Alpino Health Foods Moves Delhi High Court To Vacate Interim Order Restraining "Disparaging" Ads Against Oats

Alpino Health Foods Private Limited, a Gujarat-based brand, has moved the Delhi High Court seeking vacation of an interim order which restrained it from publishing or sharing its advertisements disparaging “Oats” as a category of foods, either on social media or otherwise.

Justice Mini Pushkarna issued notice on the application and sought reply of Marico Limited, plaintiff in the suit.

It is Alpino's case that Marico had suppressed material facts from the Court. It was submitted that the Court was misled into granting an ex-parte ad interim injunction order, without affording an opportunity to Alpino of being heard.

“Issue notice. Notice is accepted by learned counsel appearing for the plaintiff, who requests that he may be granted time to file reply,” the Court said while listing the matter for hearing on January 30.

Alpino has actress Shilpa Shetty as the brand ambassador and investor.

Marico filed the suit on being aggrieved by Alpino's marketing via advertisements allegedly targeting oats as a category of food. It was Marico's case that it launched “Saffola Oats” and rolled oats and Alpino's advertisements were disparaging to oats.

The suit alleged that Alpino was trying to establish its product against regular rolled oats and was running a “brazen and bizarre advertisement campaign” against the entire oats category by defaming and disparaging the natural characteristic of oats to 'choona'. It was also alleged that Alpino's advertisements called rolled oats “lifeless, boring and impossible to finish.”

It was submitted that the intent and storyline of the impugned advertisements was to maliciously slander, denigrate, and disparage Oats and to spread misinformation and paranoia among the consumers about oats by saying that they are bad, poisonous and unsuitable for human consumption.

In the interim order passed on October 29, the Court issued a summons in the suit and said that Marico was able to demonstrate a prima facie case in its favour for the grant of ad interim injunction.

Counsel for Plaintiff: Mr. Ankur Sangal, Advocate with Mr. Raghu Sinha, Advocate

Counsel for Defendant: Mr. Satvik Varma, Sr. Advocate with Mr. Nakul Gandhi, Mr. Mujeeb, Mr. Arindam Bhardwaj, Mr. Shantanu Parmar, and Mr. Balram, Advocates

Title: MARICO LIMITED v. ALPINO HEALTH FOODS PRIVATE LIMITED