The Bombay High Court has directed the deletion of social media posts trolling jewellery brand Malabar Gold and Diamonds Ltd for appointing a Pakistani-origin, London-based influencer to promote its products in the UK.
Court Grants Interim Relief
Hearing the matter on Monday, a bench of Justice Sandeep Marne said a case had been made out for granting an ad-interim injunction. The court ordered the deletion of the defamatory content and directed social media platforms not to allow further such material to be published against the company.
The objectionable posts had branded Malabar Gold a “sympathiser of Pakistan.”
Brand Flags 442 Defamatory URLs
Malabar Gold approached the High Court after several posts, stories, and materials surfaced on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Google, linking the company to Pakistan. The brand submitted a list of 442 URLs allegedly containing defamatory content and argued that such posts were hurting its sales, particularly during the festive season.
Background Of The Dispute
According to the plea, Malabar Gold planned to open a new showroom in Birmingham, UK, and engaged JAB Studios to arrange influencers for the promotion. Among those chosen was Alishba Khalid, a UK-based Pakistani Instagram influencer.
Khalid, however, had publicly condemned India’s Operation Sindoor against Pakistan following the Pahalgam terror attack earlier this year.
Malabar Gold clarified that Khalid had been engaged much before the April attack and that the company was unaware of her Pakistani origin at the time. Her services were discontinued soon after, the brand added.
Company’s Stand
The jewellery major maintained that simply hiring the services of a UK-based influencer “at some point” cannot be grounds for spreading defamatory material. The company said the posts were “baseless” and damaging its reputation and business.
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