The Delhi High Court in the case observed and has ordered suspension of a website under the name of ‘Khadi Organic’ which was promoting itself as an ‘official website for sale of Ayodhya Ram Mandir prasad’ on various social media platforms.
The court observed that the website was offering for delivery of free prasad from the Pran Pratishta ceremony which is scheduled to be held at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh.
The bench headed by Justice Sanjeev Narula in the case observed that the website was preying on the public’s religious beliefs and devotion and deceiving them into transferring money to its owners while using the goodwill of Khadi and Village Industries Commission, a statutory body which is established for the promotion and development of textiles.
The court in the case directed the two owners of the website to takedown their social media pages which is using any mark identical or deceptively similar to Khadi and Village Industries Commission’s registered ‘KHADI’ marks.
The court observed and has restrained the owners from manufacturing, selling, or offering for sale any kind of goods or services under ‘KHADI ORGANIC’ mark or any other marks which would amount to infringement or passing off of ‘KHADI’ marks.
The bench of Justice Narula in the case observed that the website owners falsely obtained money from the members of the public without providing a confirmation receipt or proof of dispatch of the ‘prasad.’
The court observed that Khadi and Village Industries Commission filed the trademark infringement suit against one Ashish Singh who h d established the brand ‘KHADI ORGANIC’, and the company namely M/s Drill Maps India Private Limited.
It was also alleged before the court that the website stated that members of the public, who are desirous of obtaining the ‘Ram Mandir Prasad’ for free, could place their orders by filling a form and would have to pay Rs. 51 for the Indian customers and USD 11 for foreign customers.
The plaintiff in the plea submitted before the court that the mark ‘KHADI ORGANIC’ subsumed the ‘KHADI’ trademark and that the defendant had no right to misappropriate Khadi and to render a false impression that it was is affiliated with the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust organizing the consecration ceremony.
Therefore, the said court is being convinced that the Plaintiff has been able to demonstrate a prima facie case in their favour and in case an ex-parte interim injunction is not granted, Plaintiff and will suffer an irreparable loss; balance of convenience also lies in favour of the Plaintiff and against Defendant No. 1 and Defendant No. 2.
The counsel, Advocates Ms. Shwetasree Majumder, Ms. Diva Arora Menon, Ms. Devyani Nath, Ms. Aiswarya Debadarshini and Mr. Shiv Mehrotra appeared for the plaintiff.
