Patanjali ad calls ‘Chyawanprash’ of other brands ‘fraud’:On Dabur’s complaint, Delhi HC asks Baba Ramdev’s company, ‘Can’t you use any other word?’

Patanjali is once again embroiled in controversy over its advertisement. Actually, the company had called other companies’ brands a fraud in its Chyawanprash ad. Dabur India has filed a case of defamation and unfair competition against Patanjali regarding this. The case was heard in Delhi High Court on Thursday, 6 November 2025. During this, Justice Tejas Karia said that calling other brands ‘fraud’ in the ad is wrong, because these words are negative and insulting. For now, the court has reserved its decision on putting an interim stay on the advertisement. Court said – How can you call other brands a fraud? Justice Tejas Karia’s bench questioned Patanjali’s senior advocate Rajiv Nayar. The court said, “Why don’t you use the word inferior, what’s the problem with that? This doesn’t even convey the meaning of what the advertisement is trying to say. You are saying that everything is fraud and I am the real one. How can you call all other Chyawanprash brands as fraud? You can say they are lower quality, but don’t call them fraud… Couldn’t you find any other word in the dictionary besides fraud?” Patanjali Ad – People are being deceived in the name of Chyawanprash In Patanjali’s new ‘Patanjali Special Chyawanprash’ ad, Baba Ramdev is seen saying that ‘most people are being deceived in the name of Chyawanprash.’ The ad calls other brands fraudulent and claims Patanjali is the only one with real Ayurvedic power. This ad was released last month. In this advertisement, Patanjali claims that their product contains 51 Ayurvedic herbs and saffron. However, in 2014, the government had declared such claims as misleading. Additionally, the use of the word ‘special’ is considered against drug rules. Dabur says – The word ‘fraud’ becomes serious when Baba Ramdev says it In the ad matter, Dabur said that Patanjali’s ad is defaming the entire category. Senior advocate Sandeep Sethi said, ‘The word fraud itself is insulting. It paints all brands with the same brush.’ He added that coming from a yoga guru like Baba Ramdev, this becomes more serious because people consider him a symbol of truth. Dabur’s argument is that the ad is causing panic among consumers. The company said their product is manufactured according to statutory scriptures. Patanjali has faced cases before, where the court had prohibited targeting the 40-herb formula. Dabur has been in the Chyawanprash market since 1949 and has 61% market share. Patanjali says – Dabur need not be hypersensitive Patanjali’s senior advocate Rajiv Nair called the ad puffery, meaning exaggeration in marketing. He claimed that since Dabur’s name was not mentioned in the ad, there’s no need to be hypersensitive. Nair said, ‘We are saying other Chyawanprash are ineffective. Saying we are the best is not a violation of any rule.’ Patanjali’s argument is that the complete meaning of the ad should be considered – it is only promoting Patanjali. In the previous case, the court had approved words like ‘inferior’, they defended along the same line. Patanjali says Dabur is worried because of being the market leader. Ramdev and Balkrishna established Patanjali in 2006 Patanjali Group is a large Ayurvedic and FMCG business in India, which was started in 2006 by yoga guru Baba Ramdev and Acharya Balkrishna. This group is associated with Patanjali Yogpeeth in Haridwar and manufactures Ayurvedic medicines, health products, food items like Chyawanprash, herbal toothpaste, biscuits and cosmetics. The company focuses on ‘Swadeshi’ and natural products, which promotes yoga and Ayurveda. Today Patanjali has more than 5,000 products and these are sold in 18 countries besides India. The group’s turnover in 2023-24 was around ₹10,000 crore.