The Delhi High Court has issued a directive to a female social media user, ordering the removal of a post on X platform that alleged the presence of a centipede in Amul ice cream. Additionally, the court has imposed restrictions on the woman and others, prohibiting them from posting similar content on social media platforms.

The Delhi High Court issued an order on Thursday. The Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Limited filed a petition against the user, seeking the removal of the post on X platform. The court issued an ex-parte order, noting the defendants' failure to appear, directing the removal of the post.

Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora ordered the removal of a social media post uploaded by Deepa Devi on her X account (@Deepadi11) within three days of the order being passed.

The High Court also restrained Deepa Devi and other defendants from posting any content identical or similar to the mentioned post on X or any other social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube until further notice.

"The defendant nos. 1 and 2 are further restrained from publishing or causing to publish any content with regard to the plaintiff or plaintiff's product with respect to the incidents referred to in the plaint, anywhere on the internet or in print or electronic media until further orders," Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora said in an order passed on July 4.

Senior counsel Sunil Dalal, representing the plaintiff federation, emphasized that rigorous quality control measures are implemented at every stage of production. These measures start from sourcing raw milk from farmers and extend through the manufacturing process in the plaintiff's state-of-the-art ISO-certified plants. They continue until the loading of finished products into specially designed temperature-controlled refrigerated vans.

Dalal further asserted that these stringent quality checks guarantee that the products are free from any physical, bacterial, or chemical contamination. Moreover, they ensure that each product meets the standards prescribed by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).

He further emphasized that rigorous inspection occurs at each stage, starting from milking cattle through to packaging and loading, ensuring thorough quality checks throughout. As a result, he asserted that it is categorically impossible for any foreign substance, including an insect, to be present in an AMUL ice cream tub packed at their facility.

The High Court observed that despite a representative's attempt to collect the mentioned Amul ice cream tub from the defendants for testing to validate their claims, they refused to comply.

It was stated that the plaintiff was willing to investigate the matter to verify the claims made by defendants 1 and 2. However, the defendants refused to provide the ice cream tub in question to the plaintiff's officials for examination.

Defendants 1 and 2 did not appear before the court despite summons being issued to them.

The bench noted that it is on record that the defendants were served with an advance copy of the suit record in June 2024 by the plaintiff's counsel, prior to its initial listing on June 28. However, neither defendant appeared on June 28 nor on July 1.

The matter has been listed for hearing on July 22.