Madras High Court Asks YouTuber To Pay 7 Lakh As Damages For Making Defamatory Video On “Gold Winner” Oil

Justice RN Manjula made the order in a plea moved by the company saying that Akshay had misled his viewers in a recent video where he claimed that one litre 'Gold Winner' oil is selling 300 ml less and the consumers got only 700 ml of oil.

Noting that Akshay’s actions were with an intention to defame the product, the court observed,

“The damaging statements made by the defendant in the audio and visual mode has been transmitted in a social media like YouTube, which has large viewers base. So the defendant has not only made statements which are defamatory in nature but also transmitted it to be received and viewed by others. So the plaintiff has proved all the essential elements that should be proved in a case for defamation,” the court said.

The company claimed that Akshay had not used proper measurement jars in his video and demonstrated some random measurements in order to gain attention, cheat the public and defame the product. Thus, the company had sought Rs. 1 crore damages along with a permanent injunction.

The court noted that the company’s product “Gold Winner” had been in market for 30 years and had a large consumer base and a good reputation. In such circumstance, the court opined that Akshay’s video would invite negative attention from the viewers and influence the purchase of the product.

“In such circumstances the defendants action to disparage the plaintiff's product in a misleading manner would no doubt invite negative attention from the viewers and that will influence them to switch-over to some other products. So the defendant's action appears to be with an intention to cause defame and damage the plaintiff's product,” the court observed.

Though the company had claimed Rs. 1 crore as damages, the court noted that the same was without substantiating it with relevant materials. However, considering the mental agony suffered by the company and the amount spent to file the suit against the YouTuber’s "reckless action", the court deemed it fit to allow the company to recover Rs 7 lakh as damages.

Counsel for the Plaintiff: Mr.Vijayan Subramanian

Citation: 2023 LiveLaw (Mad) 305

Case Title: M/s.Kaleeshwari Refinery Private Limited v Akshay A

Case No: C.S.No.85 of 2023