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The High Court observed that it was a case of generic disparagement, and the statements made by Patanjali are an obvious reference to respondent Dabur.
On July 3, the single judge had restrained Patanjali from running disparaging advertisements against Dabur Chyawanprash, saying a strong prima facie case of disparagement was apparent in both TV and print ads.
The Delhi High Court on Friday came down heavily on Patanjali Ayurved for challenging a court ruling that restrained the firm from running disparaging advertisements against Dabur Chyawanprash.
A bench of Justices C Hari Shankar and Om Prakash Shukla asked Patanjali to either withdraw the appeal or face costs, Bar&Bench reported.
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“If we find now that it is a useless appeal, we will impose costs. If we find it is a luxury litigation, we will impose a cost. We have made our minds clear to you. Where is your irreparable loss? We are not going to allow ‘aaltu faaltu’ ki appeals for everything. It is not that this order is going to hurt you. You have lots of money, so you can file an appeal in every case,” the bench said.
The bench orally observed that it was a case of generic disparagement, and the statements made by Patanjali are an obvious reference to respondent Dabur.
“You have said- ‘Why settle for ordinary chyawanprash made with 40 herbs?’ So when you have used the word 40 herbs, it is an obvious reference to the respondent (Dabur). The moment you say ordinary chyawanprash with 40 herbs you are making a representation to the public that the respondent’s chyawanprash is ordinary and mine (Patanjali) is excellent and why settle for his chyawanprash,” the bench told Patanjali’s counsel.
The High Court noted that the single judge has treated the advertisement as disparaging and it is any interim order and there is no reason why the division bench should sit over the discretionary order in this regard.
“These are plainly disparaging content. ‘Jinko Ayurved or Vedon ka gyaan nahi Charak, Sushrut, Dhanvantri aur Chyawanrishi Ki Parampara ke Anuroop, original Chyawanprash kaise bana payenge’. So you have painted in black everyone else who is making chyawanprash that they don’t know what chyawanprash is and how it is made so how will they make chyawanprash. This is a generic disparagement case. The interim order is purely discretionary. Why should we interfere with this interim order? Tell us,” the bench said.
It added, “If we find now that it is a useless appeal, we will impose costs. If we find it is a luxury litigation, we will impose a cost. We have made our minds clear to you. Where is your irreparable loss? We are not going to allow ‘aaltu faaltu’ ki appeals for everything. It is not that this order is going to hurt you. You have lots of money so you can file an appeal in every case”.
As Patanjali’s lawyer urged the court to grant him some time to sit with his clients and discuss the matter, the court listed the appeal for further hearing on September 23.
What Is Patanjali Vs Dabur Controversy?
On July 3, the single judge had restrained Patanjali from running disparaging advertisements against Dabur Chyawanprash, saying a strong prima facie case of disparagement was apparent in both TV and print ads.
It had granted an interim injunction on Dabur’s plea and directed Patanjali to delete ‘Why settle for ordinary chyawanprash made with 40 herbs?’ from the print advertisements and accordingly modify it in Hindi.
The petition filed by Dabur alleged “Patanjali Special Chyawanprash” was “disparaging DABUR Chyawanprash specifically” and chyawanprash in general, by claiming that “no other manufacturer has the knowledge to prepare chyawanprash” — constituting generic disparagement.
The petition further claimed the advertisement used the prefix “ordinary” with respect to all other chyawanprash, denoting that they were “inferior”.
The advertisement also made “untrue” claims that all other manufacturers had no knowledge of Ayurvedic texts and the formulae used to prepare chyawanprash, it added.
(with PTI inputs)
About the Author
Saurabh Verma covers general, national and international day-to-day news for News18.com as a Senior Sub-editor. He keenly observes politics. You can follow him on Twitter –twitter.com/saurabhkverma19
Saurabh Verma covers general, national and international day-to-day news for News18.com as a Senior Sub-editor. He keenly observes politics. You can follow him on Twitter –twitter.com/saurabhkverma19
September 19, 2025, 13:41 IST
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