Full Text
HIGH COURT OF DELHI
Date of Decision: 27th March, 2023
DABUR INDIA LIMITED ..... Plaintiff
Through: Mr. Anirudh Bakhru, and Mr. Kripa Pandi, Advocates. (M:9810013453)
Through: Mr. Yashvardhan Singh, Advocate for D-1. (M:9667056770)
Mr. Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar, CGSC with Mr. Srish Kumar Mishra, Mr. Sagar Mehlawat Alexander Mathai
Paikaday, Advocates (M: 9810788606).
Ms. Kruttika Vijay, Ms. Geetanjali Viswanathan, & Ms. Aishwarya Kane, Advs. for D-5 (M-9910083144)
Mr. Dayan Krishnan Senior Advocate with Mr. Alipak Banerjee, Mr. Parva Khare, Mr. Brijesh Ujjainwal
Advocates for D-4. (M: 9987115749)
Mr. K.G. Gopalakrishnan and Ms. Nisha Mohandas, Advocates for D-7.
(M:8800556341)
Ms. Hetu Arora Sethi, ASC, GNCTD with Mr. Arjun Basra, Advocate Jai
Prakash, ACP, IFSO Cyber Cell along with Inspector Sanjeev Solanki, Inspector Kusum , Inspector Suneel
Siddhu and SI Manzoor Alam.
ACP Raman Lamba with Insp. Suneel Siddhu, IFSO, Special Cell.
JUDGMENT
(1) WITH + CS (COMM) 20/2019 & I.As.561/2019, 20157/2022 TATA SKY LIMITED..... Plaintiff 2023:DHC:2305 CS (COMM) 135/2022 & connected matters Through: Mr. Vinayak, Advocate. (M:9013008939)
VERSUS
S G ENTERPREISES – TATA SKY SALES AND SERVICES AND ORS...... Defendants Through: Mr. Moazzam Khan, Ms. Shweta Sahu, Mr. Alipak Banerjee and Ms. Parva Khare, Advs. for D-5. (M:9987115749) Ms. Akshita Jain, Advocate for D-8. (M:9990526912) (2) WITH + CS(COMM) 193/2019 & I.As. 5399/2019, 11497/2019, 18216/2019, 15451/2021, 6069/2022 COLGATE PALMOLIVE COMPANY & ANR...... Plaintiffs Through: Mr. Pravin Anand, Mr. Saif Khan & Mr. Rohil Bansal, Advs.(M-
9079965359)
VERSUS
NIXI & ANR...... Defendants Through: Ms. Akshita Jain, Advocate for D-1 (M-9990526912). Mr. Darpan Wadhwa, Sr. Advocate with Ms. Swati Agarwal, Ms. Binsy Susan, Mr. Shashank Mishra, Ms. Akshi Rastogi, Ms. Vaani Kaushik & Mr. Vaarish Sawlani, Advs for D-3-4. Mr. Anurag Ahluwalia, CGSC with Mr. Danish Faraz Khan, Mr. Abhigyan Siddhant and Mr. Rahul Sharma, Advocates for UOI (M-9999999045) with Mr. Tanmay Nirmal, Manager legal. Mr. Tentu Satyanarayan, Director (Legal), UIDAI & Mr. Tanmaya Nirmal, Deputy Manager (Legal & Policy), UIDAI (M-9899113033). 2023:DHC:2305 CS (COMM) 135/2022 & connected matters Mr. Kushagra Goel & Mr. Abhimanyu Yadav, Advocates for D-7 (M- 9711443294). SI Prince Kumar, PS Hauz Khas. Ms. Hetu Arora Sethi, ASC, GNCTD with Mr. Arjun Basra, Advocate Jai Prakash, ACP, IFSO Cyber Cell along with Inspector Sanjeev Solanki, Inspector Kusum, Inspector Suneel Siddhu and SI Manzoor Alam. (3) WITH + CS (COMM) 297/2019 MOTHER DAIRY FRUIT & VEGETABLE PVT. LTD...... Plaintiff Through: Mr. Pravin Anand, Mr. Saif Khan, Mr. Shobhit Agarwal and Mr. Deepank, Advocates.
VERSUS
KUMAR PRAHLAD & ANR...... Defendants Through: Mr. Yash Vardhan Singh, Advocate for D-1. Ms. Hetu Arora Sethi, ASC, GNCTD with Mr. Arjun Basra, Advocate Jai Prakash, ACP, IFSO Cyber Cell along with Inspector Sanjeev Solanki, Inspector Kusum, Inspector Suneel Siddhu and SI Manzoor Alam. (4) WITH + CS (COMM) 298/2019 & I.As.8189/2019, 13215/2019, 13631/2019, 15695-96/2019, 14210/2021, 16707/2021 ULTRATECH CEMENT LIMITED & ANR...... Plaintiff Through: Mr Kushal Gupta, Advocate.
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WWW.ULTRATECHCEMENTS.COM & ORS...... Defendants Through: Mr. Darpan Wadhwa, Sr. Advocate with Ms. Binsy Susan & Ms. Swati Agarwal, Advocates for GoDaddy. (M:9650001297) Mr. Ananta Prasad Mishra & Mr. 2023:DHC:2305 CS (COMM) 135/2022 & connected matters Gagan Gupta, Advocates for D-9. (M:9990937838) Mr. Manish Mohan, CGSC for UOI. (M-999910115) Ms. Hetu Arora Sethi, ASC, GNCTD with Mr. Arjun Basra, Advocate Jai Prakash, ACP, IFSO Cyber Cell along with Inspector Sanjeev Solanki, Inspector Kusum, Inspector Suneel Siddhu and SI Manzoor Alam. (5) WITH + CS (COMM) 317/2019 & I.As. 8404-05/2019, 3270/2020 DHARAMPAL SATYAPAL LIMITED..... Plaintiff Through: Mr. Rajesh Yadav, Sr. Advocate with Ms. Ruchira V. Arora and Mr. Dhananjay Mehlawat, Advocates. (M:9911006159)
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RAJNIGANDHA DISTRIBUTORS PRIVATE LIMITED & ORS..... Defendants Through: Mr. Mahesh, Mr. Gulshan Kumar, Ms. Shubhangi Sood & Ms. Aashi, Advocates for D-2,3. Mr V. P Singh & Mr. Vansh Malhotra, Advocates for D-10. Mr. Siddharth Sangal & Ms. Nilanjani Tandon, Advocates for D-11/SBI. Ms. Hetu Arora Sethi, ASC, GNCTD with Mr. Arjun Basra, Advocate Jai Prakash, ACP, IFSO Cyber Cell along with Inspector Sanjeev Solanki, Inspector Kusum, Inspector Suneel Siddhu and SI Manzoor Alam. Mr. Santosh Kumar Tripathi, Standing Counsel with Mr. Arun Panwar, Mr. Tapesh Raghav, Mr. Prudyumn Rao and Mr. Mahak Rankawat, Advcoates. (6) WITH 2023:DHC:2305 CS (COMM) 135/2022 & connected matters + CS (COMM) 732/2019 & I.As. 3865/2020, 9234/2020, 4171/2021, 4172/2021 MONTBLANC SIMPLO GMBH..... Plaintiff Through: Mr. Pravin Anand & Mr. Devesh Ratan, Advs. (M:9810333571)
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MONTBLANCINDIA.COM & ORS...... Defendants Through: Mr. Yajur Bhalla, Mr. Deepak Samota and Mr. Sumer Ahuja, Advocates for D-1, 2, 4 to 10 & 20. (M:9711009378) Ms. Asiya Khan, Advocate for D-25 (M: 9971644936). Mr. Alipak Banjerjee, Ms. Pava Khare & Ms. Shweta Sahu Advs for D-18. Ms. Hetu Arora Sethi, ASC, GNCTD with Mr. Arjun Basra, Advocate Jai Prakash, ACP, IFSO Cyber Cell along with Inspector Sanjeev Solanki, Inspector Kusum, Inspector Suneel Siddhu and SI Manzoor Alam. (7) WITH + CS (COMM) 82/2020 & I.A. 2402/2020 JOCKEY INTERNATIONAL INC...... Plaintiff Through: Mr. Pravin Anand, Mr. Saif Khan, Mr. Shobhit Agarwal and Mr. Deepank, Advs. (M:880052025[8])
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WWW.JOCKEYFRANCHISE.COM & ORS...... Defendants Through: Mr. Vivek Jain and Ms. Aastha Tiwari, Advs. for D-4. (M:9871863446) Ms. Hetu Arora Sethi, ASC, GNCTD with Mr. Arjun Basra, Advocate Jai Prakash, ACP, IFSO Cyber Cell along with Inspector Sanjeev Solanki, Inspector Kusum, Inspector Suneel Siddhu and SI Manzoor Alam. (8) WITH + CS (COMM) 251/2020 & I.As. 5544/2020, 7655/2022 2023:DHC:2305 CS (COMM) 135/2022 & connected matters MICROSOFT CORPORATION & ANR...... Plaintiffs Through: Mr. Pravin Anand, Mr. Saif Khan, Mr. Shantanu Sahay, Ms. Imon Roy and Mr. Apoorv Bansal, Advocates.
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MS CZONE SOLUTIONS & ORS...... Defendants Through: Mr. Sumit Nagpal, Ms. Nancy, Ms. Dolly Luthra and Ms. Aastha Sood, Advs for D-1 & 2. (M:9911995000) Ms. Hetu Arora Sethi, ASC, GNCTD with Mr. Arjun Basra, Advocate Jai Prakash, ACP, IFSO Cyber Cell along with Inspector Sanjeev Solanki, Inspector Kusum, Inspector Suneel Siddhu and SI Manzoor Alam. (9) WITH + CS (COMM) 255/2020 & I.As. 5590-91/2020, 11099/2020, 6402/2022 INDIAMART INTERMESH LIMITED.... Plaintiff Through: Mr. Sidharth Chopra, Mr. Nitin Sharma, Mr. Yatin Garg, Mr. Ranjeet Singh, Mr. Vivek Ayyagari, Mr. Angad Makkar, Mr. M. J. Sudarshan, Ms. Ramya Aggarwal and Mr. Sohrab Mann, Advocates.
VERSUS
AKASH VERMA & ORS...... Defendants Through: Mr. Neel Mason, Mr. Uday Singh Chopra, Mr. Saransh Saini and Mr. Ujjawal Bhargava for D-2. (M: 9399304251). Ms. Meenakshi Dutta, Mr. Anupam Kumar Mishra & Mr. Gautam Harshwal, Advocates for D-4 & 7. (M:
9521151974) Mr. Saransh, Advocate for Ms. Nandita Rao, ASC (Crml.),GNCTD. Ms. Hetu Arora Sethi, ASC, GNCTD with Mr. Arjun Basra, Advocate Jai 2023:DHC:2305 CS (COMM) 135/2022 & connected matters Prakash, ACP, IFSO Cyber Cell along with Inspector Sanjeev Solanki, Inspector Kusum, Inspector Suneel Siddhu and SI Manzoor Alam. (10) WITH + CS (COMM) 324/2020 & I.As. 6950/2020, 12588/2020, 12611/2020, 11510/2021 MCDONALDS CORPORATION & ANR...... Plaintiffs Through: Ms. Priya Adlakha, Mrs. Bindra Rana, Ms. Tanvi Bhatnagar, Ms. Rima Majumdar and Ms. Shilpi Sinha, Advocates. (M:9818202368)
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NATIONAL INTERNET EXCHANGE OF INDIA & ORS...... Defendants Through: Mr. Vivek Jain & Mr. Aastha Tiwari, Advocates for D-18 & 28 (M9811426480). Mr. Alipak K. Banerjee and Ms. Shweta Sahu, Advocates for D-5, 2, 6 7, & 8 (M: 9987115749). Mr. Ravi Prakash, CGSC with Mr. Sahonwlah Farmani Ali, Advocate for D-35&36 (M-9469448888) Mr. Santosh Kumar Rout, Mr. Pawan Kumar & Mr. Abhishek Chakraborty, Advocates for D-13 to 17, 22, 26, 27, 31) Ms. Hetu Arora Sethi, ASC, GNCTD with Mr. Arjun Basra, Advocate Jai Prakash, ACP, IFSO Cyber Cell along with Inspector Sanjeev Solanki, Inspector Kusum, Inspector Suneel Siddhu and SI Manzoor Alam. (11) WITH + CS (COMM) 373/2020 & I.A. 7995-96/2020, 7999/2020, 9171/2020, 84/2021, 430/2021 & 1371/2021 ITC LIMITED..... Plaintiff 2023:DHC:2305 CS (COMM) 135/2022 & connected matters Through: Mr. Pravin Anand, Ms. Vaishali, Mr. Shivang Sharma & Mr. Siddhant Chamola, Advocates versus ASHOK KUMAR & ORS...... Defendants Through: Ms. Ritu Mishra, Advocate for D-6. Mr. Hrithik Goyal and Ms. Lovleen Goyal, Advocates for D-12. (M:8826767020) Ms. Deepika Kathuria, Adv. for D-14. Ms. Asmita Kumar, Advocate for D-31. (M:9899967516) Ms. Hetu Arora Sethi, ASC, GNCTD with Mr. Arjun Basra, Advocate Jai Prakash, ACP, IFSO Cyber Cell along with Inspector Sanjeev Solanki, Inspector Kusum, Inspector Suneel Siddhu and SI Manzoor Alam. (12) WITH + CS (COMM) 424/2020 & I.A. 20246-47/2022 SHOPPERS STOP LIMITED..... Plaintiff Through: Mr. Sagar Chandra, Ms. Shubhie Wahi, Ms. Ankita Seth and Ms. Sanya Kapoor, Advocates. (M:9810907412)
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M/S SHOPPERSTOP & ORS...... Defendants Through: Mr. P.S. Sudheer and Ms. Anne Mathew, Advs. for D-5. (M:9891760039) Mr. Moazzam Khan Advocate, Mr. Alipak Banerjee Advocate Ms. Shweta Sahu Advocate, Mr. Parva Khare Advocate, Mr. Brijesh Ujjainwal Advocate. Ms. Hetu Arora Sethi, ASC, GNCTD with Mr. Arjun Basra, Advocate Jai Prakash, ACP, IFSO Cyber Cell along 2023:DHC:2305 CS (COMM) 135/2022 & connected matters with Inspector Sanjeev Solanki, Inspector Kusum, Inspector Suneel Siddhu and SI Manzoor Alam. (13) WITH + CS (COMM) 498/2020 & I.A. 10520-21/2020, 2506/2021, 2530/2021 MICROSOFT CORPORATION & ANR...... Plaintiffs Through: Mr. Pravin Anand, Mr. Saif Khan, Mr. Shantanu Sahay, Ms. Imon Roy and Mr. Apoorv Bansal, Advocates.
VERSUS
PCPATCHERS TECHNOLOGY PRIVATE LIMITED & ORS...... Defendants Through: Mr. Sumit Nagpal, Ms. Nancy and Ms. Aashta Sood, Advocates for D-1, 2 & 3. (M:9911995000) Ms. Hetu Arora Sethi, ASC, GNCTD with Mr. Arjun Basra, Advocate Jai Prakash, ACP, IFSO Cyber Cell along with Inspector Sanjeev Solanki, Inspector Kusum, Inspector Suneel Siddhu and SI Manzoor Alam. (14) WITH + CS (COMM) 95/2021 & I.A. 4800/2021, I.A. 21025/2022 THE HIMALAYA DRUG COMPANY & ORS...... Plaintiffs Through: Ms. Prachi Agarwal and Ms. Ms. Ridhie Bajaj, Advocates. (M:8800972785)
VERSUS
ASHOK KUMAR & ORS...... Defendants Through: Mr. Alipak Banderjee, Ms. Shweta Sahu, Mr. Parva Khare and Mr. Brijesh Ujjaniwal, Advocates for Go Daddy (M: 9987115749). Mr. Tushar Singh & Ms. Trisha Patnaik, Advocates for D-25. Mr. Surinder Singh, Advocate for D-29 (M-9311325398) Ms. Hetu Arora Sethi, ASC, GNCTD 2023:DHC:2305 CS (COMM) 135/2022 & connected matters with Mr. Arjun Basra, Advocate Jai Prakash, ACP, IFSO Cyber Cell along with Inspector Sanjeev Solanki, Inspector Kusum, Inspector Suneel Siddhu and SI Manzoor Alam. (15) WITH + CS (COMM) 154/2021 & I.A. 4692/2021, 10905/2022 GODREJ PROPERTIES LTD..... Plaintiff Through: Mr. Pravin Anand, Mr. Vibhav Mithal and Mr. Achyut Tiwari, Advocates. (M:8447458389)
VERSUS
ASHOK KUMAR & ANR...... Defendants Through: Mr. Darpan Wadhwa, Sr. Advocate with, Mr. Alipak Banerjee, & Ms. Shweta Sahu, Advocates for D-2. (M:9987115749) Ms. Hetu Arora Sethi, ASC, GNCTD with Mr. Arjun Basra, Advocate Jai Prakash, ACP, IFSO Cyber Cell along with Inspector Sanjeev Solanki, Inspector Kusum, Inspector Suneel Siddhu and SI Manzoor Alam. (16) WITH + CS (COMM) 176/2021 & I.As. 14924/2022, 14925/2022 SNAPDEAL PRIVATE LIMITED..... Plaintiff Through: Ms. Tanya Varma & Ms. Devyani Nath, Advocates. (M:7042547106)
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GODADDYCOM LLC AND ORS..... Defendants Through: Mr. Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar, CGSC with Mr. Srish Kumar Mishra, Mr. Sagar Mehlawat Alexander Mathai Paikaday, Advocates (M: 9810788606). Ms. Shweta Sahu and Mr. Alipak Banerjee, Mr. Parava Khare and Mr. Brijesh Ujjainwal, Advs, for D- 2,3,4,23,26,31. (M:9987115749) 2023:DHC:2305 CS (COMM) 135/2022 & connected matters Mr. Darpan Wadhwa, Sr. Advocate with Mr. Moazzam Khan, Mr. Alipak Banerjee and Ms. Shweta Sahu, Advocates for D-1 & 10. Ms. Kruttika Vijay and Ms. Aishwarya Kane, Advocates for D-9. (M:9910083144) Mr. Praveen Kumar Jain & Ms. Shalini Jha, for D-34. (M:9871278525) Ms. Hetu Arora Sethi, ASC, GNCTD with Mr. Arjun Basra, Advocate Jai Prakash, ACP, IFSO Cyber Cell along with Inspector Sanjeev Solanki, Inspector Kusum, Inspector Suneel Siddhu and SI Manzoor Alam. (17) WITH + CS (COMM) 276/2021 & I.A. 7329/2021, 2596/2023, 4956/2023 MICROSOFT CORPORATION & ANR...... Plaintiffs Through: Mr. Pravin Anand, Mr. Saif Khan, Mr. Shantanu Sahay, Ms. Imon Roy and Mr. Apoorv Bansal, Advocates.
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TECH HERACLES OPC PRIVATE LIMITED & ORS...... Defendants Through: Ms. Hetu Arora Sethi, ASC, GNCTD with Mr. Arjun Basra, Advocate Jai Prakash, ACP, IFSO Cyber Cell along with Inspector Sanjeev Solanki, Inspector Kusum, Inspector Suneel Siddhu and SI Manzoor Alam. Mr Rajiv Kumar Malik, Mrs. Megha, Mr Deepanshu Nainwal, Advocates for D-1 to 3. (18) WITH + CS (COMM) 293/2021 & I.As.7543-44/2021, 10308/2021, 15052/2021 TATA SONS PRIVATE LIMITED & ANR...... Plaintiffs Through: Mr. Pravin Anand, Mr. Saif Khan Mr. 2023:DHC:2305 CS (COMM) 135/2022 & connected matters Achuthan Sreekumar & Mr. Rohil Bansal Advocates. (M:9079965359)
VERSUS
M/S ELECTRO INTERNATIONAL & ORS...... Defendants Through: Mr. M.K. Singh, Advocate for Mr. Samir Chugh, Advocates for Airtel (M- 9810455716) Ms. Deepika Kathuria, Adv. for D-8. Ms. Hetu Arora Sethi, ASC, GNCTD with Mr. Arjun Basra, Advocate Jai Prakash, ACP, IFSO Cyber Cell along with Inspector Sanjeev Solanki, Inspector Kusum, Inspector Suneel Siddhu and SI Manzoor Alam. (19) WITH + CS (COMM) 399/2021 & I.A. 10855/2021 HINDUSTAN UNILEVER LIMITED..... Plaintiff Through: Mr. Sidharth Chopra, Mr. Nitin Sharma, Mr. Yatin Garg, Mr. Ranjeet Singh, Mr. Vivek Ayyagari, Mr. Angad Makkar, Mr. M. J. Sudarshan, Ms. Ramya Aggarwal and Mr. Sohrab Mann, Advocates.
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NITIN KUMAR SINGH & ORS...... Defendants Through: Mr. Ankur Prakash, Ms. Simran Gill, Mr. Yudhishthir Bhardwaj, Mr. Dhananjay, Mr. Amod Bidhuri & Mr. Saquib Siddiqui, Advocates for D-1 Mr. Akshit Chaudhary, Advocate for D-5. Mr. Bhagwan Swarup Shukla, CGSC with Mr. Kamaldeep, Advocate for UOI/D-18 & 19. Mr. K.K. Singh, Advocate for D-27. Mr. K.R. Sasiprabhu and Mr. Tushar Bhardwaj, Advs for Reliance Jio. Ms. Hetu Arora Sethi, ASC, GNCTD 2023:DHC:2305 CS (COMM) 135/2022 & connected matters with Mr. Arjun Basra, Advocate Jai Prakash, ACP, IFSO Cyber Cell along with Inspector Sanjeev Solanki, Inspector Kusum, Inspector Suneel Siddhu and SI Manzoor Alam. (20) WITH + CS (COMM) 524/2021 & I.A. 13715/2021, 4506/2022 KAMDHENU LIMITED..... Plaintiff Through: Mr. Nikhil Sonker, Advocate. (M:7726021194)
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RAGHUNATH VIRDHARAM BISHNOI AND ORS..... Defendants Through: Mr. Rishabh Gupta and Mr. Abhishek Kumar Singh, Advocates. Mr. Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar, CGSC with Mr. Srish Kumar Mishra, Mr. Sagar Mehlawat Alexander Mathai Paikaday, Advocates (M: 9810788606). Mr. Lakshy Aggarwal, Advocate for D- 3. Mr. Neel Mason, Mr. Vihan Dang, and Ms. Aditi Umapathy, Advocate Mr. Rishi Kapoor and Mr. Satish Rai, Advocates for D-3. (M:8368148214) Ms. Shweta Sahu, Mr. Alipak Banjerjee, Mr. Parva Khare and Mr. Brijesh Ujjainwal, Advocates for D-8. (M:9987115749) Mr. K.G. Gopalakrishnan and Ms. Nisha Mohandas, Advocates for D-9. (M:8800556341) Mr. Vihan Dang, Ms. Aditi Umapathy and Mr. Parva Khare, Advocates for D- 10 (M-99101983636) Mr. Alipak Banjerjee, Ms. Pava Khare & Ms. Shweta Sahu Advs for D-8. Mr. K.R. Sasiprabhu and Mr. Tushar Bhardwaj, Advs. for Reliance Jio. 2023:DHC:2305 CS (COMM) 135/2022 & connected matters Ms. Hetu Arora Sethi, ASC, GNCTD with Mr. Arjun Basra, Advocate Jai Prakash, ACP, IFSO Cyber Cell along with Inspector Sanjeev Solanki, Inspector Kusum, Inspector Suneel Siddhu and SI Manzoor Alam. (21) WITH + CS (COMM) 26/2022 & I.As. 612-13/2022, 954/2022 HT MEDIA LTD..... Plaintiff Through: Mr. Sidharth Chopra, Mr. Nitin Sharma, Mr. Yatin Garg, Mr. Ranjeet Singh, Mr. Vivek Ayyagari, Mr. Angad Makkar, Mr. M. J. Sudarshan, Ms. Ramya Aggarwal and Mr. Sohrab Mann, Advocates. (M:8017571175)
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POOJA SHARMA & ORS...... Defendants Through: Mr. Pramod K. Sah, Advocate for D-4. Ms. Deepika Kathuria, Adv. for D-10. Mr. Alipak Banerjee, Ms. Shweta Sahu, Mr. Brijesh Ujjainwal, and Advs. for D-19. (M:9987115749) Mr. Vihan Dang, Ms. Aditi Umapathy and Mr. Parva Khare, Advocates for D-
20. (M:9911983636). Mr. M.K. Singh, Advocate for Mr. Samir Chugh, Advocate for Airtel. Ms. Hetu Arora Sethi, ASC, GNCTD with Mr. Arjun Basra, Advocate Jai Prakash, ACP, IFSO Cyber Cell along with Inspector Sanjeev Solanki, Inspector Kusum, Inspector Suneel Siddhu and SI Manzoor Alam. (22) WITH + CS (COMM) 35/2022 & I.As. 819/2022, 3168/2022, 4738/2022, 8767/2022 KAJARIA CERAMICS LIMITED..... Plaintiff Through: Mr. J. Sai Deepak, Ms. Priya Adlakha, 2023:DHC:2305 CS (COMM) 135/2022 & connected matters Mrs. Bindra Rana, Ms. Tanvi Bhatnagar, Ms. Rima Majumdar and Ms. Shilpi Sinha, Advocates. (M:9818202368)
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GODADDY.COM LLC & ORS...... Defendant Through: Mr. Moazzam Khan, Ms. Shweta Sahu, Mr. Alipak Banerjee and Ms. Parva Khare, Advs. for D-1. (M:9987115749) Ms. Hetu Arora Sethi, ASC, GNCTD with Mr. Arjun Basra, Advocate Jai Prakash, ACP, IFSO Cyber Cell along with Inspector Sanjeev Solanki, Inspector Kusum, Inspector Suneel Siddhu and SI Manzoor Alam. Mr. Ashwani Kumar, Adv. for D-2. Mr. Lakshy Aggarwal, Adv. for d-4 Ms. Kirti Bhardwaj, Adv. for D-5(b). Mr. M.K. Singh, Advocate for Mr. Samir, Advocate (M-9810455716) Mr. Santosh Kr. Rout, Mr. Pawan Kumar & Mr. Abhishek Chakraborty, Advocates for D-6. (23) WITH + CS (COMM) 158/2022 & I.As. 3996-97/2022, 3096/2023 MICROSOFT CORPORATION & ANR...... Plaintiff Through: Mr. Pravin Anand, Mr. Saif Khan, Mr. Shantanu Sahay, Ms. Imon Roy and Mr. Apoorv Bansal, Advocates.
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VACATION RENTAL SERVICES PRIVATE LIMITED & ORS...... Defendants Through: Mr. Mayank Mehandra, Mr. Charu Tandon & Mr. Sarthak Kapoor & Mr. Raghav Tandon, Advocate for D-1 & 2. Mr. Ramnish Khanna, Adv. for D-7. SI Manzoor Alam, Cyber Police Station, South-East. 2023:DHC:2305 CS (COMM) 135/2022 & connected matters Ms. Hetu Arora Sethi, ASC, GNCTD with Mr. Arjun Basra, Advocate Jai Prakash, ACP, IFSO Cyber Cell along with Inspector Sanjeev Solanki, Inspector Kusum, Inspector Suneel Siddhu and SI Manzoor Alam. (24) WITH + CS (COMM) 233/2022 & I.As. 5780-81/2022 BAJAJ FINACE LTD & ANR...... Plaintiffs Through: Mr. Sidharth Chopra, Mr. Nitin Sharma, Mr. Yatin Garg, Mr. Ranjeet Singh, Mr. Vivek Ayyagari, Mr. Angad Makkar, Mr. M. J. Sudarshan, Ms. Ramya Aggarwal and Mr. Sohrab Mann, Advocates.
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3. Mr. Lakshy Aggarwal, Advocate for D- 7. Mr. Neel Mason, Mr. V. Dang & Ms. Aditi, Advocates for D-3. (M:9971586598) Mr. M.K. Singh, Advocate for Mr. Samir Chugh, Advocate for Airtel. Ms. Hetu Arora Sethi, ASC, GNCTD with Mr. Arjun Basra, Advocate Jai Prakash, ACP, IFSO Cyber Cell along with Inspector Sanjeev Solanki, Inspector Kusum, Inspector Suneel Siddhu and SI Manzoor Alam. (25) WITH + CS (COMM) 275/2022 & I.As. 6535-36/2022 HINDUSTAN UNILEVER LTD & ANR...... Plaintiffs Through: Mr. Sidharth Chopra, Mr. Nitin Sharma, Mr. Yatin Garg, Mr. Ranjeet 2023:DHC:2305 CS (COMM) 135/2022 & connected matters Singh, Mr. Vivek Ayyagari, Mr. Angad Makkar, Mr. M. J. Sudarshan, Ms. Ramya Aggarwal and Mr. Sohrab Mann, Advocates.
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UNILEVERR[1].IN & ORS...... Defendants Through: Ms. Deepika Kathuria, Adv. for D-9. Mr. S. Surender, Advocate for D-21. Ms. Asiya Khan, Advocate for D-25 Mr. M.K. Singh, Advocate for Mr. Samir Chugh, Advocate for Airtel. Ms. Hetu Arora Sethi, ASC, GNCTD with Mr. Arjun Basra, Advocate Jai Prakash, ACP, IFSO Cyber Cell along with Inspector Sanjeev Solanki, Inspector Kusum, Inspector Suneel Siddhu and SI Manzoor Alam. (26) WITH + CS (COMM) 364/2022 & I.As. 8518-20/2022, 12855/2022 AMAZON SELLER SERVICES PRIVATE LIMITED & ANR...... Plaintiffs Through: Mr. Sidharth Chopra, Mr. Nitin Sharma, Mr. Yatin Garg, Mr. Ranjeet Singh, Mr. Vivek Ayyagari, Mr. Angad Makkar, Mr. M. J. Sudarshan, Ms. Ramya Aggarwal and Mr. Sohrab Mann, Advocates.
VERSUS
AMAZONBUYS.IN & ORS...... Defendants Through: Mr. G. Mirza, Mr. Vishesh Sharma, Advocates for D-4. (M:7434045442) Mr. Sohit Choudhary, Advocate for D- 5. Ms Yukti Gupta, Advocate for HDFC Bank Ms. Mrinal Ojha, Mr. Debarshi Dutta & Mr. Aayush Kevlani, Advocates for D- 8 (M-9167094381) 2023:DHC:2305 CS (COMM) 135/2022 & connected matters Ms. Deepika Kathuria, Adv. for D-10. Mr. Vineet Dhanda, CGSC with Mr. Abhishek Singh, Advocate for UOI/D- 18 & 19. Mr. M.K. Singh, Advocate for Mr. Samir Chugh, Advocate for Airtel. Ms. Hetu Arora Sethi, ASC, GNCTD with Mr. Arjun Basra, Advocate Jai Prakash, ACP, IFSO Cyber Cell along with Inspector Sanjeev Solanki, Inspector Kusum, Inspector Suneel Siddhu and SI Manzoor Alam. (27) WITH + CS (COMM) 475/2022 & I.As. 10851-52/2022, 12173-74/2022 FASHNEAR TECHNOLOGIES PRIVATE LIMITED..... Plaintiff Through: Mr. Sidharth Chopra, Mr. Nitin Sharma, Mr. Yatin Garg, Mr. Ranjeet Singh, Mr. Vivek Ayyagari, Mr. Angad Makkar, Mr. M. J. Sudarshan, Ms. Ramya Aggarwal and Mr. Sohrab Mann, Advocates.
VERSUS
MEESHO ONLINE SHOPPING PVT. LTD. & ANR...... Defendants Through: Mr. Neel Mason, Mr. Vihan Dang, and Ms. Aditi Umapathy, Advocate for D-6. Mr. Vihan Dang, Ms. Aditi Umapathy and Mr. Parva Khare, Advs. for D-10. Mr. Darpan Wadhwa, Sr. Advocate with Mr. Alipak Banerjee, Mr. Brijesh Ujjainwal & Ms. Shweta Sahu, Advocate for D-7. Mr. Anurag Ahluwalia, CGSC with Mr. Abhigyan Siddhant and Mr. Danish Faraz Khan, Advocates for D-19 & 20. (M:9999999045) Mr. K.R. Sasiprabhu and Mr. Tushar Bhardwaj, Advs for Reliance Jio. Ms. Hetu Arora Sethi, ASC, GNCTD 2023:DHC:2305 CS (COMM) 135/2022 & connected matters with Mr. Arjun Basra, Advocate Jai Prakash, ACP, IFSO Cyber Cell along with Inspector Sanjeev Solanki, Inspector Kusum, Inspector Suneel Siddhu and SI Manzoor Alam. (28) WITH + CS (COMM) 350/2020 & I.A. 7456/2020, 9624/2020, 9629/2020, 996/2021, 9204/2022, 16148/2022 GUJARAT COOPERATIVE MILK MARKETING FEDERATION LTD & ANR...... Plaintiff Through: Mr. Abhishek Singh and Mr. J. Amal Anand, Mr. Elvin Joshy, Ms. Alisha Sharma & Ms. Insha Mushtaq, Advocates. (M:9910291290)
VERSUS
AMUL-FRANCHISE.IN & ORS...... Defendant Through: Mr. Anil Soni, CGSC with Mr. Rahul Mourya, Adv. for UOI. (M:9560238258) Mr. Anurag Ahluwalia,, CGSC with Mr. Abhigyan Siddhant, G.P. and Mr. Danish Faraz Khan, Advocate for UOI. (M:9811418995) Mr. Neel Mason, Mr. Vihan Dang, and Ms. Aditi Umapathy, Advocate Mr. Alipak Banerjee & Ms. Shweta Sahu and Advocates for D-26. (M:9987115749) Mr. Alipak Banerjee, Mr. Brijesh and Ms. Shweta Shahu, Advocates for D- 27, 28 & 30. Mr. Praveen Kumar Jain, and Ms. Shalini Jha, Advocates for D-37. (M:9871278525) Mr. Ramesh Babu, Ms. Manisha Singh, Ms. Jagriti Bharti, and Ms. Tanya Chowdhary, Advocate for D-38 (M: 9971671294). 2023:DHC:2305 CS (COMM) 135/2022 & connected matters Mr. Vihan Dang and Mr. Parva Khare & Ms. Aditi Umapathy, Advs for D-52. Ms. Hetu Arora Sethi, ASC, GNCTD with Mr. Arjun Basra, Advocate Jai Prakash, ACP, IFSO Cyber Cell along with Inspector Sanjeev Solanki, Inspector Kusum, Inspector Suneel Siddhu and SI Manzoor Alam. (29) WITH + CS (COMM) 228/2021 & I.As. 6441/2021, 11684/2021, 1412- 13/2022, 12160/2022, 12171/2022, 13443/2022, 14920/2022, 14923/2022, 17716-17/2022, 3237/2023 BAJAJ FINANCE LIMITED..... Plaintiff Through: Mr. Abhishek Singh, Mr. Jamal Anand, Mr. Elvin Joshy, Ms. Insha Mushtaq Ms. Alisha Sharma & Mr. Ujjwal.
VERSUS
REGISTRANT OF WWW.BAJAJ-FINSERVE.ORG & ORS...... Defendants Through: Mr. Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar, CGSC with Mr. Srish Kumar Mishra, Mr. Sagar Mehlawat Alexander Mathai Paikaday, Advocates (M: 9810788606). Mr. Darpan Wadhwa, Sr. Advocate with Mr. Alipak Banerjee & Ms. Shweta Sahu and Advocates for D- 6,7,11,12,14,17 and 22. Mr. Manish Paliwal, and Ms. Himanshi Kaushik, Advocates for D-18. (M:8448257585) Mr. Akhil Sibal, Sr. Advocate with Mr. Aditya Gupta, Ms. Aishwarya, Mr. Sauhard Alung and Ms. Asvari Jain, Advocates for D-19. (M:9910083144) Mr. Rajshekhar Rao, Sr. Advocate with Mr. Tine Abraham, Mr. Manasa Sundaraman C., Ms. Kshipra Pyare and 2023:DHC:2305 CS (COMM) 135/2022 & connected matters Ms. Mansi Sood Trileyal, Advocates for D-28. (M:9324328752) Mr. Ashok Kumar, Advocate for D-31. (M:9810011826). Ms. Swati Aggarwal, Ms. Binsy Susan, Mr. Aasish Samasi and Mr. Mohit Singh, Advs. for GoDaddy. Ms. Hetu Arora Sethi, ASC, GNCTD with Mr. Arjun Basra, Advocate Jai Prakash, ACP, IFSO Cyber Cell along with Inspector Sanjeev Solanki, Inspector Kusum, Inspector Suneel Siddhu and SI Manzoor Alam. CORAM: JUSTICE PRATHIBA M. SINGH Prathiba M. Singh (Oral)
1. This hearing has been done through hybrid mode.
2. These matters relate to domain names being registered by unknown third parties infringing trademark right of various brand owners and implementation of court orders by the Domain Name Registrars (‘DNR’). From time to time, various directions have been passed by this Court in respect of blocking and locking of the infringing domain names, and implementation of court orders by various DNRs, which may or may not be located in India.
3. Vide previous order dated 10th February, 2023, the following directions were issued: “8. In view of the aforementioned facts which have come to light through MEITY’s status report, the submissions made before this Court from time to time and the e-mails which have been placed on record today, such as e-mails by Namecheap Inc, it is clear that stringent steps would be required to be taken, in order to curb the menace of illegal domain name registrations having well known marks and names of business 2023:DHC:2305 CS (COMM) 135/2022 & connected matters houses. It is accordingly directed that MEITY/DoT/the appropriate authority shall take steps action in accordance with the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 against DNRs who do not agree to comply with the said Rules or do not appoint grievance officers or implement orders of Indian Courts/Authorities.
9. Ld. Counsel for the Plaintiffs are free to communicate with the official from MEITY Mr. Pradip Verma, who shall act as the nodal officer for this purpose to coordinate with DoT and any other authorities, at the e-mail address pradip.verma@meity.in and submit their respective lists of DNRs who are stated to be not complying with the orders passed by this Court and not appointing the grievance officers.
10. It is directed that the concerned MEITY/DOT officials shall peruse the various orders which are passed in these proceedings prior to taking any action under the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021. Steps in respect thereof, in terms of Rules be taken within four weeks. The action so taken shall be placed on record by MEITY by means of a status report by the next date of hearing.”
4. Pursuant to the above order, today, a status report dated 25th March, 2023 has been placed on record on behalf of MeitY, which has been signed by Mr. V. Chinnaswami, Scientist, MeitY. The following aspects and stand of the MeitY have been elaborated upon in the said status report: i. The first aspect that has been considered in the status report is in respect of action that can be taken by ICANN against the DNRs which do not give effect to orders of the court of competent jurisdiction. The status report informs the Court that MeitY had followed up with ICANN in respect of issued involving domain name infringement and non-compliance of court orders by DNRs. 2023:DHC:2305 CS (COMM) 135/2022 & connected matters By reply dated 31st January, 2023, the clarification given by the ICANN is to the following effect:
5. The RBI has also placed its affidavit on record in respect of the direction passed by this Court on 10th February, 2023 to the following effect:
6. The RBI’s affidavit which is sworn by Mr. Ajay Abrol, Assistant General Manager, Department of Supervision (Banking), RBI states that in 2023:DHC:2305 CS (COMM) 135/2022 & connected matters view of the manner in which names of account holders can be spelt, there can be mismatch of spellings in the names and, as a result a large number of transactions could get rejected, if the matching of beneficiary name with the account number is mandated. However, the affidavit adds as under:
7. Insofar as the RBI is concerned, ld. Counsel Mr. Ramesh Babu shall obtain instructions as to whether there are any timelines in respect of feasibility of introduction of the facilities of beneficiary name lookup at the time of origination of transaction in case of RTGS, NEFT and IMPS, both in online and offline modes. Let an additional affidavit in respect of the said timelines be placed on record, if any. 2023:DHC:2305 CS (COMM) 135/2022 & connected matters
8. Ld. counsels for the Plaintiffs have also brought to the notice of this Court the orders passed by the ld. single judges of this Court in Star India Pvt. Ltd. v. 7MOVIERULZ.TC & Ors. CS (COMM) 604/2022and Star India Pvt. Ltd. & Anr. v. MHDTV.WORLD and Ors., CS (COMM) 567/2022. In the said cases, orders were passed directing DoT and Meity to take action for non compliance of Court orders qua five DNRs i.e. NameCheap Inc., Dynadot, LLC, Tucows Inc., Gransy s.r.o and, Sarek Oy. Upon the orders being passed, an application is stated to have been filed by NameCheap Inc. agreeing to give effect to the court orders passed in India.
9. The issues raised by MeitY in its status report as also the issues being considered by this Court on behalf of several IP owners and DNRs, raise various questions in respect of how to give effect to orders passed by Indian Court, especially by DNRs, who specifically take a stand that they would only be bound by orders passed by the competent Courts within their own jurisdiction.
10. Considering the stand of MeitY and the provisions of the applicable laws, the counsels may make their submissions on the next date of hearing as to the manner in which final orders can be passed in these suits so as to ensure that the orders of injunction, which are passed in respect of infringing domain names are given effect to by DNRs and all other authorities, in a manner so as to ensure that more and more consumers are not misled.
11. The written submissions on behalf of the Plaintiffs shall be compiled by Mr. Siddharth Chopra, ld. Counsel for the Plaintiff and by Mr. Banerjee, ld. Counsel on behalf of the Defendants. The same shall be placed before this Court. Written submissions on behalf of the Union of India shall be filed separately by Mr. Harish Shankar, ld. CGSC. 2023:DHC:2305 CS (COMM) 135/2022 & connected matters
12. List for further hearing on 26th May, 2023 at 3:00 pm.
13. List CS (COMM) 158/2022, before the Registrar on 27th April, 2023 to enable the re-issuance of summons to the Defendant who is located in the USA.
14. List, CS (COMM) 276/2021 & 293/2021, before the Registrar on 27th April, 2023.
15. These are part heard matters.
PRATHIBA M. SINGH JUDGE MARCH 27, 2023 DK/DJ