Himayala Wellness gets X account of Liver Doc suspended, Dr Philips says will challenge court order

A Bengaluru civil court ordered social media company X to suspend the account of Dr Cyriac Abby Philips, a Kerala-based hepatologist popularly known as The Liver Doc online. The temporary injunction against Philips stated that he could not communicate against products of the Himalaya Wellness Company on his social media handle. The matter has next been listed for hearing by the court on January 5, 2024.

The ex parte temporary injunction restrained him from posting or publishing defamatory remarks against the company and also ordered X to block his social media handle. The court, in an ad-interim order issued on September 23, had restrained Dr Philips from posting anything defamatory against the complainant. The ex-parte order also directed X to withhold the Liver Doc account.

Himalaya Wellness had approached the court after Dr Philips, in a post on X in August last year, had allegedly made defamatory remarks on Liv.52, a product of the company that is used by liver disease patients.

Dr Philips had stated that Liv.52 was adulterated, contaminated, and had substandard contents, he has said. His medical team has conducted a study on people who developed liver complications after consuming Liv.52, and the research paper is currently under peer review. He believes the court case is nothing but vendetta because the company could not give a proper scientific response to his criticism.

He asserted that there is absolutely no regulation on these products and that he had previously shared published data demonstrating that "some of these products are dangerous for people, especially those with chronic liver disease".

"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 said in a post.

On social media, Dr Philips is known for discussing medical misinformation and creating awareness about evidence-based modern medical practices. He talks about alternative medicine practices, which he says are based on pseudoscience and can be dangerous for health.

Dr Philips has in the past made posts on X alleging Himalaya's herbal products are dangerous for consumption, particularly by people with liver issues.

Dr Philips, a known critic of Ayurveda and other traditional medicines, said he would definitely challenge the order in the higher court. “I was not a party to the hearing and was never called for the hearing and never knew this thing was happening in the first place. I got to know when the order came out and that too from Twitter, not even from the court,” he reportedly said.

Dr Philips has also faced extensive trolling from right-wing groups for supposedly being 'anti-Hindu'. Among the complainants against him are the Ayurveda Medical Association of India, Ayurvedic medicine manufacturers, various Kerala state government departments, and supplements maker Herbalife.

Pankajakasthuri Herbals Pvt Ltd once filed a police report against him, accusing him of criminal defamation. He was let off after a police questioning.