The Delhi High Court on Thursday sought clarification from Patanjali Ayurved regarding a television advertisement in which all Chyawanprash brands other than its own were described as “dhoka” (meaning fraud/deception).

Justice Tejas Karia observed that while a company is free to claim its product is superior or others are ordinary, calling competing products “dhoka” could cross into unlawful disparagement.

The Court reserved orders on Dabur India’s application seeking an interim injunction against the impugned commercial.

The challenged 25-second advertisement, titled “51 herbs. 1 truth. Patanjali Chyawanprash!” features a woman offering Chyawanprash to her child saying “chalo dhoka khao,” followed by Baba Ramdev stating that “most people are being deceived in the name of Chyawanprash.”

Senior Advocate Sandeep Sethi, appearing for Dabur, argued that these statements are inherently derogatory, particularly because Dabur holds over 60% market share and manufactures Chyawanprash under a regulated Ayurvedic formulation framework.
Calling all other products “dhoka,” he said, effectively brands the entire industry as fraudulent, which amounts to disparagement of a class of products.

He further contended that Patanjali should have named any specific competitor if there was a genuine grievance, instead of labeling all manufacturers deceptive.

On the other hand, Senior Advocate Rajiv Nayar, for Patanjali, argued that the advertisement merely conveys that Patanjali’s Chyawanprash is more effective, and the use of the word “dhoka” is a form of permissible puffery, not an allegation of spurious goods.

However, the Court noted that words like “ordinary” and “inferior” differ significantly from “dhoka”, which implies fraud. Justice Karia remarked that “Inferior and fraud have different meanings. You may claim superiority, but calling others fraudulent crosses a line.”

Nayar responded that Dabur was attempting to relitigate issues previously argued in relation to earlier ads.

After hearing both sides, the Court reserved its order on Dabur’s request for interim relief.

Earlier, a single judge had directed Patanjali to delete certain comparative phrases from similar advertisements. Patanjali’s appeal was later disposed of by a division bench, which required the removal of references to Chyawanprash “made with 40 herbs”.

Case Title: Patanjali Ayurved Limited & Anr. v. Dabur India Limited