Madras High Court partially accepts settlement in Triguni Food vs. Food Pharmer Case [Read Judgment]

Chennai: The Madras High Court has issued a partial decree in a commercial dispute between Triguni Food Private Limited and health influencer Revant Himatsingka (popularly known as “Food Pharmer”), restraining the influencer from making disparaging comments about the company’s brand.

Justice Abdul Quddhose granted a permanent injunction against Himatsingka, prohibiting him from “telecasting, broadcasting, publishing, disseminating, or otherwise communicating to the public in any manner” any content that “disparages and/or denigrates the plaintiff’s brand ‘eZeEats Triguni’ and/or the category of goods to which it belongs.”

Madras HC Grants Injunction Against Food Pharmer in Triguni Food Dispute

The case (C.S. Comm. Div. No. 93 of 2024) involved multiple defendants, including Himatsingka and various media organizations such as HT Media Limited, Living Media Limited, Rediff.com, Times Internet Limited, NDTV, and social media platforms Meta and X Corp.

According to court records, Triguni Food sought several reliefs, including the removal of alleged defamatory content from various media platforms and damages amounting to Rs. 10 lakhs. However, during the proceedings, the plaintiff’s counsel indicated that the company would be satisfied if only the permanent injunction against Himatsingka was granted.

Triguni Food Wins Partial Relief as Court Blocks Defamatory Remarks

Appearing via video conferencing, Himatsingka’s counsel submitted that his client was agreeable to the plaintiff obtaining relief solely for the first prayer in the plaint (the permanent injunction) but not for the remaining prayers, which included mandatory injunctions directing various media platforms to remove specific content and the payment of damages.

Notably, the court clarified that “the relief granted to the plaintiff in the suit pursuant to the settlement is restricted only to the subject matter of the suit and cannot curtail the freedom of speech of the first defendant in the future.”

The court dismissed the remaining prayers in the plaint and did not award any costs in the suit.

Appearances:
Advocate Arun C. Mohan appeared for Triguni.

Advocate Nakul Gandhi appeared for Himatsingka.

Advocate Prasanth Rajagopal appeared for Times Internet Limited.

Advocate Vivekanandh Venkatesh appeared for Living Media Limited.

Advocate Dwarakesh Prabhakaran appeared for Network18 Media and Investments Limited.

Case title: Triguni Food Private Limited vs. Revant Himatsingka & Ors.

[Read Judgment]