Will remove reference to other sunscreen from ads: Hindustan Unilever to Delhi High Court
New Delhi/Mumbai, Apr 17 (PTI): In response to a suit filed by Honasa Consumer Ltd's sunscreen brand The Derma Co, Hindustan Unilever Ltd assured the Delhi High Court on Thursday it will remove alleged disparaging references to a competitor from the ads of sunscreen products of HUL subsidiary Lakme.
In a related development, during the hearing of a separate suit filed by HUL against The Derma Co, both sides said they had agreed to remove their respective contentious advertisements as an interim arrangement.
Justice Amit Bansal of the Delhi High Court asked HUL to ensure the ads and hoardings in the present form were discontinued in a time-bound manner.
"You discontinue the ad from today. You show that it is in the spirit of settlement. You can't prolong the removal.. Online (ads) can go within 24 hours," the judge told the HUL's counsel.
Honasa moved the high court against HUL's campaign alleging that while making a reference to the former's "online bestseller" product the defendant claimed it did not offer SPF (sun protection factor) 50.
"You cannot call my product bad on the basis of a one-page executive summary (of a test report) which is inherently contentious.. To say my product is actually SPF 20 and I am misrepresenting to the public every day (is not acceptable)," said the Honasa counsel.
After the court asked if the advertisements could be taken down, the defendant said it would remove the contentious references.
In view of the settlement, the parties also agreed to not press at this stage the lawsuit filed by HUL in the Bombay High Court.
The Delhi high court would hear the case on April 21 after the HUL counsel said they would file an affidavit regarding the proposed changes.
HUL had denied making any disparaging reference to The Derma Co, and said it had laboratory reports to substantiate its claims.
The company, in a statement, said it respected the outcome of the proceedings.
At the Bombay High Court, as HUL's suit came up for hearing before Justice Arif Doctor, both sides said they had agreed, as an interim arrangement, to take down their advertisements within 24 hours and hoardings within 48 hours, said HUL lawyer Hiren Kamod.
HUL contended in its suit that a recent Derma Co billboard took a direct aim at Lakme, and demanded Rs 105 crore in damages from Honasa.
"The said advertisements seek to falsely portray to the consumers and the public at large that Lakme sunscreen products have not, until recently, been tested for SPF efficacy using standard methods," the suit said.
The advertisement claimed the earlier methods adopted by Lakme to certify its products were faulty, sub-standard and inaccurate, it said.
"Such advertisements falsely claim that Derma co sunscreen brand is leading the way, thereby implying that the Lakme Sun Expert range of products until recently have not been safe for the consumers," it added.
The suit in the Bombay High Court will be next heard on April 22.
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Dhoni on IPL future: Nothing to decide now, will take a call later
Kolkata (PTI): Chennai Super Kings captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni says "there is no escaping the fact" that he is in the twilight of his IPL career but a decision on his future will depend on how his body responds to the pressure of hard work in the next six to eight months.
The former India captain, who is being met with a sea of adoring fans in yellow at every venue he goes to, is well aware of the emotions and his passionate followers' desire to be there when he plays his last game.
"That is the love and affection I have gotten throughout. Not to forget I am 42 (43). I have played a long time. A lot of them don't know when it is going to be my last time, so they want to come and see me play," Dhoni said after CSK's two-wicket win over Kolkata Knight Riders here on Wednesday.
Dhoni, who underwent a knee surgery in 2023, has continued to battle fitness concerns. CSK head coach Stephen Fleming recently admitted that the veteran "can't bat 10 overs running full stick."
All of this has contributed in building speculation that the ongoing season is his last outing in the league.
The enigmatic wicketkeeper-batter said he is fully aware of where he stands in his storied career right now but will not make a decision without deliberating hard over it and fully assessing his fitness.
"There is no escaping the fact (that I am in the last phase of my career). After this IPL gets over, I have to work hard for another 6-8 months to see if my body can take this pressure.
"Nothing to decide now but the love and affection I have seen is excellent," Dhoni said.
The win was only the third of CSK's disappointing season marred by inconsistency. With play-off hopes dashed, Dhoni said the focus is now on testing bench strength.
"There were a few things that did not go our way. You could get emotional about it, talk about the pride factor but you have to be practical about it.
"(You) want to be competitive but you also want answers - which batter can fit where, which bowler can bowl where, according to the conditions and all. When we started, hardly anyone was scoring.
"We are out of the tournament, so you give them a chance, see how they react. It is the approach, the mental toughness that you want to check. The most technically-correct batter does not always score the runs, if you have good awareness...there is a chance to be consistent."
