What’s the news: A Bengaluru Civil Court passed an ex-parte temporary injunction order directing X, the microblogging platform formerly known as Twitter, to suspend/block the social media handle “@theliverdr” of Dr. Cyriac Abby Philips. The order was passed following a case filed by Himalaya Wellness Corporation accusing Philips of defamation. According to Himalaya, an Indian multinational personal care and pharmaceutical company, Philips posted derogatory statements and materials against its products which substantially reduced the company’s business. “The said statements and materials posted [on] Twitter hosted by [Philips] are perse false and not justified one,” said the company as per the court order. Himalaya said Philips made these comments with the intention to create “cut throat competition” and promote the products of companies like Cipla and Alchem instead. Court state a need to minimise harm: The court said that there is a need to issue the ad-interim ex-parte injunction so as to minimize the damage caused to the company be it in the form of “loss of reputation, loss of income in monitary(sic) terms and disservice to the consumers who are benefited by the products like Liv-52.” Accordingly, Philip’s account has been suspended until January 5, 2024. The court restrained Philips from “tweeting, making or publishing, re-tweeting and republishing defamatory remarks” against Himalaya or its products. Philips to appeal against injunction: Following the injunction order, Philips posted a video on social media stating that he intends to file a plea and fight the injunction order. As mentioned before, the order was…
