Delhi High Court questions Patanjali over ‘Dhoka’ remark in Chyawanprash ad

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Thursday questioned Patanjali Ayurved over its use of the word “dhoka”, meaning fraud or deception, in advertisements comparing its chyawanprash to other brands, according to the news reports.

The court observed that while comparative advertising is permissible, calling other products “dhoka” crosses the line into disparagement. It reserved its order on Dabur India’s plea seeking an interim injunction against the allegedly disparaging advertisement.

“You can claim that you are the best but you cannot call others ‘dhoka’ which, in the English dictionary, means fraud and deception,” Justice Tejas Karia orally said.

Senior advocate Rajiv Nayar, representing Patanjali Ayurved, contended that the word was being misinterpreted. “I am saying all others are ‘sadharan’, ordinary chyawanprash. The meaning it conveys is that I am saying all others are ineffective. This is an extension of the last advertisement. When I say dhoka, I mean to say that I am special and others are ordinary,” he said.

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The plea by Dabur India challenged Patanjali’s 25-second commercial titled “51 herbs. 1 truth. Patanjali Chyawanprash!” In the advertisement, a woman is shown feeding chyawanprash to her child while saying, “Chalo dhoka khao.” This is followed by Ramdev saying, “Most people are being deceived in the name of chyawanprash.”

Senior advocate Sandeep Sethi, representing Dabur India, contended that the campaign unfairly targets the entire chyawanprash segment. He argued that it portrays the whole category as misleading and suggests that all manufacturers and sellers are deceptive. Sethi added that as the leading player in the chyawanprash market, Dabur is being directly affected by messaging intended to create alarm among consumers.

Sethi also pointed out that Patanjali’s reference to “why settle with 40 herbs” directly alluded to Dabur’s product, which is known to contain 40 herbs. “Coming from a self-proclaimed yoga guru is far more serious. People seek to identify a yoga guru with some sense of truthfulness,” he added.

The court observed that while describing other chyawanprash products as “ordinary” might be acceptable, using the term “dhoka” could constitute disparagement. “Ordinary or special and dhoka is different. Here the question is you are calling all other chyawanprash other than you as dhoka. Dhoka is a negative word. The word in English means fraud,” Justice Karia told Patanjali’s counsel.

In response, Nayar maintained that Patanjali was not calling other products fake or spurious. “I have not referred to him at all. All I am saying is that apart from me, all other chyawanprash are ineffective. Puffery is admitted. When a product is not targeted, an injunction never follows,” he said.

Earlier in July, another single-judge bench of the Delhi High Court had directed Patanjali to delete the first two lines of an earlier chyawanprash advertisement that said, “Why settle for ordinary Chyawanprash made with 40 herbs?” The order was subsequently upheld by a division bench, which also instructed the company to remove the offending portion.