Bengaluru Court Orders Twitter (X Corp) to Block 'Liver Doctor' Account Amidst Defamation Lawsuit by Himalaya Wellness Company [Read Order]

A court in Bengaluru has passed an ex-parte interim injunction directing the X Corp, formerly Twitter, to suspend or block the social media handle of Dr Cyriac Abby Philips, also known as Liver Doctor, until further orders.

The order was passed on September 23, 2023, in a suit filed by Himalaya Wellness Company. The court has also issued suit summons to Dr Philips and X Corp, and posted the matter for consideration on January 5, 2024.

It was alleged that Dr Cyriac Abby Philips had been posting derogatory statements and materials against the products of the Himalaya Wellness Company and due to these posts the business of the plaintiff company has substantially reduced.

On behalf of plaintiff, senior advocate Udaya Holla submitted that the said statements and materials posted are per se false and not justified one.

He further submitted that the practice of Dr Phillips in making such publication is nothing but cut throat competition with the products of the plaintiff company with the sole intention to push the products of the Cipla and Alchem. He cited the judgments of the apex court as well as Karnataka high court, Madras high court and Delhi high court in similar cases, in support of his arguments.

A reading of the said judgments would sensitise one as to the gravity of the consequences of such materials being posted on the platform. The judgments also indicate that there is a need to issue ad interim ex-parte injunction directing the party who is posting such materials to remove them at the earliest so as to minimize the damage caused to the person who is affected by such postings in any manner like loss of reputation, loss of income in monetary terms and disservice to the consumers who are benefited by the products like Liv-52, the court said.

The court further passed an ad-interim ex-parte temporary injunction restraining Dr Cyriac Abby Philips from tweeting, making or publishing, re-tweeting and republishing defamatory remarks against the plaintiff company and the products of the plaintiff company till next date of hearing.

The court has also issued an ad-interim ex-parte mandatory injunction directing X Corp to suspend/block the social media handle of Dr Cyriac Abby Philips.

[Read Order]