Interlocutory injunction in disparagement claims: appeal maintainable, res judicata rejected, and status quo restored.

An appeal lay from an ex parte ad interim injunction and from the order vacating it because interlocutory orders under Order 39 Rules 1, 2 and 4 CPC are appealable under Order 43 Rule 1(r), without needing to qualify as a Letters Patent judgment. The plea of res judicata failed because the earlier connected proceedings involved different advertisements, the interim order had not finally decided the issues, and the summary dismissal of the earlier appeal did not conclusively affirm the merits. In a disparagement action, the court found a prima facie case where the impugned advertisement arguably referred to the plaintiff's goods and was potentially false or disparaging, and the balance of convenience favoured preserving the status quo. The vacating order was set aside and the injunction restored.

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Issues: (i) whether an appeal lay from an ex parte ad interim injunction order and from the order vacating it; (ii) whether dismissal of an earlier appeal in connected proceedings operated as res judicata; (iii) whether, on the materials then available, the appellant had made out a prima facie case for interlocutory restraint against an allegedly disparaging advertisement and whether the balance of convenience supported continued injunction.

Issue (i): whether an appeal lay from an ex parte ad interim injunction order and from the order vacating it.

Analysis: Interim orders granted under Order 39 Rules 1 and 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, and orders vacating such relief under Order 39 Rule 4, are appealable under Order 43 Rule 1(r). No distinction is drawn between ex parte and contested interim orders for this purpose. An order expressly appealable under the Code does not have to satisfy the requirements of a "judgment" under the Letters Patent.

Conclusion: The appeal was maintainable.

Issue (ii): whether dismissal of an earlier appeal in connected proceedings operated as res judicata.

Analysis: The earlier proceedings concerned different advertisements and an interim order of the MRTP Commission. That order had not conclusively decided the issues. The summary dismissal of the earlier statutory appeal did not necessarily affirm the merits or the legal conclusions of the Commission, especially where the dismissal may have been on the ground that no substantial question of law arose. A technical rule of res judicata cannot be stretched to rest on mere assumption that the issues were decided.

Conclusion: The plea of res judicata failed.

Issue (iii): whether, on the materials then available, the appellant had made out a prima facie case for interlocutory restraint against an allegedly disparaging advertisement and whether the balance of convenience supported continued injunction.

Analysis: In an action for injurious falsehood or disparagement of goods, the court at the interlocutory stage must assess prima facie whether the advertisement refers to the plaintiff's goods, whether the statements are false or disparaging, and whether the defendant's justification has any basis. The materials before the court included a survey indicating that viewers associated the commercial with the appellant's products, along with other evidence on both sides regarding the truth of the statements. The court held that the learned single judge had reached a final view without adequate reasoning at a stage when the issue should have remained open pending affidavits. The absence of convincing reasons, the arguable case on reference and falsity, and the need to protect goodwill pending trial meant that the balance of convenience favoured preservation of the status quo. The respondent's free speech contention did not outweigh the need for interim restraint in the circumstances.

Conclusion: The appellant established a prima facie case and the balance of convenience favoured injunctive relief.

Final Conclusion: The order vacating the interim injunction was set aside and the earlier restraint order was restored to continue until disposal of the interlocutory application.

Ratio Decidendi: An interim injunction may be granted in a disparagement or injurious falsehood action where the plaintiff shows a prima facie case that the impugned publication refers to its goods, is arguably false or disparaging, and the balance of convenience lies in preserving the status quo pending final adjudication.

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