The Delhi High Court has sought Patanjali Ayurved's
stand on a lawsuit by Dabur over advertisements allegedly disparaging its
product Chyawanprash.
On December 24, Justice Mini Pushkarna issued
summons on the lawsuit to the defendants -- Patanjali Ayurved and Patanjali
Foods Ltd -- for a reply in the matter.
"Accordingly,
let the plaint be registered as suit. Issue summons.. Let the written statement
be filed by the defendants within thirty days from today," the order said.
Dabur
alleged that while promoting Patanjali Special Chyawanprash, fallacious and
deliberate imputations were made, which defamed its product Dabur Chyawanprash
-- a market leader with a share of more than 60 per cent.
The court also issued notice on an application
seeking an interim relief and posted the hearing on January 30.
The plea said in the advertisements, the defendants
have claimed only Patanjali Special Chyawanprash was the "original"
and therefore "special" besides being
"shreshtham/sarv-shreshth" or the best Chyawanprash, made according
to the "charak, sushrut, dhanwantari, chyawan sage tradition" and
other manufacturers had no such knowledge and were therefore ordinary.
"In essence, the defendants make a brazen claim
in the impugned TVC and in the impugned print ad that only the Ayurvedic book
used by the defendants is the 'original method' or formulae to make
Chyawanprash, thereby rubbishing other Ayurvedic books 'stipulated' in the
first schedule of the D&C Act (Drugs and Cosmetics)," the lawsuit said.
The plea therefore sought a permanent injunction to
restrain the defendants from televising the advertisements or in any other
manner disparaging the plaintiff's goodwill and reputation apart from its
product "Chyawanprash - Dabur Chyawanprash".