Karnataka High Court interim order restoring X account of TheLiverDoc to continue till trial court verdict

The Karnataka High Court on Wednesday disposed of the plea moved by Indian hepatologist, Dr. Cyriac Abby Philips, also known as "The Liver Doctor" challenging the suspension of his X (formerly Twitter) account following a defamation suit by pharma company, Himalaya Wellness. .Justice SG Pandit, however, clarified that his earlier interim order, which had effectively lifted the suspension of the X handle in question (@TheLiverDr), would continue until the trial court finally decides the two applications moved by Himalaya in its defamation suit against Dr. Philips..The Court also recorded in its order today that any undertaking given by Dr. Philips to secure the October 10 interim relief would not prejudice his contentions or reliefs in the case. The said interim order would also not prejudice the contentions and remedies available to Himalaya, the Court added..In its October 10 order, the Court had directed the restoration of @TheLiverDr X account provided that Dr. Philips takes down the tweets found objectionable by Himalaya. The High Court has now closed the matter before it, leaving both Dr. Philips and Himalaya Wellness to make their case before a trial court in Bengaluru. .Dr. Philips is an Indian hepatologist and clinician-scientist who is known for his critical views of alternative medicine on social media. His posts on two Himalaya products, Cipla and Alchem recently led the pharmaceutical giant to file a defamation suit before an Additional City Civil and Sessions Court in Bengaluru. On September 23, Judge DP Kumaraswamy issued an interim order to suspend the @TheLiverDr account by allowing two applications filed by Himalaya. One such application was to restrain Dr. Philips from making "defamatory remarks" against the company or its products. The second application had urged the court to direct that his social media handle (X/ Twitter handle) be blocked..After the trial court's ex parte order led to the blocking of the @TheLiverDr X handle, Dr Philips moved the High Court for relief.On October 10, the High Court granted interim relief to Dr. Philips by staying the trial court order for 6 weeks provided he took down the offending X posts. Now that the High Court has disposed of the plea, the trial court is slated to continue hearing the defamation case. However, the High Court's October 10 interim order will continue until a final verdict is passed by the trial court on the two applications by Himalaya.