This order was issued in response to a lawsuit filed by Himalaya Wellness Corporation, accusing Dr. Philips of making defamatory statements against the company.
Published Sep 28, 2023 | 6:05 PM ⚊ Updated Sep 28, 2023 | 6:15 PM
Dr Cyriac Abbey Philips. (South First)
Social media platform X (previously Twitter) has suspended the handle of Kerala-based hepatologist Dr Cyriac Abby Philips based on a Bengaluru court order in a defamation case.
As per the order, the account will remain suspended till 5 January, 2024.
The Additional City Civil and Sessions Court VI judge in Bengaluru issued the ex parte injunction order on a lawsuit filed by Bengaluru-based Himalaya Wellness Corporation.
The lawsuit accused Philips of making defamatory statements against the company. Philips used to go by the handle @theliverdr, which had the name TheLiverDoc.
“In the facts and circumstances issue ad-interim ex parte mandatory injunction directing Defendant No 2 (X) to suspend/block the social media handle of Defendant No1 (Dr Phillips) till the next date of hearing. The plaintiff shall comply with the order 39 Rule 3A CPC,” read the judgment issued on 23 September.
An ex parte injunction is granted when the defendant has not yet been served a legal notice. Such injunctions are typically granted in cases of extreme urgency, and are usually for a limited duration. Ex-parte applications are reserved for exceptional circumstances.
The next date of hearing is on 5 January, 2024.
Himalaya’s counsel Udaya Holla told the court that Phillips was posting derogatory statements and materials against the products of the company, which affected the firm’s business.
The lawyer argued that the hepatologist’s statements and materials posted on X were false and unjustified. He further submitted that the doctor made such posts to promote the products of two other pharmaceutical firms: Cipla and Alchem.
“There is a need to issue an ad-interim ex parte injunction directing the party who is posting such materials to remove them at the earliest so as to minimise 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 advocate said.
The court said that the warranted notices should be issued to the defendants. “The urgency made out by the plaintiff company shows that an immediate order has to be passed before issuing notice against the defendants,” the court said while passing the injunction order.
Philips said he was unaware of the case until his account was suspended. “I did not know any of this was happening until X suspended my account. I never knew that this was in the court and there was a hearing going on. It was all done behind my back,” he told South First.
He said he would challenge the order. “I’m going to appeal at the higher court. My lawyers are looking at it,” he said.
The hepatologist said Himalaya’s argument, that he had been making statements to promote the products of firms like Cipla and Alchem, was false. “I have never done it. There is evidence,” he stated.
“All my posts are completely backed by scientific research and scientific evidence, and based on the lack of scientific evidence for their products and practice,” he added.
In May 2021, Philips posted about Liv.52 — a tablet that Himalaya manufactures — and its contents. He cited 86 articles in PubMed that said the product was tested only in seven humans.
PubMed is a free search engine accessing the database of references and abstracts on life sciences and biomedical topics.
An order passed in ignorance of basic principles of defamation law. Should be set aside for the asking. https://t.co/KxYOTSj2Ce
— Gautam Bhatia (@gautambhatia88) September 28, 2023
According to Himalaya’s own website, “The potential hepatoprotective effect of Liv.52 has been established through numerous clinical studies, including randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled, open-label studies, as well as independent investigator-initiated clinical studies across many countries.”
