Recently, Reckitt Benckiser India, the company behind Dettol antiseptic liquid, has filed a lawsuit in the Delhi High Court against dermatologist Dr. Manjot Marwah and influencers Raj Shamani and Ritik Chaturvedi. The company alleges that the trio made “false, disparaging and defamatory” statements about Dettol in a widely circulated podcast and social media posts, calling the product a “floor cleaner” that is unsuitable for use on human skin.
The controversial remarks appeared in a podcast titled “Skin Mistakes You Didn’t Know! Tanning & Sunburn EXPOSED”, published on April 1, followed by an Instagram reel on April 5 captioned “Never Use Dettol on Your Skin.” According to Reckitt, these claims misrepresent the product, which has been licensed and marketed in India as an antiseptic liquid since 1936 and falls under the definition of a “drug” as per the Drugs and Cosmetics Act.
Appearing before Justice Saurabh Banerjee, senior advocate Chander M Lall argued on behalf of Reckitt that such statements mislead consumers and harm the brand’s long-standing reputation. The company strongly objected to Dettol being portrayed as merely a surface disinfectant and claimed that the statements could steer consumers toward competing products like Betadine.
Dr. Marwah, who has over 783,000 followers on Instagram, reportedly cited a report from the Philippines FDA to support her claims. However, Reckitt responded that Dettol is not marketed in the Philippines by its affiliate, and the referenced report has no bearing in the Indian regulatory context.
Despite an hour-long hearing, the court declined to grant immediate interim relief. Justice Banerjee noted that the dermatologist appeared to be sharing a professional opinion rather than making a legally actionable defamatory statement. The case was adjourned and will resume at 12:30 PM on Tuesday, when the court is expected to decide on interim relief.
Meanwhile, Reckitt emphasized the viral nature of the content, noting that the podcast segment has been viewed over 230,000 times and the Instagram reel has amassed more than 2.4 million views. The company stressed that even temporary exposure to misleading content can cause lasting damage to consumer trust.
