In what can be seen as a subtle snub, the Delhi High Court on Thursday passed an interim order directing Patanjali Ayurved to remove disparaging advertisements against consumer goods giant Dabur's Chyawanprash products.
Justice Mini Pushkarna passed the order on a suit filed by Dabur against Patanjali Ayurved alleging that the latter was running disparaging advertisements against Dabur's Chyawanprash.The dispute arose after Patanjali ran an advertisement featuring its founder Swami Ramdev, in which he is seen questioning the authenticity of other Chyawanprash products in the market.
“Jinko Ayurved aur Vedo ka gyaan nahi, Charak, Sushrut, Dhanwantari aur Chyawanrishi ke parampara mei ‘original’ Chyawanprash kaise bana payenge?”Dabur also objected to specific references in Patanjali's advertisements calling a 40-herb Chyawanprash “ordinary.”
It was contended that this was a direct reference to Dabur’s product, which advertises itself as using “40+ herbs,” and holds over 60% of the Chyawanprash market. Dabur argued that such statements constitute threefold disparagement — misrepresenting Patanjali's own formulation, questioning Dabur’s adherence to Ayurvedic tradition and branding Dabur's product as inferior.
Dabur argued that the ad misleads consumers and undermines confidence in a category of products governed by strict regulatory standards. It was submitted that Chyawanprash is a classical Ayurvedic medicine regulated under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, which mandates adherence to prescribed formulations based on ancient Ayurvedic texts.To label other brands as “ordinary” is both misleading and harmful, Dabur contended.
Dabur also flagged concerns that the ad insinuates health risks from consuming non-Patanjali products, thereby raising issues of public safety. He pointed to earlier Supreme Court orders in contempt proceedings against Patanjali for similar advertising conduct, arguing that the company is a habitual offender.
Dabur was represented by Senior Advocate Sandeep Sethi with advocates R Jawahar Lal, Anirudh Bakhru and Meghna Kumar.
Patanjali was represented by Senior Advocates Rajiv Nayar and Jayant Mehta with advocates Rohit Gandhi, Simranjeet Singh, Saurabh Seth, Neha Gupta, Rishabh Pant, Yajat Gulia and Tina Aneja
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