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Informist, Monday, May 11, 2026

MUMBAI – The Bombay High Court has granted an ad-interim ex-parte injunction against Namgial Enterprises, Berger Paints India Ltd., and others for circulating and broadcasting advertisements which allegedly disparage products of Asian Paints Ltd. The high court restrained Namgial Enterprises, the other identified entities behind circulating the advertisement, and unidentified persons from circulating, sharing, broadcasting, or communicating the advertisement or any similar disparaging material. It also directed these entities to take down the video wherever it had been uploaded.

 

Justice Arif Doctor, who was hearing the matter, agreed with Asian Paints' argument and said, "a clear case of disparagement is made out". The court further observed that the advertisement, titled "Drishyam Series – Episode 1", justified the serious apprehension of Asian Paints that more such disparaging advertisements may follow soon.

 

An ad-interim ex-parte order is a temporary injunction granted by a court immediately, based only on one party's request without hearing the other side, and is designed to prevent immediate harm until a full interim hearing takes place.

 

Asian Paints had approached the court claiming that a video identifying its product Apcolite All Protek Shyne and making certain assertions was disparaging it. The impugned advertisement also used a meme to allegedly create an impression in the minds of the consumers and the members of the trade, that Asian Paints' product is deceitful and fraudulent.

 

The advertisement displays Asian Paints' product alongside the product of Berger, namely Berger Easy Clean, while a narrator makes allegedly disparaging statements about "competition paint". The products were then subjected to a so-called stain test, following which the narrator states "But on the competition paint – the truth is visible. The colour marks stays. The stain stays." The impugned advertisement then cuts to a meme from a popular web series showing individuals reacting in shock, followed by the exclamation "Fraud!"

 

The advertisement, being circulated in WhatsApp groups comprising various dealers of paints and members of trade, unmistakably demonstrated a calculated and malicious attempt on the part of the defendants, as per advocate Hiren Kamod, who was appearing on behalf of Asian Paints. Kamod submitted before the court that the dramatic background music and phrases such as "This is not just a product video. This is a myth buster video" and "This is not just a demo... it's the truth behind paints!" were used to create a false atmosphere of sensationalism and convey to viewers that competing products, including Asian Paints' products, are falsely marketed and mislead consumers.

 

Kamod submitted that the assertions made in the impugned advertisement, such as "competition paint that claims stain resistance, but is actually just washable", "the truth is visible", "the stain stays" and "Because washable doesn't mean stain resistant", are not mere comparative statements but are direct attacks on Asian Paints' product, which is visually identified and prominently displayed throughout the impugned advertisement.

 

Kamod claimed what was more egregious was the depiction of the alleged failure of the Asian Paints product by inserting the meme. This served no purpose than to insinuate that Asian Paints is deceiving consumers through fraudulent claims, said Kamod. 

 

While Berger Paints has not circulated the impugned advertisement on its official social media accounts, there was a strong apprehension that the other three defendants circulated the impugned advertisement at the behest of Berger Paints, as per Kamod. "Defendant No. 3 (Berger Paints) is a direct competitor of the Plaintiff (Asian Paints) and nobody other than Defendant No. 3 is likely to benefit from making and circulating the impugned advertisement", the order recorded Kamod as saying.  

 

Monday, shares of Asian Paints closed 1.3% lower at INR 2,566.10 and those of Berger Paints closed 4.25% lower at INR 493.85, on the National Stock Exchange.  End

 

Reported by Prateem Rohanekar

Edited by Tanima Banerjee

 

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