Court issues notice to JSPL, social media platforms seeking stand on TMT steel bars plea

Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw issued the interim direction observing that steel manufacturer Kamdhenu Ltd "has made out a case for an ex-parte injunction" against the propagation of the report -- 'Is India's 5.7 trillion infrastructure investment at risk' -- by the think tank, First Construction Council (FCC).

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday restrained Jindal Steel and Power Ltd as also social media platforms Facebook and YouTube from "displaying, disseminating or propagating" a report by an infrastructure think tank regarding the TMT steel bars bearing the Kamdhenu trademark.

Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw issued the interim direction observing that steel manufacturer Kamdhenu Ltd "has made out a case for an ex-parte injunction" against the propagation of the report -- 'Is India's 5.7 trillion infrastructure investment at risk' -- by the think tank, First Construction Council (FCC).

A direction was also issued by the court to WhatsApp Inc to take action against the report being propagated through its platform.

It also issued a notice to Jindal Steel and Power Ltd (JSPL), Facebook, YouTube, FCC and WhatsApp, seeking their stand on Kamdhenu's plea alleging "intentional and deliberate defamation, denigration and disparagement" of its thermo-mechanically treated (TMT) steel bars in the report.

The order came on an urgent hearing held by the high court, which is on vacation, on a suit filed by Kamdhenu alleging that in the first week of November it came across leaflets of JSPL that claimed TMT steel bars bearing Kamdhenu trademark failed the quality test of FCC.

The steel company has also alleged in its suit that there was a likelihood that FCC might have procured counterfeit Kamdhenu TMT steel bars as its sample from the market and prepared a fake test report at the instance of JSPL.

"That on the basis of unauthenticated/fake/bogus/ false report of defendant no.2 (FCC), news articles are being published and social media platforms like Youtube and Facebook is being used to defame, denigrate and disparage the plaintiff's TMT steel bars under the trademark Kamdhenu.

"WhatsApp is circulating the news based on the impugned unauthenticated/fake/bogus/false report of defendant no.2 and thus the plaintiff’s TMT steel bars is being defamed, denigrated and disparaged every second and the competitor of the plaintiff like defendant no.1 (JSPL) is enriching itself," the petition claimed.

TMT is a process for creating steel with a hard outer surface and a softer core which makes them strong as well as flexible.

(With inputs from agencies.)