LILAVATI KIRTILAL MEHTA TRUST THROUGH PRASHANT MEHTA vs HDFC BANK LIMITED

Judgment text excerpt

J-IA.3095.2025.doc IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY ORDINARY ORIGINAL CIVIL JURISDICTION INTERIM APPLICATION NO.3095 OF 2025 IN SUIT NO.160 OF 2025 Lilavati Kirtilal Mehta Trust Through Mr. Prashant Mehta & Anr. …Applicants IN THE MATTER BETWEEN Lilavati Kirtilal Mehta Trust ….Plaintiffs Through Mr. Prashant Mehta & Anr. Versus HDFC Bank Limited & Ors. …Defendants Mr. Devadatt Kamat, Senior Advocate a/w. Mr. Dakshesh Vyas, Abhishekh Prabhu, Mr. Utsav Trivedi, Mr. Tarun Mehra, Ms Jyoti Ghag, Shailesh Prajapati, Ankit Singhal & Mr. Harsh Pandey, Advocates for Plaintiffs. Mr. Kevic Setalvad, Senior Counsel a/w. Chitra Rentala, Khyati Mehrotra & Anjali Sharma i/b. Trilegal, Advocates for Defendant No.1. Dr. Virag Tulzapurkar, Senior Counsel a/w. Chitra Rentala, Khyati Mehrotra & Anjali Sharma i/b. Trilegal, Advocates for Defendant Nos.2 to 4. Mr. Alankar Kirpekar a/w. Mr. Ayush Tiwari i/b. Shekhar Bhagat, Advocates for Defendant No.5. Mr. Ameya Gokhale a/w. Richa Bharti & Mr. Abhishek Mookherjee i/b. Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co., Advocates for Defendant No.6. CORAM : SOMASEKHAR SUNDARESAN, J. DATE : June 9, 2026 Page 1 of 41 June 9, 2026 Aarti Palkar Digitally signed by AARTI AARTI GAJANAN GAJANAN PALKAR PALKAR Date: 2026.06.09 16:10:29 +0530 J-IA.3095.2025.doc JUDGEMENT: Context and Factual Background: 1. The captioned proceedings represent litigation initiated by the Plaintiffs, alleging defamation by the Defendants. Plaintiff No.1, Lilavati Kirtilal Mehta Trust (“Lilavati Trust”) and Plaintiff No.2, Prashant Kishor Mehta (“Prashant”) allege that Defendant No.1, HDFC Bank Limited ( “HDFC Bank”) and its executives (Defendant Nos. 2 to 4) have defamed the Plaintiffs and such defamatory content stands posted on the social media platforms run by Defendant No. 5,