Patanjali Ayurved approached the Delhi High Court against an interim order that barred it from airing advertisements allegedly disparaging Dabur Chyawanprash.
During the hearing, the bench remarked that Patanjali's ad content appeared to be a case of generic disparagement, implicitly targeting Dabur.
The court warned Patanjali that in case it finds it to be a luxury litigation and a useless appeal, it will impose costs, PTI reported.
"You have said-'Why settle for ordinary chyawanprash made with 40 herbs?' So when you have used the word 40 herbs, it is an obvious reference to the respondent (Dabur)".
"The moment you say ordinary chyawanprash with 40 herbs you are making a representation to the public that the respondent's chyawanprash is ordinary and mine (Patanjali) is excellent and why settle for his chyawanprash," the bench told Patanjali's counsel as per PTI.
The bench noted that the single judge had rightly classified the advertisement as disparaging and emphasised that the interim order was discretionary in nature, leaving no compelling reason for the division bench to intervene.
“These are plainly disparaging content. 'Jinko Ayurved or Vedon ka gyaan nahi Charak, Sushrut, Dhanvantri aur Chyawanrishi Ki Parampara ke Anuroop, original Chyawanprash kaise bana payenge".
“So you have painted in black everyone else who is making chyawanprash that they don't know what chyawanprash is and how it is made so how will they make chyawanprash. This is a generic disparagement case. The interim order is purely discretionary. Why should we interfere with this interim order? Tell us,” PTI reported citing the bench's comments.
In the same light, earlier in Dec. 2024, appearing for Dabur, senior Advocate Akhil Sibal argued that such claims damage the reputation of competitors and mislead consumers.
(With inputs from PTI)
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