Delhi HC restrains Patanjali from running advertisements against Dabur

Dabur said Patanjali ran around 6200 advertisements, including 3700 in the last week, alleging that the former’s product was ordinary since it only had “40 herbs”

The Delhi high court on Thursday restrained Patanjali Ayurved from running allegedly disparaging advertisements against consumer giant Dabur’s Chawanprash.

Dabur moved the court seeking to restrain Patanjali Ayurved. (X)

In its advertisements featuring its founder Ramdev, Patanjali implies that only its Chawanprash is “original” and “authentic”, while the product manufactured by other manufacturers, having a 60% market share, is ordinary. “Applications are allowed,” a bench of Justice Mini Pushkarna said.

Dabur moved the court seeking to restrain Patanjali Ayurved from running the advertisements. Its application was filed in Dabur’s suit against Patanjali, alleging that its claims labelling Chyawanprash products manufactured by it and others as “ordinary” implied that the same were inferior and disparaged the entire category of this classical ayurvedic medicine.

In its application, Dabur claimed that pursuant to the issuance of summons in December, Patanjali ran around 6200 advertisements, including 3700 in the last week, alleging that the former’s product was ordinary since it only had “40 herbs.”

The plea said Patanjali, in the advertisements, claimed that its product was made using more than 51 herbs, but only 47 herbs were being used.

Senior advocate Sandeep Sethi, who represented Dabur, said Patanjali was using mercury in its Chyawanprash, which was unfit for consumption and harmful to humans. “They refer to us as ordinary and advise for not going for Dabur’s product. We are 70-year-old product and they are merely new,” Sethi said. He added the disparagement aimed to show that only Patanjali followed the rule book and not his client.

Senior advocate Jayant Mehta, representing Patanjali, submitted that all the ingredients used in its products were as per the prescribed formula and fit for human consumption. He questioned the maintainability of Dabur’s petition.