Chyawanprash War Heats Up: Patanjali Moves HC Appellate Bench Over Dispute With Dabur

The tussle between FMCG rivals Patanjali and Dabur over chyawanprash advertising has escalated, with Patanjali Ayurved Ltd. and Patanjali Foods Ltd. moving the Delhi High Court's Commercial Appellate Division.

The appeal challenges a July 3 interim order passed by Justice Mini Pushkarna, which had directed Patanjali to edit its advertising campaign for "Patanjali Special Chyawanprash."

The single-judge bench had asked the company to delete lines such as "Why settle for ordinary Chyawanprash made with 40 herbs?" from its print ads, and to cut storyboard segments from a television commercial that suggested only those with Ayurvedic knowledge could prepare "original Chyawanprash." The advertisements were allowed to run only after these modifications.

Dabur had sued Patanjali over the campaign, alleging disparagement of its chyawanprash products. Patanjali, in its appeal, has argued that the single-judge order runs contrary to established principles governing commercial speech and puffery.

The company maintains that its ads did not reference or depict Dabur's product and were limited to praising its own chyawanprash. Mere market dominance, it contends, cannot be a ground to infer disparagement. Patanjali has also defended the use of the term "ordinary," saying it has a neutral connotation and has even been judicially recognised as non-pejorative.

The case now moves to the appellate bench.

Earlier in Dec. 2024, appearing for Dabur, senior Advocate Akhil Sibal argued that such claims damage the reputation of competitors and mislead consumers.

Sibal cited the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 emphasising that all chyawanprash products must adhere to formulations outlined in ancient Ayurvedic texts. Dabur, holding a 61.6% market share in the chyawanprash segment, stated that the ad not only disparages competitors but also raises unwarranted concerns about the safety of other brands.

Sibal further alleged that Patanjali has a history of running misleading advertisements, as he referred to a Supreme Court contempt petition registered against the company earlier this year. He highlighted that the advertisement in question has been aired approximately 900 times over the last three days on major TV networks like Colors, Star, Zee, Sony, News 18 and Aaj Tak, as well as published in the Delhi edition of Dainik Jagran.