Dettol Controversy: Reckitt Settles with Influencer Raj Shamani, But To Proceed Legally Against Dermatologist
New Delhi: Reckitt Benckiser, the company behind Dettol, has informed the Delhi High Court that it has reached a settlement with popular social media influencer Raj Shamani, who was named in a defamation suit over allegedly derogatory remarks about Dettol Antiseptic Liquid. However, the company made it clear that it will carry on legal action against dermatologist Dr Manjot Marwah, whose statements in a podcast reportedly triggered the controversy.
According to Buzz in Content, a report by Bar and Bench, on May 6, 2025, Reckitt told the court that “it has settled the dispute with influencer Raj Shamani. However, it will proceed against dermatologist Dr Manjot Marwah over disparaging comments regarding Dettol made on a podcast.”
The company noted that following an earlier court directive, Dr Marwah had provided an undertaking to delete the content in question. However, new social media posts have since emerged. Reckitt stated, “I spoke with the counsel of Marwah, after which she removed it, but there is no guarantee that she would not do it again.”
The original lawsuit filed by Reckitt accused Raj Shamani, Dr Manjot Marwah, and influencer Ritik Chaturvedi of making “false, misleading, disparaging, and defamatory” comments about Dettol in a podcast episode titled “Skin Mistakes You Didn’t Know! Tanning & Sunburn EXPOSED”, which was uploaded on April 1, 2025. A follow-up Instagram reel posted on April 5, captioned “Never Use Dettol on Your Skin”, was also flagged by the company.
Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that the Delhi High Court recorded an undertaking by Raj Shamani to edit and remove a portion of the YouTube podcast in which allegedly defamatory and misleading claims were made about Dettol antiseptic liquid by Dr Manjot Marwah .
Also Read: Dettol vs. Dermatologist: HC Orders Influencer to Delete Disparaging Claims
The legal settlement with Raj Shamani followed a court hearing on April 8, where he agreed to remove a specific 90-second segment from the podcast that referenced Dettol. He clarified that the content in question was part of a longer, hour-long episode. Subsequently, the Delhi High Court, presided over by Justice Saurabh Banerjee, instructed Shamani to make the edits within 24 hours and ordered that the original, unedited content not be reuploaded.
As part of the resolution process, Dr Marwah and Ritik Chaturvedi also took down the relevant Instagram reel from their social media profiles.
Representing Reckitt, Senior Advocate Chander M Lall argued that Dettol is a medically licensed antiseptic in India since 1936 and falls under the classification of a drug according to the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940. He criticized the claims made by Dr Marwah, specifically her statements that Dettol is a floor cleaner unsuitable for skin and could delay wound healing, calling them “blatantly false and slanderous.” He further underscored that the product is officially recognized as an antiseptic in the Indian Pharmacopoeia.
Reckitt also alleged that the video content, which attracted over 236,000 views on YouTube and 2.4 million views on Instagram, may have been created with the intention of boosting the podcast’s reach and promoting Dr Marwah’s dermatology clinic, possibly even influenced by a competing brand.
While Raj Shamani has resolved the matter with Reckitt, the ongoing legal proceedings against Dr Marwah suggest that the company remains concerned about the impact of her remarks. According to Bar and Bench, on May 1, both parties had agreed to settlement terms, with Advocate Nancy Roy, representing Reckitt, stating, “Both parties have signed the settlement application. We haven’t filed it yet. We request permission to file it today.”
The court has instructed the filing of a formal compromise application under Order 23 Rule 3 of the Civil Procedure Code in order to conclude the settlement process. The court has not yet formally closed the case and will schedule a further hearing to review the compromise application, reports Buzz in Content.
