Calcutta High Court Injuncts Two Baidyanath Chyawanprash Ads on Dabur's Plea, Says Edits Cannot Cure Disparagement

The Calcutta High Court has barred Shree Baidyanath Ayurved Bhawan Pvt. Ltd. from using two chyawanprash advertisements after holding that removing a single claim about ingredient count would not eliminate the overall disparaging portrayal of rival brands, including Dabur India Limited. A division bench of Justice Debangsu Basak and Justice Md. Shabbar Rashidi delivered the decision on December 11, 2025, while hearing appeals arising from a February 8, 2022 order. Dabur had earlier secured an injunction against several Baidyanath promotional materials. The Single Judge had, however, allowed the continued use of two advertisements on the condition that Baidyanath deleted the statement that its chyawanprash contains 52 herbs while competitors use only 42 ingredients. Dabur challenged this limited relief, arguing that once the Single Judge had found that the two advertisements already contained false and disparaging messages, permitting their circulation after deleting a few words was legally unsustainable. In the earlier order, the first advertisement described chyawanprash made by other companies, including Dabur, as ordinary and asked consumers whether their product was complete. The Single Judge held that this portrayal was disparaging. The second advertisement stated that some manufacturers used vegetable oil along with ghee, which the court accepted as factually correct, but the comparison on “42 ingredients” was found to be misleading and capable of denigrating Dabur's product. The Single Judge therefore restrained the advertisements in their existing form but allowed their continued use if the ingredient comparison was removed.The Division Bench disagreed with this approach and noted that the Single Judge had already concluded that both advertisements contained elements of disparagement and falsehood. It held that removing only the “42 ingredients” claim would not change the overall negative message conveyed by the ads. “Prima facie, it appears that Dabur is following the statutory requirement while producing the Chyawanprash. Moreover, learned Single Judge found Annexures J and K to be disparaging. Removal of the two words “42 ingredients” will not render Annexures J and K which are otherwise disparaging to be not disparaging,” the Court said. The court modified the 2022 order and imposed a complete injunction on both advertisements. It also dismissed Baidyanath's appeal after the company failed to argue the matter despite repeated opportunities. Case Title: Dabur India Limited v. Shree Baidyanath Ayurved Bhawan Pvt. Ltd. Case Number: APO/27/2022 For Appellants: Senior Advocates Sudipta Sarkar and Debnath Ghosh with Advocates Sudhakar Prasad and Nilankan Banerjee for Dabur India For Respondents: Advocate Amrita Panja Moulick for Shree Baidyanath Click Here To Read/Download Order

Calcutta High Court Injuncts Two Baidyanath Chyawanprash Ads on Dabur's Plea, Says Edits Cannot Cure Disparagement

Ayushi Shukla

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