Court cracks down: Patanjali's 'Dhokha' Chyawanprash ad faces ban, must be taken down in 3 days
New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu): Yoga guru Baba Ramdev's company Patanjali Ayurved has been dealt a major blow by the Delhi High Court. The court on Tuesday ordered the suspension within three days of a controversial advertisement for Patanjali Chyawanprash that labeled all other Chyawanprash brands as "dhokha" (fraud or deception). The order came on a petition filed by rival company Dabur India Limited.
Justice Tejas Karia delivered the verdict while hearing the case of Dabur India Ltd. vs. Patanjali Ayurved Ltd. He directed social media companies, over-the-top (OTT) platforms and other broadcasters to remove, block or disable the advertisement within three days.
What is the court's order?
Justice Karia said in his ruling, "The respondent (Patanjali) shall remove, block or disable the impugned advertisement from all electronic media, including national television channels, OTT platforms, print media and platforms on the World Wide Web/Internet, newspapers and all its social media accounts within three days."
What was the whole matter?
A single bench of the High Court gave this order on a petition by Dabur India, which called the recent TV advertisement of Patanjali Special Chyawanprash "defamatory and inappropriate." According to Dabur's petition, in this advertisement, Baba Ramdev was seen warning consumers that most people are being duped in the name of Chyawanprash. The advertisement described all other Chyawanprash brands as "Dhokha" (fraud or deception), while Patanjali's product was said to be the only genuine Chyawanprash that provides the "true power of Ayurveda."
According to a Bar & Bench report, Dabur alleged that the advertisement deliberately defames its flagship product, Dabur Chyawanprash, which has held over 61% market share since 1949. Dabur also argued that Patanjali's message insults the entire Chyawanprash category, thereby undermining public confidence in Ayurveda-based health supplements. After considering these arguments, the High Court prima facie held that the advertisement attempted to defame the entire Chyawanprash product category.