Whirlpool India and Havells India have locked horns in the Delhi High Court over who can legitimately call itself India's first anti-frost/frost-free refrigerator-maker.
Whirlpool has challenged advertisements for Havells-owned Lloyd refrigerators that describe the product as featuring "India's first anti-frost technology" and promote it as India's first anti-frost single-door refrigerator.
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The dispute came up before the Delhi High Court on Monday. The court accepted Whirlpool's suit and issued notice to Havells, seeking its reply. However, it declined Whirlpool's request for an immediate restraint on the advertisement, noting that the campaign had already been in the public domain for months.
Whirlpool's objection is primarily to a ticker and promotional claim used in the campaign, including during FIFA World Cup 2026 broadcasts, that describes the Lloyd product as India's first anti-frost refrigerator.
Arguing before the court, Whirlpool said companies are free to exaggerate their products' virtues, but cannot make factual misstatements. It contended that Havells' claim of being the first in the market was incorrect because frost-free and auto-defrost refrigerator technologies have existed long before Lloyd's launch.
According to Whirlpool, the term "anti-frost" is effectively another way of describing frost-free or auto-defrost technology. The company told the court that it had been selling and advertising refrigerators with similar functionality much before Havells entered the segment and relied on certifications and market history to challenge the claim.
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Whirlpool also argued that while Havells describes the refrigerator as AI-powered anti-frost technology, the company's advertising does not claim the product is the first AI-powered refrigerator. Instead, the prominent consumer-facing claim is that it is India's first anti-frost single-door refrigerator.
Havells opposed the maintainability of the action as a commercial suit. The company maintained that its AI-powered anti-frost technology is a first-of-its-kind offering in the market.
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