DAMAYANTHI DHARSHA SUES RS 100 M FROM UNILEVER

Dharsha claims Rs 100 m against Unilver for publishing a fictitious statement and photographs sans her permission for advertising Surf Excel

M/s Unilever company had published without her verbal or written consent to popularise ‘Surf Excel’. The sprint champion has filed action against the Unilever company claiming Rs 100 m as damages for using her name, her mother’s name and for publishing photograph of herself, her mother’s, husband and child’s in two newspapers.
The case was heard at the Colombo District Courts. Her lawyer had confessed that a fictitious statement made by her mother that if She made restrictions against what she wanted to do, “She would not have been a happy mother she is now.”A fraudulently conducted interview had been published in the Sinhala and English newspapers. These notices had been published in the tabloid edition.”Sandella”  of ‘Lankadeepa’ paper on the 7th June 2009 and also in the ‘Sunday Times’, “Plus’”editions.
The Lawyer who appeared for Dharsha had told that such a reputed International company who produces such famous products like Lifebuoy, Pears, Signal toothpaste, Sunsilk, Sunlight has used Dharsha’s name for advertising a new product Surf Excel to be used without her verbal or written consent. A photograph of Dharsha, her mother, husband and child too had been published in the advertisement.
It was emphasised at the case Damayanthi Dharsha had been a sprint champion of Sri Lanka who had won several medals for the country at several International athletic meets, and some of her records are still in the record books. According to her lawyer it was irregular for the Unilever Company to publish fictitious interviews and photographs without her verbal or written consent and hence they are filing the case to claim damages amounting to Rs 100 m from m/s Unilever Company.
The case is due to be heard again at a later date.