Mumbai: The Bombay High Court has directed the removal of social media posts trolling jewellery brand Malabar Gold and Diamonds Ltd for appointing a Pakistani-origin, London-based influencer to promote its UK showroom.

Court grants ad-interim injunction

A bench of Justice Sandeep Marne, in an order passed on Monday, noted that a case was made out for granting an ad-interim injunction and ordered the posts to be deleted.

The court also directed social media platforms to prevent the publication of any further defamatory material against the company concerning the influencer’s appointment.

Brand moves HC over defamatory content

Malabar Gold and Diamonds Ltd approached the High Court against several posts, materials, and stories uploaded on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Google, alleging that random users were linking the company to Pakistan.

According to the plea, these posts labelled Malabar Gold as a "sympathiser of Pakistan" and were harming sales, particularly during the festive season.

The brand submitted a list of 442 URLs containing such content and sought an injunction against further posts, as well as the deletion of the existing material.

Engagement of influencer predates controversy

The petition stated that the company had planned to open a new showroom in Birmingham, UK, and had engaged JAB Studios to secure influencers for promotion.

One influencer provided by JAB Studios was Alishba Khalid, a Pakistani Instagram influencer residing in the UK. Khalid had publicly criticised India’s Operation Sindoor against Pakistan following the Pahalgam terror attack earlier this year.

Malabar Gold clarified in its plea that Khalid had been engaged to promote the showroom long before the Pahalgam incident in April. The company was unaware of her Pakistani origin, and her services were subsequently discontinued.

The brand emphasised that the mere engagement of a UK-based social media influencer at one point cannot justify the spread of defamatory content online.