Karnataka HC extends interim order on X handle of ‘The Liver Doc’, disposes of petition

The Karnataka High Court had previously allowed an application by the Kerala-based doctor for the restoration of his X account, subject to hiding nine tweets that were a matter of contention.

Phillips’ counsel argued at the time that the order of the trial court was disproportionate in nature and that the entire account should not have been suspended ex-parte. The court had agreed that if the nine tweets that were the bone of contention could be hidden, the order could be modified (regarding blocking the account). At the same time, the counsel noted that they were not admitting that the posts in question were defamatory.

Previously, a Bengaluru civil court had issued a temporary injunction against communicating messages on his social media handle against products of the Himalaya Wellness Company. The ex-parte temporary injunction had restrained him from posting or publishing defamatory remarks against Himalaya Wellness Company and ordered the social media service X Corp to block his handle, @theliverdr.