Cong leader may withdraw case against Ramdev

Sunit Dhawan

Tribune News Service

Rohtak, July 8

More than three years after Ramdev made the controversial beheading remark while addressing a public meeting at Rohtak, the ongoing court case against the yoga guru is likely to be withdrawn.

Former Haryana Home Minister and senior Congress leader Subhash Batra, who had filed a case against Ramdev, confirmed to The Tribune today that he had met the yoga guru twice and would withdraw the case if Ramdev realised his mistake and offered a public apology for his inflammatory remarks.

“I am ready for an out-of-court settlement regarding the matter if Ramdev comes to Rohtak and publicly apologises for the beheading remark made by him during a public meeting at Rohtak in 2016,” Batra said.

Ramdev’s counsel Satya Paul Jain stated that he had been given the impression that Batra was going to withdraw the case. He, however, denied the possibility of any out-of-court settlement or tendering of public apology by the yoga guru.

“There is no question of apology or out-of-court settlement. If he (Batra) withdraws the case, it’s fine. If he does not (withdraw the case), we will argue,” he said.

Meanwhile, Batra’s lawyer OP Chugh said a hearing in the case was slated at a local court today, adding that August 30 had been fixed as the next date of hearing.

Supporting the chanting of ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ during a ‘sadbhavna sammelan’ organised in Rohtak on April 3, 2016, Ramdev had said, “Thousands of heads would have been cut on opposing the chanting of ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ if we were not bound by law.” Batra lodged a police complaint against Ramdev. However, as the police did not register an FIR, he approached a local court.

The court of Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Harish Goyal had summoned Ramdev. It had also issued a non-bailable warrant against the yoga guru. Later, hearing a revision petition, Rohtak Additional District and Sessions Judge Narinder Kaur had stayed the proceedings of the lower court. The case was then transferred to Additional Sessions Judge Jasbir Singh.

What yoga guru had said

• Supporting the chanting of ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ during a ‘sadbhavna sammelan’ organised in Rohtak on April 3, 2016, Ramdev had said, “Thousands of heads would have been cut on opposing the chanting of ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ if we were not bound by law.”
• Senior Congress leader Subhash Batra lodged a police complaint against Ramdev against the remark. When the police did not register an FIR, he approached a local court.