The Bombay High Court has directed Meta, X, Google and several news and social media platforms to remove posts, stories and other material that Malabar Gold & Diamonds says are offending and harming its brand.

The company had gone to court and sought a temporary protection from the court after a series of online posts linked it to Pakistan because of its engagement with a social media influencer.

Malabar told the court it had engaged JAB Studios to secure influencers for promoting a new showroom in Birmingham, UK. One of the main influencers arranged by JAB was Alishba Khalid, a Pakistani Instagram influencer who lives in the UK. Khalid is alleged to have publicly condemned India’s surgical strike during Operation Sindoor against Pakistan.

Malabar said the engagement with Khalid took place well before the Pahalgam attack, and the company had no knowledge of her connections or past public comments when it signed her up. The firm says the influencer was hired in good faith to attract customers from neighbouring localities to its Birmingham showroom.

After the hire became public, Malabar said many individuals began posting material online trying to link the company to Pakistan. The company told the court these posts — it handed over a list of 442 URLs — are defamatory and portray Malabar as “a sympathiser of Pakistan.” Malabar also told the court it believes some of these posts are being circulated strategically by competitors to damage its business during the festive season.

Justice Sandeep Marne granted Malabar ad-interim protection and directed online portals and social media sites not to permit any further defamatory material about the company in relation to that influencer tie-up. The court said platforms should take down the posts flagged by the company once Malabar provides the specific URLs.

Malabar has been asked to provide the details of the flagged URLs to the platforms so the identified material can be removed. The court will hear the company’s plea again on November 11.

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