On November 1, 2020, Suchir Kalra, a part-time professor at Ashoka University, tweeted about his less-than-satisfactory experience of dealing with BSH Household Appliances Manufacturing Private Limited, a subsidiary of BSH Hausgeräte GmbH, Germany, after buying a dishwasher. 

The appliance had a faulty part which led to Kalra and his mother engaging in a prolonged back-and-forth with the company over five months. The content of Kalra’s tweets included disparaging remarks, a demand for a refund, and a comment that the company behaved “like dictators”. 

BSH Household Appliances Manufacturing Private Limited responded by serving the Kalras a legal notice. “We have been sued for Rs 2 crore because we demanded Rs 5,685 refund which was taken towards incomplete and deficiency of service,” Suchir Kalra told Newslaundry.

The company filed a suit seeking the removal and takedown of defamatory tweets posted by defendants nos. 1 and 2 (referring to Kalra and his mother), a permanent injunction to prevent further disparaging material against the plaintiff company, and damages of Rs 2,10,00,000 for harm caused by false and defamatory content shared via emails and on X (formerly Twitter). The company has contended that the actions of the defendants (this includes X and the email provider) have damaged its reputation among the public, customers and affiliated companies globally. In an email response to Newslaundry, the company said, “The matter is subjudice. It is therefore inappropriate to comment at this stage. The company believes in the rule of law and has full confidence in our judicial system.”

But the Kalras’ case is one of many online consumer complaints that have turned into defamation cases, in which the companies are the plaintiffs.

In recent years, platforms like X have become places that individuals turn to in the hope of amplifying their voices in order to put pressure on a company to address the shared concerns. Many consumers have tagged companies on social media and this has helped arrive at resolutions and sometimes even get compensation. However, in some cases, like that of the Kalras, the response has been the opposite.