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.
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Class 12 student dies after being attacked by juniors
Kumbakonam (Tamil Nadu) (PTI): A Class 12 student of a government school near here has succumbed to his injuries early Sunday morning after he was allegedly attacked by a group of Class 11 students, police said.
Fourteen class 11 students of Government Arignar Anna Model Higher Secondary School in Patteeswaram allegedly attacked their senior student on December 4, following a clash between their respective classes, they added.
The accused students hit the boy on the head with a wooden stick, leaving him seriously injured, police said.
The boy’s parents rushed to the school on being informed and admitted him to the Government Hospital in Kumbakonam. He was later shifted to a private hospital in Thanjavur for further treatment, police said. He had to be operated on to remove the blood clot in his brain.
On Sunday, around 2.30 am, he succumbed to his injuries, police confirmed. The 14 accused have been arrested and lodged in a juvenile home.
Patteeswaram Police said they had initially registered an attempt to murder case. "After post-mortem, we’ll alter it into a murder case," an official said.
