The Delhi High Court has restrained Patanjali Ayurved from running its recent chyawanprash advertisement, calling it misleading and disparaging to other brands in the category. The ruling came after Dabur India filed a plea alleging that the commercial harmed the reputation of all other chyawanprash manufacturers.
The 25-second advertisement, titled “51 Herbs. 1 Truth. Patanjali Chyawanprash!”, showed a mother feeding chyawanprash to her child as yoga guru Ramdev declared that “most people are fooled in the name of chyawanprash.” The court said the ad falsely implied that only Patanjali’s product was genuine while all others were deceptive, a message that misled consumers and damaged competitors.
Justice Tejas Karia, delivering the interim order, said, “To convey that only Patanjali’s product is genuine and others are deceptive is incorrect and disparages the entire class of chyawanprash.” He added that any manufacturer following statutory and ayurvedic guidelines “cannot be denigrated as deceptive.”
The court directed Patanjali to remove the advertisement from all television, digital, and print platforms within three days. It observed that featuring Ramdev, a figure of authority in yoga and Ayurveda, amplified the misleading impact on viewers, making them believe that rival chyawanprash products lacked authenticity.
Patanjali argued that the commercial was merely creative expression protected under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution. However, the court rejected the defence, stating that the campaign went “beyond permissible puffery” and amounted to “misleading disparagement.”
The court also noted that stopping the ad would not materially harm Patanjali, as the company remained free to promote its chyawanprash without maligning competitors.
This is not the first time Patanjali’s advertising has faced legal scrutiny. In July, the High Court had similarly ordered the removal of another chyawanprash line that implied rival products were inferior—a decision later upheld by a division bench.
