Delhi HC restrains Patanjali from airing ‘disparaging’ ads against Dabur Chyawanprash

The contentious ad features Patanjali’s founder, Baba Ramdev, questioning the credibility of brands that manufacture Chyawanprash without “knowledge of Ayurveda and the Vedas.”
| Photo Credit:
–

The Delhi High Court on Thursday restrained Patanjali Ayurved from running any advertisements that disparage Dabur Chyawanprash by granting an interim injunction of Dabur’s petition. The petition alleged that Patanjali’s advertisement in TV and print was “disparaging and denigrating” Dabur Chyawanprash. The petition also alleges that the ads also constitute generic disparagement of the entire product category.

A bench of Justice Mini Pushkarna on Thursday allowed interim injunction application filed by Dabur against the advertisements by Patanjali Ayurved.

The contentious ad features Patanjali’s founder, Baba Ramdev, questioning the credibility of brands that manufacture Chyawanprash without “knowledge of Ayurveda and the Vedas.”

Dabur India had moved court in December alleging that the impugned TVC and print ads made “ fallacious & deliberate misstatements and serious comparison, denigrating and defaming classical ayurvedic medicine— Dabur Chyawanprash and also causes generic denigration disparagement of Chyawanprash in the market.” Dabur India is the market leader in the Chyawanprash category with a market share of more than 60 per cent. i

Misleading reference

Dabur India has also alleged that a direct and misleading reference has been made by Patanjali in its ads against Dabur Chyawanprash, which is promoted as containing more than 40 herbs. It alleged that Patanjali in its ads called a 40-herbs product “ordinary”.

In its petition, Dabur India has also alleged that Patanjali’s intent and overall effect of the advertisement is to “negatively portray” other Chyawanprash products. It has also alleged that Patanjali is tarnishing and denigrating the entire category as ordinary “ by conveying a message that they are not prepared as per ‘correct ayurvedic texts, therefore they are inferior, sub-standard, spurious, deficient in boosting immunity.”

The court posted the next hearing for July 14.

Recently the court had censured Baba Ramdev over the controversial statement made against Hamdard’s brand Rooh Afza.

Published on July 3, 2025