Delhi HC schools Ramdev's Patanjali again; This time over 'Dhoka' in advertisement of Chyawanprash
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Thursday questioned Patanjali Ayurved Limited over its television advertisement describing other Chyawanprash brands as “dhoka” (fraud), during the hearing of Dabur India’s plea alleging disparagement.
Justice Tejas Karia observed that while comparative advertising that highlights a product as “special” or others as “ordinary” is permissible, referring to competitors’ products as “dhoka” could amount to defamation. “Ordinary or special and dhoka are different. You are calling all other Chyawanprash except yours dhoka. The word in Hindi means fraud,” the judge remarked.
Dabur India, which holds over 60 percent of the Chyawanprash market, approached the court seeking an interim injunction against Patanjali’s 25-second advertisement titled “51 Herbs. 1 Truth. Patanjali Chyawanprash!” In the ad, a woman is seen feeding her child Chyawanprash and saying, “Chalo dhoka khao,” followed by Baba Ramdev stating, “Adhikansh log Chyawanprash ke naam par dhoka kha rahe hain” (“Most people are being deceived in the name of Chyawanprash”).
Senior Advocate Sandeep Sethi, appearing for Dabur, argued that such statements directly malign the reputation of other licensed Chyawanprash manufacturers. “Every Chyawanprash manufacturer follows the Drugs and Cosmetics Act and classical Ayurvedic formulations. By calling others dhoka, Patanjali is portraying all competitors, especially Dabur, as fraudulent,” Sethi said.
He added that the commercial was designed to “create panic” among consumers and noted that the advertisement had received over nine crore views in just a few days.
In response, Senior Advocate Rajiv Nayar, representing Patanjali, defended the advertisement as permissible “puffery,” asserting that the company was only claiming superiority of its product. “By using the word dhoka, we are saying our Chyawanprash is the best and others are ordinary or ineffective. We have not called any specific product fake or spurious,” Nayar contended.
However, Justice Karia emphasized the distinction between comparative claims and disparagement: “You can say your product is special or superior, but calling others fraud crosses the boundary. Inferior and fraud have different meanings. You can say ordinary but not dhoka.”
After hearing both sides, the court reserved its order on Dabur’s plea seeking an interim injunction against the advertisement.
Earlier this year, the High Court had directed Patanjali to modify earlier Chyawanprash commercials, ordering the removal of lines such as “Why settle for ordinary Chyawanprash made with 40 herbs?” and other disparaging references to traditional Ayurvedic knowledge. Patanjali’s appeal against that order was later disposed of by a division bench, which also directed it to remove the “40 herbs” claim.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
T'gana BC panel seeks reports over infant's death, family alleges caste abuse
Hyderabad (PTI): The Telangana Commission for Backward Classes on Monday sought reports from state government officials on the death of an infant following alleged assault and caste abuse against her family members in Nagarkurnool district while visiting a temple fair.
In separate letters, Commission Chairman G Niranjan urged Endowments Department Commissioner S Harish and Nagarkurnool district Collector Badavath Santhosh to furnish the reports within three days.
Niranjan drew the officials' attention to media reports on the death of the two-month-old baby at Kummera village in the district and alleged caste discrimination and denial of entry to the temple fair to the baby's family belonging to a BC community.
BJP OBC Morcha's state unit president G Anand Goud alleged inadequate response by the police in the incident and demanded a transparent investigation into the incident.
Alleging that the deceased baby's father was attacked in the incident, he also demanded action against the attackers.
Goud told reporters that BJP's state unit president N Ramachander Rao would visit the village on February 24 and meet the baby's family members.
Meanwhile, a BRS delegation met DGP B Shivadhar Reddy and demanded a comprehensive inquiry into the incident.
The BRS leaders sought action against a person who allegedly attacked the infant's parents.
BC associations have held protests over the past few days regarding the alleged caste discrimination against the deceased infant's family members.
Police said on Sunday that four persons were arrested in connection with the cases registered after the family alleged that the baby died following an "assault" by a group of villagers. The family also alleged that they were abused in the name of caste in the incident on February 18.
However, a villager, part of the group, lodged a counter-complaint with the police the same day, alleging that he was attacked with stones during a scuffle with the family, sustaining a head injury, following which a case was registered.
The infant died on February 21 and her mother, who belongs to an SC community, also lodged a complaint alleging her daughter died due to the physical assault on the family by some villagers, police said.
