Delhi High Court Halts Patanjali's Controversial Chyawanprash Ad

The Delhi High Court has ordered Patanjali Ayurved to stop airing an advertisement that allegedly disparages other chyawanprash products. The court found the ad misleading, suggesting Patanjali as the only genuine product, impacting competitors like Dabur. Patanjali's defense citing free speech was overruled.

The Delhi High Court has issued a directive restraining Patanjali Ayurved from telecasting an advertisement that brands other chyawanprash products as deceitful. This order requires Patanjali to remove the controversial content from all media platforms within three days.

Justice Tejas Karia emphasized that suggesting Patanjali's product is the only genuine chyawanprash is misleading and disparages the entire chyawanprash category. The ruling was in response to Dabur India's plea against Patanjali's ad, which featured yoga guru Ramdev claiming most chyawanprash brands are deceptive.

Patanjali argued the advertisement represented creative expression under free speech but the court found it exceeded permissible puffery by misleading consumers. The injunction, therefore, aims to prevent irreparable harm to competitors like Dabur, which might be adversely affected by the ad's disparaging implications.

(With inputs from agencies.)