7 Oct 2023 7:20 AM GMT
Dr Cyriac Abby Philips ('The Liver Doctor') has moved Karnataka High Court challenging the Civil Court's ex-parte interim injunction order to suspend his @X account @theliverdr.
The petition was filed on Friday and is likely to be mentioned before a Single judge bench of Justice S G Pandit on Monday for early hearing.
A Bengaluru Civil Court had passed an ex-parte interim injunction order to X (formerly known as Twitter) to suspend the account of Dr Philips. The order was passed in a suit filed by Himalaya Wellness Corporation which alleged that he made defamatory allegations against the company products.
The case of the Himalaya Wellness Corporation is that Dr. Philips has been posting derogatory statements against the products of the company due to which it has lost substantial business. The company claims that the statements made by Dr. Philips is false and unjustified. The company also claims that the intention of the statements of Dr. Philips is to push the products of other companies like Cipla and Alchem.
The civil court had directed X to suspend the account of Dr. Philips and also restrained Dr. Philips from tweeting or publishing any defamatory remarks against the Himalaya Wellness Corporation.
“The urgency made out by the plaintiff company would show that an immediate order has to be passed as sought for in IA No.1 and 2 of 2023 before issuing notice against the Defendants. In the facts and circumstances issue ad-interim ex-parte temporary injunction order restraining the Defendant No.1(Dr Philips) from tweeting, making or publishing, re-tweeting and re-publishing defamatory remarks against the plaintiff company and / or the products of the plaintiff company till next date of hearing. In the facts and circumstances issue ad-interim ex-parte mandatory injunction directing the Defendant No.2(X) to suspend/block the social media handle of the Defendant No.1..” the civil court stated in its ad interim injunction order.
The court said that there was a need to issue an ex parte injunction against Dr. Philips to minimise the damage caused to the company including loss of reputation and money. The court also said that disservice is being caused to consumers who benefit from Himalaya products like Liv-52 due to the statements made by Dr. Philips.
Issuing notice to Dr. Philips, the court posted the matter for the next hearing on January 5, 2024.