The Delhi High Court has passed an interim order stopping Baba Ramdev’s company, Patanjali Ayurved, from showing any misleading advertisements that target Dabur Chyawanprash.
This order was given by Justice Mini Pushkarna after Dabur filed a case saying that Patanjali was running advertisements that harmed the image of Dabur’s well-known product, Chyawanprash.
In the advertisement, Patanjali claimed that it was the only company making Chyawanprash according to Ayurvedic scriptures and ancient texts. This gives the impression that other companies, like Dabur, do not follow proper or original Ayurvedic methods.
The advertisement said, “Jinko Ayurved aur Vedo ka gyaan nahi, Charak, Sushrut, Dhanwantari aur Chyawanrishi ke parampara mei ‘original’ Chyawanprash kaise bana payenge?”
Dabur went to the Delhi High Court asking for an immediate stop to these ads. The company also asked for Rs 2 crore as damages, saying the ad has harmed its reputation.
In its complaint, Dabur said that Patanjali was falsely claiming that only its Chyawanprash was genuine. Dabur also objected to Patanjali’s claim that a Chyawanprash made with 40 herbs is “ordinary”, which hurts public trust in regulated and approved products.
Dabur argued that these kinds of ads are misleading and confuse customers, making them question the quality of trusted products that follow government rules and health standards.
The court has now put a stop to such advertisements from Patanjali until the next hearing, which is scheduled for July 14.
This is not the first time Patanjali has faced legal trouble over its ads. In another case filed by the Indian Medical Association (IMA), the court had earlier stopped contempt proceedings against Baba Ramdev and Acharya Balakrishna after they promised not to make misleading claims again.
That case was about Patanjali’s false statements against the Covid vaccine and modern medicine. The court had said, “The entire country was being taken for a ride through such misleading advertisements.”