Delhi HC pulls up Patanjali over ‘dhokha’ claim against rival chyawanprash brands

Hearing a plea by Dabur India Ltd, which sought an interim injunction against the ad, Justice Tejas Karia observed that Patanjali was free to claim superiority but could not brand all competitors as fraudulent.

“You are saying everyone is ‘dhokha’, and I am genuine. How can you call all other chyawanprash ‘dhokha’? You can say inferior, but you can’t call them a fraud... Is there no other word in the dictionary that you could use other than ‘dhokha’?” the court remarked, as quoted by NDTV.

Calling the term “derogatory,” Justice Karia said the advertisement effectively implied that other manufacturers were deceiving consumers.

Dabur has accused Patanjali of misleading advertising and violating drug labelling norms, arguing that its claims of containing “51 Ayurvedic herbs and saffron” contradict a 2014 government advisory that deemed such assertions misleading.

The company also contended that using the prefix “special” for a classical Ayurvedic formulation violates Rule 157(1-B) of the Drugs Rules, which prohibits deceptive labelling.

Appearing for Dabur, Senior Advocate Sandeep Sethi said Patanjali’s claims amounted to disparagement of all chyawanprash brands.

“To call somebody ‘dhokha’ is disparaging. Coming from a self-proclaimed yoga guru, it is far more serious because people associate a yoga guru with some sense of truthfulness,” he argued.

Sethi said Dabur, a 100-year-old company with a 61% market share, had seen the Patanjali ad viewed nine crore times in five days, which, he said, created “panic” among consumers.

Defending Patanjali, Senior Advocate Rajiv Nayar said the commercial was merely “puffery and hyperbole,” which is legally permissible.

“I am allowed to say that I am the best. I am not saying others are ineffective, only that mine is superior. Dabur is being hypersensitive,” he submitted.

After hearing both sides, the High Court reserved its verdict on Dabur’s plea.