Delhi High Court Questions Patanjali's Disparaging 'Dhokha' Claims Against Competitor Chyawanprash Brands

Dabur has accused Patanjali of making false claims regarding the ingredients in its chyawanprash product.

On Thursday, the Delhi High Court questioned Yoga guru Ramdev's Patanjali Ayurved about how it could label all other chyawanprash brands as 'dhokha' (fraud) while promoting its own product as superior.

While hearing Dabur India's petition for an interim injunction against Patanjali's controversial advertisement, Justice Tejas Karia observed that although Patanjali can claim to be the best, it cannot declare other products as fraudulent.

"You're claiming everyone else is 'dhokha' and only you are genuine. How can you label all other chyawanprash products as 'dhokha'? You may call them inferior, but you cannot accuse them of being fraudulent. Isn't there another word in the dictionary you could use instead of 'dhokha'?" the judge inquired.

Justice Karia further noted, "'Dhokha' is a negative and derogatory term. You're essentially claiming these companies are fraudulent and that consumers are purchasing fraudulent products."

Dabur has also alleged that Patanjali makes misleading claims that its chyawanprash contains "51 Ayurvedic herbs and saffron," despite a 2014 government advisory that deemed such claims misleading.

Dabur contends that using "special" as a prefix for a classical ayurvedic medicine violates Rule 157(1-B) of the Drugs Rules, which prohibits deceptive labeling of ayurvedic formulations.

Senior Advocate Sandeep Sethi, representing Dabur, argued that chyawanprash is a category of products, and by referring to all other chyawanprash as 'dhokha,' Patanjali was disparaging the entire product class.

"Calling someone 'dhokha' is disparaging. They may say 'I don't identify you specifically,' but they're painting everyone with the same brush. Coming from a self-proclaimed yoga guru, this is even more serious because people associate yoga gurus with truthfulness," Sethi stated.

He added that Dabur manufactures its chyawanprash according to statutory requirements, and a product that complies with regulations cannot be labeled as 'dhokha.'

"This is being done to create panic. We have a 100-year-old company with 61% market share. The advertisement has received 90 million views in just five days. This shows how sensitive consumers are to such claims," he explained.

Senior Advocate Rajiv Nayar, appearing for Patanjali, defended the advertisement as permissible puffery and hyperbole under law.

"We must consider the entire message the advertisement conveys. Right or wrong, it's hyperbole. I'm not saying all others are ineffective. I'm trying to convey 'forget about other chyawanprash products, consume only mine.' I'm allowed to say I'm the best and that others are inferior in comparison," he argued, suggesting that Dabur was being hypersensitive.

The Delhi High Court has reserved its verdict on the matter.