 https://tenor.co Clip of Plaintiff doing Yoga m/buv7g.gif alongside the Hon'ble Home Minister of India made into a GIF in order to ridicule him.
7. 90 207 https://share.go Clip of Plaintiff doing Yoga made ogle/z17MPD9 into a GIF in order to ridicule zQd7LMTSXf him.
8. 91 208 https://share.go Clip of Plaintiff running made ogle/QT5QM3u into a GIF in order to ridicule 1WzLB4i7jc him.
Meta Platforms (Facebook)
9. 35 133 https://www.fac Misleading News Article with a ebook.com/Ne doctored ws18Punjab/po image of the Plaintiff on a fake sts/pfbid027Yrc e-scooter.
SQZ5dinqU35 Xd7yebcEkxV VieaP1Bx4Nw YnAWVdMbs1 qVWWVgaFC RUzjjELAl
10. 36 136 https://www.fac Misleading News Article with ebook.com/Zee a doctored image of the Odisha/posts/pf Plaintiff alongside a fake e- bid0mD4Pzz9n scooter.
TSKQvTRuHjd XxvTkhnrFfn4 pYHEYjKRVfs TSRVh2jGQKn U6Wp5VJeRZ4 l CS(COMM) 147/2026 Page 27 of 33 This is a digitally signed order.
The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 24/02/2026 at 20:33:40
11. 37 139 https://www.fa Misleading News Article with cebook.com/Z a doctored image of the eeOdisha/post Plaintiff alongside a fake e- s/pfbid02rzSd scooter.
8A3W3s4L5p Cpy6F8bphFq kFBi8fsZdyN 6oCV11K23z p5h2NGErHj KZFFAosCl
12. 38 142 https://www.fa Misleading News Article with cebook.com/Z a doctored image of the eeOdisha/post Plaintiff alongside a fake e- s/pfbid0SiqMd scooter.
CAVj3dpYrW Xm94GsKWc 5i9uXhkz1V9 4fJDSxZdSZg 4zDcNA8F1v1 nB m9mTHl
13. 39 145 https://www.fac Misleading News Article with a ebook.com/Zee doctored Odisha/posts/pf image of the Plaintiff alongside bid037tjNe a fake e- scooter.
51uAeLfaoz2r F4EmxFL22Q S7XmwGhYn a9D6fs4WZTz QhJ1PZDYM STWDw6cil
14. 40 148 https://www.fa Misleading News Article cebook.com/ie picturing a fake e-scooter with Bangla/posts/p reference to the Plaintiff in the fbid0GxFbdkbj body of the article.
LpoAU6yh57 DoHM5ZVyW The Defendants claims this link qtNKmQEHz as being inactive. However, the mUaxaiZ5jM same is still active.
DtVPbkEX8N sLjdzfs4l CS(COMM) 147/2026 Page 28 of 33 This is a digitally signed order.
The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 24/02/2026 at 20:33:40
15. 41 151 https://www.fa Misleading News Article with cebook.com/N an image of the Plaintiff ews18Gujarati alongside a fake e-scooter. /posts/pfbid0p Uksw28K34n3 8HJwqd3QRp GokqBzTasis BTxoR6Mkm 1fxmf6yfULa Xh63CAu8Mg rl
16. 42 155 https://www.fa Misleading News Article with cebook.com/gr a doctored oups/1531023 image of the Plaintiff on a fake 544063677?m e-scooter.
ulti_permalinks =220747300308 5391
17. 44 158 https://www.fa Facebook post showing an cebook.com/sh image of the Plaintiff being are/p/1BriTiSx treated by doctors with the MP/ caption "Patanjali ka chavanprash, shahad, desi ghee khaane ke baad allopathy doctor se checkup karate hue" thereby ridiculing the Plaintiff.
18. 45 159 https://www.fa Facebook post showing an cebook.com/sh image of the Plaintiff being are/p/1c26pB treated by doctors with the mx5E/ caption "Patanjali ka chavanprash, shahad, desi ghee khaane ke baad allopathy doctor se checkup karate hue"
thereby ridiculing the Plaintiff.
19. 46 160 https://www.fa Facebook post showing an cebook.com/gr image of the Plaintiff being oups/27801197 treated by doctors with the 3294947/post caption "Yoga se kuch nahi s/15968919980 hoga" thereby ridiculing the 73598/ Plaintiff.
20. 47 161 https://www.fa Facebook post in Odia language cebook.com/sa showing an image of the byasachi.amita Plaintiff being treated by v/posts/10164 doctors with the caption which CS(COMM) 147/2026 Page 29 of 33 This is a digitally signed order.
The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 24/02/2026 at 20:33:40 380694659684 translates to "A scene from a / checkup with an allopathic doctor after consuming Patanjali's Chyawanprash, honey, and desi ghee" thereby ridiculing the Plaintiff.
21. 49 163 https://www.fa Facebook post showing an cebook.com/Th image of the Plaintiff being eGulbargaMirr treated by doctors with the or/posts/bab a- caption "Baba Ramdev ramdev- always criticised Allopathic always- treatment but when he fell ill, criticised- see using allopathic allopathic- treatment. Hypocrisy".
treatment-but- thereby ridiculing the Plaintiff. when-he-fell-
ill-see-
usin/12230417 71160016/
22. 50 164 https://www.fa Facebook post showing an cebook.com/vi image of the Plaintiff being jay.patel.7497 treated by doctors with the 76/posts/2180 caption "Dusre ko lauki ka 659219344394/ juice peene ki salaah dene vala baba khud ke liye angrezi upchaar ki sharan me jaa rha hai..." thereby ridiculing the Plaintiff.
23. 51 165 https://www.fa Facebook post showing an cebook.com/m image of the Plaintiff being anohar.patil.43 treated by doctors with the 5287/photos/43 caption "Yogasan", 430806826861 "Ayurveda", "Shudh desi"...
86/ bolkar logon ko moorkh
banane vala... "Lala
Ramdev" angrezi doctor se
apna ilaaj karwate hue, sach
mei desh ki janta bohot
bholi hai !!!!" thereby
ridiculing the Plaintiff.
24. 52 166 https://www.fa Facebook post showing an
cebook.com/A image of the Plaintiff being nitNainSingh/p treated by doctors with the hotos/2503545 caption "Patanjali ka 8179467126/ chvawanprash, shahad, desi ghee khaane ke baad CS(COMM) 147/2026 Page 30 of 33 This is a digitally signed order.
The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 24/02/2026 at 20:33:40 allopathy doctor se checkup karate hue" thereby ridiculing the Plaintiff.
25. 96 213 https://www.in Facebook post showing an stagram.com/p/ image of the Plaintiff being DUACx8qEtPftreated by doctors with the / caption "Patanjali Baba Ramdev apne shudh masala khan eke baad bhi allopathy doctor se checkup karate hue"
thereby ridiculing the Plaintiff.
X-Corp (formerly Twitter)
26. 53 167 https://x.com/Fa Twitter account entitled "Fake keBabaRamdev Baba Ramdev" with an image 1 of the Plaintiff ridiculing him.
27. 65 179 https://x.com/ra Twitter account entitled mdevbaba786 "ramdevbaba786" with an image of the Plaintiff ridiculing him.
28. 69 183 https://x.com/ Twitter post showing images of SalmanNizami the Plaintiff _/status/14323 ridiculing him.
874596402176 07
29. 70 184 https://x.com/K Twitter post distastefully aptanHindustan showing an image of the /status/753597 Plaintiff thereby ridiculing 3926420070 him.
40?s=20
30. 71 185 https://x.com/ar Twitter post showing an image chanarchaubey/ of the Plaintiff being treated by status/2017261 doctors with the caption 594200489986 "Patanjali ka chawanprash ?s=20 shahad, desi ghee khane ke baad allopathy doctor se checkup karate hue" thereby ridiculing the Plaintiff.
31. 73 187 https://x.com/t Twitter post showing an image hekhurpenchh/ of the Plaintiff being treated by status/2017230 doctors with the caption 692850315697 "Patanjali ka chawanprash CS(COMM) 147/2026 Page 31 of 33 This is a digitally signed order.
The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 24/02/2026 at 20:33:40 shahad, desi ghee khane ke baad allopathy doctor se checkup karate hue"
thereby ridiculing the Plaintiff.
32. 75 189 https://x.com/Ni Twitter post showing an image tuyadavUP/statu of the Plaintiff being treated by s/201622706616 doctors with the caption 6051292 "Aushadhi khane ke upraant baba ka muje lagta hai saptaahik checkup hai"
thereby ridiculing the Plaintiff.
TABLE - C Infringing Content published by John Does (D1) and Pinterest (D7) liable to be take down as per the Plaintiff (Total - 9 links) S. Document Pg. No. of URL No. No. (as per Documen Para 57 of t Part Plaint/Par a 11 of IA No. 4153/2026)
1. 81 197 https://brands.live/template/baba-ramdev-yoga-guru
2. 82 198 https://www.alamy.com/anna-hazare-
supporters-swami- ramdev-baba-at-ramlila- maidan-new-delhi-india-asia-
image653386130.html?imageid=FA0D
3. 83 199 https://pin.it/1LIGTm5su
4. 84 200 https://pin.it/2UVEBwP4V
5. 85 201 https://www.inventiva.co.in/stories/from-yoga-
mat-to- corporate-fat-how-baba-ramdev- convinced-india-that- breathing-exercises-can- cure-everything-except-his-business- ethics/ CS(COMM) 147/2026 Page 32 of 33 This is a digitally signed order.
The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 24/02/2026 at 20:33:40
6. 86 203 https://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-
photographer-reveals- what-inspired-the- interesting-cover-photo-of-baba-ramdev- 2235310
7. 92 209 https://pin.it/1gWwynxOO
8. 93 210 https://pin.it/4OFW4TIjo
9. 94 211 https://pin.it/1gJrNmvTR CS(COMM) 147/2026 Page 33 of 33 This is a digitally signed order.
The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 24/02/2026 at 20:33:40