New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Thursday reserved its order on a plea filed by Dabur India seeking an interim injunction against Patanjali Ayurved’s latest advertisement, which allegedly labels all other Chyawanprash products in the market as “dhoka” (fraud).
Hearing the matter, Justice Tejas Karia questioned Patanjali’s justification for portraying rival Chyawanprash brands as deceitful while promoting its own as the only authentic formulation. “You can say others are inferior, but you cannot call them ‘dhoka’. How can you brand every other Chyawanprash as fraud?” the court observed.
The judge further remarked that such sweeping claims go beyond comparative advertising and asked Patanjali’s counsel whether a less derogatory term could have been used. “Is there no other word in the dictionary you could use instead of ‘dhoka’?” Justice Karia noted during the hearing.
The court’s decision on Dabur’s plea, which seeks to restrain Patanjali from airing or publishing the contentious advertisement, has been reserved. The case highlights growing tensions between major FMCG players over aggressive marketing tactics in India’s Ayurvedic and wellness segment.
