Dettol triumphs as influencers agree to take down defamatory content

New Delhi: Dermatologist Dr Manjot Marwah and influencer Raj Shamani have agreed to take down or modify the content published on their social media against Dettol antiseptic liquid.

The two content creators were willing to settle the case out of court. While Marwah removed the Instagram reel against the company, Shamani’s legal team assured that it would post an edited episode of the podcast within 24 hours.

Justice Saurabh Banerjee recorded the settlement terms and told the parties involved to file a formal compromise application under Order 23 Rule 3 of the Civil Procedure Code.

As per media reports, Reckitt India, the parent company of Dettol, had filed a case against Marwah, Shamani and Ritik Chaturvedi for allegedly making misleading and defamatory statements about Dettol Antiseptic Liquid (DAL) in a podcast.

The company took the matter to the Delhi High Court on April 7 before Justice Saurabh Banerjee.

The alleged claims were made on a podcast episode called "Skin Mistakes You Didn't Know! Tanning and 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," the Bar and Bench report said.

Marwah claims to be a dermatologist and has over 783,000 Instagram followers. She posted a story on her Instagram account on April 5 referring to a Philippines FDA report to back her remarks.

However, as per Reckitt, Dettol is not sold in the Philippines by the company’s affiliate; hence, the report holds no ground, the report added.

Lall, representing Reckitt, claimed that Dettol is a licensed drug approved as an antiseptic for use on human skin and 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, the report said.

Lall added that the Indian Pharmacopoeia defines an antiseptic as "an agent that inhibits or destroys microorganisms on living tissue including skin, oral cavities, and open wounds," the report added.

The social media influencers in question have garnered millions of views through their content. This raises the question of credibility as content creators continue to make health claims based on misleading sources.