On Thursday, the Delhi High Court questioned Patanjali Ayurved for describing rival chyawanprash products as “dhoka” in its recent commercial. The observation was made during a hearing on a plea filed by Dabur India seeking an interim injunction against the advertisement, which it contended disparaged competing brands.
Justice Tejas Karia noted the distinction between lawful comparative advertising and impermissible denigration, remarking, “You can claim that you are the best, but you cannot call others ‘dhoka’, which in English means fraud and deception.” The Bench reserved its order, signalling careful scrutiny of the commercial’s messaging.
Dabur India, through Senior Advocate Sandeep Sethi, highlighted that Patanjali’s 25-second advertisement, titled “51 Herbs. 1 Truth. Patanjali Chyawanprash!”, portrays all other chyawanprash products as deceptive. The ad features a woman telling her child, “Chalo dhoka khao,” followed by yoga guru Ramdev asserting, “Adhikansh log Chyawanprash ke naam par dhoka kha rahe hain.” According to Dabur, this language targets the company and its market-leading formula, implying that competing brands, including Dabur’s, are fraudulent. Sethi emphasised, “Chyawanprash as a class of goods is being termed as deceptive. It is being done to create panic,” adding that the endorsement by a self-proclaimed yoga guru magnifies the potential impact.
Senior advocate Rajiv Nayar, appearing for Patanjali, countered that the term “dhoka” was used informally to denote something ordinary or less effective, and not as an allegation of fraud. “When I say ‘dhoka’, I mean others are sadharan (ordinary) chyawanprash. I’m saying ours is special,” he stated.
Justice Tejas Karia, however, queried whether the term went beyond permissible comparative advertising, stating, “Ordinary or special and dhoka are different. Dhoka is a negative word—it means fraud.” The Court’s remarks echo an earlier July order by a single-judge bench, which had restrained Patanjali from airing similar content and required the deletion of lines like “Why settle for ordinary chyawanprash made with 40 herbs?” A subsequent division bench had upheld this direction, reinforcing that comparative claims must not disparage rival products.
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