Reckitt has reached a settlement with influencer Raj Shamani over defamation claims but will continue legal action against Dr. Manjot Marwah for disparaging remarks about Dettol on a podcast.
New Delhi, May 7, 2025 — Dettol’s manufacturer, Reckitt Benckiser, recently informed the Delhi High Court that it has reached a legal settlement with social media influencer Raj Shamani in the defamation case related to negative comments made about Dettol Antiseptic Liquid.
However, the company said it will still continue legal proceedings against dermatologist Dr. Manjot Marwah for her remarks made during a podcast episode, which led to the controversy.
As per a detailed report by Bar and Bench, Reckitt told the Delhi High Court on May 6, 2025, that “it has settled the dispute with influencer Raj Shamani.
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However, it will proceed against dermatologist Dr. Manjot Marwah over disparaging comments regarding Dettol made on a podcast.”
Reckitt had filed the lawsuit claiming that Shamani, Marwah, and another influencer, Ritik Chaturvedi, made “false, misleading, disparaging, and defamatory” statements against Dettol in a podcast episode titled “Skin Mistakes You Didn’t Know! Tanning & Sunburn EXPOSED,” which was posted on YouTube on April 1, 2025.
The lawsuit also pointed to an Instagram reel posted on April 5 titled “Never Use Dettol on Your Skin,” which further spread the same message.
In an earlier hearing on April 8, Shamani had agreed to remove and edit the part of the podcast which mentioned Dettol. That specific segment was around 90 seconds long and was part of an hour-long episode.
As per court orders, he was given 24 hours to complete the edit and was not allowed to re-upload the original content again.
The judge hearing the matter, Justice Saurabh Banerjee of the Delhi High Court, issued this direction during the April hearing.
As part of the same settlement, dermatologist Dr. Manjot Marwah and influencer Ritik Chaturvedi also took down the Instagram reel from their accounts.
Despite these takedowns, Reckitt has expressed concern about Dr. Marwah’s further actions. The company’s legal team informed the court that even after she was told to remove the earlier content, she uploaded two more Instagram reels discussing the case and speaking about the same podcast again.
According to Reckitt,
“I spoke with the counsel of Marwah, after which she removed it, but there is no guarantee that she would not do it again.”
Reckitt’s senior legal counsel, Chander M. Lall, emphasized that Dettol is a licensed antiseptic that has been approved for skin use in India since 1936.
The product is officially classified as a drug under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, and is regulated accordingly. He described Dr. Marwah’s statements—claiming that Dettol is only a floor cleaner, not suitable for skin, and delays wound healing—as “blatantly false and slanderous.”
He further stressed that the product is recognized as an antiseptic under the Indian Pharmacopoeia.
Reckitt believes the real reason behind these remarks could be promotional. It alleged in court that the controversial content was shared to increase views of the podcast and also promote Dr. Marwah’s dermatology clinic.
The company even suggested that this might have been done with help from a competing brand.
The content in question gained wide reach on social media, with more than 236,000 views on YouTube and around 2.4 million views on Instagram, raising serious concerns for Reckitt.
Although the company has now settled the case with Raj Shamani, it is not ready to drop the matter against Dr. Marwah.
In fact, on May 1, Media reported that
“Both parties have signed the settlement application. We haven’t filed it yet. We request permission to file it today,”
as stated by Advocate Nancy Roy, who appeared on behalf of Reckitt.
The Delhi High Court has now directed all parties involved to file a formal compromise petition under Order 23 Rule 3 of the Civil Procedure Code.
The case is still not fully closed and is pending further review until the court examines and approves the compromise terms officially.
This legal dispute highlights the growing impact of social media commentary on brand reputation and the legal consequences of sharing misleading information, even in casual podcast settings.
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