Dabur moves Delhi HC over Patanjali's allegedly disparaging Chyawanprash ads

New Delhi: Consumer goods giant Dabur has initiated legal action against Patanjali Ayurved in the Delhi High Court, accusing the company of running advertisements that disparage its Chyawanprash products. 

The lawsuit centres around an advertisement featuring Patanjali's founder, Baba Ramdev, which Dabur claims misleads consumers by suggesting that only Patanjali's Chyawanprash is "authentic" or "original," thereby implying that other brands, including Dabur's, are "ordinary" or inferior.

Justice Mini Pushkarna of the Delhi High Court has issued a notice to Patanjali Ayurved and scheduled the matter for hearing in the last week of January to consider interim orders. 

Initially, there was a suggestion to refer the dispute to mediation, but this was abandoned after Dabur pressed for immediate relief against the advertisement campaign.

Dabur argued that Patanjali's advertisement, which has been aired over 900 times in recent days across various TV channels and published in newspapers, not only misleads consumers but also tarnishes the reputation of competitors. They pointed out that their Chyawanprash holds a significant market share, around 61.6%, in this category, and such claims could cause considerable reputational damage.

The legal tussle isn't new between these two Ayurvedic giants. Past encounters include Dabur challenging Patanjali over similar issues in 2017, where the court had restrained Patanjali from airing ads that allegedly disparaged Dabur's products.

Dabur is represented by Senior Advocate Akhil Sibal, who highlighted Patanjali's history of running potentially misleading advertisements, referencing a previous Supreme Court contempt petition against Patanjali. The Drugs and Cosmetics Act was cited by Sibal to argue that there are pre-defined parameters for Chyawanprash preparation, which should not be undermined by such advertising.

On the other side, Patanjali's counsel, Senior Advocate Jayant Mehta, sought time to respond to the suit and questioned its maintainability.