Patanjali Moves Delhi HC Against Order Restraining It From Airing Ads Disparaging Dabur Chyawanprash

Patanjali Ayurved on Friday, September 19, approached the Delhi High Court challenging a single-judge order that had restrained it from airing advertisements allegedly disparaging Dabur’s Chyawanprash.

A division bench of Justices C. Hari Shankar and Om Prakash Shukla, while hearing the appeal, orally observed that the statements made in Patanjali’s advertisements were an obvious reference to Dabur. The judges cautioned that if it found the appeal to be luxury litigation or a frivolous exercise, it would impose costs on the company.

The bench also noted that the single judge had already treated the advertisements as disparaging and had passed an interim order, adding that there was no clear reason for the division bench to interfere with such a discretionary direction.

During the proceedings, Senior Advocate Jayant Mehta, appearing for Patanjali, requested time to confer with the opposite side on the issue and revert to the court. The bench allowed the request and posted the matter for further hearing on September 23.

In July , 2025, the High Court had issued an interim direction restraining Patanjali Ayurved from continuing with advertisements allegedly disparaging Dabur’s Chyawanprash. The order was passed by a bench led by Justice Mini Pushkarna while hearing interim applications filed by Dabur India Limited, which claimed that Patanjali’s advertisements were disparaging its Chyawanprash product. “The application is allowed,” Justice Mini Pushkarna said.

The case arose from a television commercial featuring Baba Ramdev, wherein he claimed that only Patanjali’s Chyawanprash is the “original,” while other brands allegedly lack the Ayurvedic and Vedic knowledge to produce a genuine version.

During the hearing, Senior Advocate Sandeep Sethi appeared for Dabur, while Senior Advocate Jayant Mehta represented Patanjali.

Before the High Court, Dabur India Limited contended that labelling other products as “ordinary” undermines the entire category of Ayurvedic Chyawanprash, a market in which Dabur holds over 60% share.

It was further argued that despite the High Court issuing a summons in December, Patanjali Ayurved continued to air over 6,182 advertisements in the following weeks.

Dabur also alleged that these advertisements falsely claimed the product was made using more than 51 herbs, whereas in reality only 47 herbs were used. Dabur added that this effectively spread misinformation among consumers.

On the other hand, Patanjali maintained that its products adhere to all prescribed formulations and are fit for human consumption.

Case Title: Patanjali Ayurved v. Dabur India Limited

Bench: Justice C Hari Shankar and Justice Om Prakash Shukla.

Hearing Date: 19 September 2025

With PTI Inputs