Dabur Vs Patanjali: The Chyawanprash Showdown Hits Delhi High Court
Dabur has accused Patanjali of falsely claiming in an advertisement that only its Chyawanprash is authentic, and all other brands lack the traditional knowledge required for its preparation.
Dabur India Ltd. moved the Delhi High Court on Tuesday, seeking to restrain Patanjali from running misleading advertisements featuring its founder Baba Ramdev, allegedly to disparage its Chyawanprash product.
The court, presided over by Justice Mini Pushkarna, has issued a notice in the case. The case is expected to come up for further hearing in late January.
While Justice Pushkarna initially considered referring the case to mediation, Dabur’s counsel pressed for immediate orders against Patanjali. The suit alleges that an advertisement falsely claims that only Patanjali’s Chyawanprash is “authentic" and all other brands lack the traditional Ayurvedic knowledge required for its preparation.
In the advertisement, Ramdev is quoted saying, “Jinko Ayurved aur Vedo ka gyaan nahi, Charak, Sushrut, Dhanwantari aur Chyawanrishi ke parampara mei ‘original’ Chyawanprash kaise bana payenge?”
Dabur contends that this statement misrepresents other brands, labeling them as “ordinary” and implying inferiority.
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.
The impugned advertisements generically disparages and denigrates Chyawanprash as a class, including Dabur Chyawanprash as well as ancient Indian medicines, ethos and historyDabur's suit, a copy of which was seen by NDTV Profit.
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.
In its petition, Dabur had said that the court must order Patanjali to provide a detailed account of the profits they made illegally from their disputed advertisements. The court should then order them to pay the amount determined as due, or alternatively, award Dabur a sum of Rs 2.01 crore as compensation for the damages.
Senior Advocate Jayant Mehta, representing Patanjali, questioned the maintainability of the suit and requested time to file a response.
