Dabur India has moved to the Delhi High Court against Ram Dev Baba’s Patanjali Ayurved, alleging that the company is running advertisements that are tarnishing the image of its popular Chyawanprash product. The case was heard on Tuesday by Justice Mini Pushkarna, who issued a notice and scheduled the matter for further hearing in the last week of January.
Feud between Patanjali and Dabur over ‘original’ Chyawanprash
The dispute centers around a Patanjali advertisement featuring its founder, Swami Ramdev, in which claims are made about the authenticity of Patanjali’s Chyawanprash. Dabur alleges that Patanjali has created a misleading advertisement that it is the only company with expertise in Ayurveda and authoritative texts to create “original” Chyawanprash, and others are not.
In one of Patanjali’s Chyawanprash advertisements, Ramdev Bada says, “Jinko Ayurved aur Vedo ka gyaan nahi, Charak, Sushrut, Dhanwantari aur Chyawanrishi ke parampara mei ‘original’ Chyawanprash kaise bana payenge?”
Dabur, which holds a 61.6% market share in the Chyawanprash segment, argued that the ad falsely labels competing products as “ordinary” and undermines consumer trust, giving the impression that all other Chyawanprash except for Patanjali is inferior or of substandard quality.
Senior Advocate Akhil Sibal, representing Dabur, contended that the advertisement is misleading and violates the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, which sets uniform standards for Chyawanprash formulation. Sibal also highlighted that Patanjali has aired the advertisement over 900 times in the past three days on prominent TV channels like Colors, Star, Zee, Sony, and Aaj Tak, as well as published it in the Delhi edition of Dainik Jagran.
The lawsuit further alleges that such campaigns tarnish the reputation of competitors and mislead consumers into doubting the safety and authenticity of other Chyawanprash brands. Sibal pointed out that Patanjali has a history of running misleading advertisements and referred to a contempt petition filed against the company in the Supreme Court earlier this year.
After Dabur demanded immediate interim relief, Justice Pushkarna moved forward with the case despite his initial suggestion of mediation. Senior Advocate Jayant Mehta, Patanjali’s attorney, questioned the suit’s maintainability and requested more time to submit a response.
During the second quarter of FY25, Patanjali, which has been growing its product line under the food vertical, reported notable growth in its ethnic foods segment, which includes Chyawanprash. According to reports, the company spent between Rs 40 and Rs 50 crore on advertisements during that time.
In order to rule on Dabur’s request for temporary relief, the Delhi High Court will reexamine the case in January.
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