Bombay HC Restrains Patanjali Ayurved From Telecasting One Advertisement After HUL Seeks Injunction

The Bombay High Court on Monday passed an ex-parte order against Patanjali Ayurved owned by Baba Ramdev restraining them from broadcasting a particular advertisement that plaintiff Hindustan Unilever sought injunction against.

Justice KR Shriram passed the order after fixing the matter for hearing once it was mentioned by plaintiff’s lawyers at 2 pm.

Senior Advocate Virag Tulzapurkar appeared for the plaintiffs in the matter.

It was submitted that various soap brands such as Pears, Lux, Lifebuoy, Dettol and Dove are alluded to in the advertisement, only their names have been changed. Like Lux is Flux, Pears is Tears, Lifebuoy is Lifejoy, Dettol is Dhitol and Dove is Glove.

Also, it is stated in the advertisement that all these soaps are full of chemicals.

Although it is mentioned in the order that notice was not issued to the defendants, Patanjali, reason for the same is given in the plaint.

Thus, the court allowed the following prayer-

“(a) That pending the hearing and final disposal of the suit, Defendant, its parent company, group companies, subsidiaries, directors, servants, officers, employees, representatives, agents, advertising agencies and all other persons claiming under them or acting in concert with them or on their behalf or acting on their instructions be restrained by an order and injunction of this Hon'ble Court from telecasting or broadcasting or otherwise howsoever communicating to the public or publishing the Impugned TVC (i.e. Exhibit R) or any part thereof or any other advertisement of a similar nature in any language or in any manner causing the Impugned TVC (i.e. Exhibit R) or any part thereof or any other advertisement of a similar nature to be telecast or broadcast or communicated to the public or published in any manner.”

The matter will now come up for hearing on September 18, until then the plaintiff has been directed to forward a copy of the order to defendants, Patanjali.