Delhi HC refuses ex parte injunction to Reckitt Benckiser over Patanjali’s ‘Green Flush’ ad

Delhi high court on January 11, 2018 refused to grant an ex parte injunction in favour of Reckitt Benckiser, seeking to restrain Patanjali from running its advertisement for ‘Green Flush’ toilet cleaners. Reckitt Benckiser sought a permanent injunction against Patanjali’s advertisement for ‘Green flush’ on the grounds that it made false statements and “rubbishes” the former’s product, Harpic. Justice Manmohan stated that he cannot pass any interim order at the ex-parte stage in the matter without first getting a reply from Patanjali. The court also observed that the advertisement appeared to be a “repartee”. It asked the Indian company to file its response within 10 days on the allegations made by Reckitt in its suit, claiming that Patanjali had infringed its copyright as the labels on its toilet cleaner were identical to that of Harpic.