Will remove content against Dettol: Social media influencers tell Delhi High Court

Dermatologist Dr. Manjot Marwah and influencer Raj Shamani told the Delhi High Court today that they are agreeable to removing the content uploaded on social media against Dettol antiseptic liquid. .The same was informed by their lawyers when the case was taken up by Justice Saurabh Banerjee today. Reckitt Benckiser India, which owns Dettol, had sued Marwah and Shamani on allegations that they made "false, misleading, disparaging and defamatory" statements about Dettol's antiseptic liquid in a podcast.The Court has kept the suit pending as the parties have been directed to file a formal application under Order 23 Rule 3 of Civil Procedure Code (CPC), 1908 to record a compromise between them. "The parties have handed over a draft settlement which reads as under ... Same are taken on record. Counsel submit that they will be moving an application under Order 23 Rule 3 of the Civil Procedure Code, 1908 (to record a compromise). Till then, aforesaid terms are taken on record. Defendants 1-2 (Marwah and Raj Shamani) are directed to act in terms of the conditions as handed over. Defendants 1-2 will edit the video in 24 hours. Social media platforms shall act in pursuance in terms of the settlement in terms of the settlement entered into by the defendants," the Court's order said. .The order would mean that the video uploaded by Shamani, in whose podcast dermatologist Dr. Marwah made the allegedly disparaging statements, will be edited to remove the portions about Dettol. Influencer Ritik Chaturvedi was also among the parties sued by Reckitt, as he had reposted an Instagram reel with content from the podcast. He communicated that he had removed the Instagram reel which he had reposted. The Court has barred him from posting such videos from the podcast..The controversy centers around a podcast episode titled "Skin Mistakes You Didn't Know! Tanning & Sunburn EXPOSED" released on April 1, 2025, and a subsequent Instagram reel titled "Never Use Dettol in your Skin" posted on April 5, 2025.According to Reckitt, Dr. Marwah claimed that Dettol is merely a floor cleaning liquid that should not be used on human skin and that it "burns wounds and delays healing."Marwah, who claims to be a highly awarded dermatologist with an MD in Dermatology and over 783,000 Instagram followers, allegedly posted an Instagram story on April 5 referring to a Philippines FDA report to justify her statements. Reckitt countered that this report is irrelevant as the company's affiliate in the Philippines does not sell Dettol there.Reckitt strongly refuted claims made on the podcast, stating that Dettol is a licensed drug approved as an antiseptic for use on human skin. It was argued that Dettol has been marketed as an antiseptic liquid since 1936 and falls under the definition of "drugs" as per Section 3(b)(i) of the Drugs & Cosmetics Act, 1940.Reckitt's counsel, Senior Advocate Chander M Lall, yesterday contended that to call Dettol a disinfectant to be used only for mopping floors is blatantly false and slanderous..During today's hearing today, Senior Advocate Satvik Varma appeared for Shamani and said that he was ready to edit out the controversial portions in the podcast. "I have come with an olive branch and a white flag. We are ready to edit the portions which are disparaging according to Dettol," Varma told the Court. .Advocate Ramandeep Singh, who appeared for Marwah, also informed the Court that she has deleted the Instagram reel where she spoke about Dettol. The Court proceeded to permit the counsel to work out the final settlement terms. .Reckitt Benckiser was represented by Senior Advocate Advocate CM Lall, briefed by Advocates Nancy Roy, Prakriti Varshney, Prashant and Nida Khanam from Lall and Sethi and Jawahar Lal and Meghna Kumar from J Law.Raj Shamani was represented by Senior Advocate Satvik Varma, briefed by Advocates Nakul Gandhi, Mujeeb Rehman and Tanish Gupta..Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.