BENGALURU: The official X account of Dr Cyriac Abby Philips, also known as 'The Liver Dr', was suspended following the order by a Bengaluru Court. The order was passed in a suit filed against him by the Himalaya Wellness Corporation for allegedly making defamatory comments against the pharmaceutical company through his X handle.
The Court ordered X to withhold the account of the doctor globally until the next hearing, which is on January 5, 2024., and restrained Dr. Philips from tweeting or publishing any derogatory remarks against the Himalaya Wellness Corporation. Meanwhile, acting on an interim ex-parte injunction order passed on September 23, the X Corp withheld the account of Dr Philips.
The case
In a plea filed by the Himalaya Wellness Corporation, they claimed that Dr Philips had been posting derogatory remarks about the company and their products, which resulted in them losing business. They further claimed that he purposefully defamed the Himalayas company to promote two other Pharma companies--Cipla and Alchem, which he later denied.
According to media reports, Himalaya approached the Bengaluru court seeking to refrain Dr Philips from “tweeting, making or publishing, re-tweeting and republishing defamatory remarks against” the company or its products; and to direct X to suspend his account.
Following the order from the court, on his X handle, he posted a note from X Corp alerting him about the court order. In the post, he said, "Hello Himalaya Ayurveda Shame on you. This is not how you make a rebuttal. When you have no proof to show for your deficiencies and your lackadaisical 'publications' you shoot the messenger."
He further went on different media to claim that all his allegations were based on facts and solid evidence.
In a sitdown with Newslaundry, he said he was not aware of Himalaya's lawsuit against him till the account was suspended. He said the platform shared the court order with him, but it didn't mention any particular post that damaged the name of Himalaya.
Dr Philips is known for his criticism of Ayurveda and alternative medicine.
In the past, he was sued by the Kerala State Medical Council for Indian Systems of Medicine for an interview regarding the ill effects of ingesting a widely used herb Giloy.