The Delhi High Court dismissed the appeals filed by Sabu Trade Private Limited and members of the Sabu family, thereby upholding the interim injunction granted in favour of Rajkumar Sabu concerning the use of the trademark “SACHAMOTI” and its associated label.
A Division Bench comprising Justice V. Kameswar Rao and Justice Vinod Kumar found no reason to interfere with the order of the Single Judge dated March 5, 2024, which had restrained the appellants from using the disputed mark. The Bench observed that Rajkumar Sabu holds valid registrations over the “SACHAMOTI” mark and related artistic label under various classes since 2003, and that his claim was supported by documentary evidence demonstrating prior and continuous use.
The Court rejected the appellants’ contention that they were the prior users of the mark under Sabu Trade Pvt. Ltd., noting that the matter involved intra-family disputes over ownership and use rights. Emphasizing that appellate courts should not ordinarily interfere with discretionary interim orders unless shown to be perverse or arbitrary, the Bench ruled that the Single Judge’s findings were based on settled legal principles.
Accordingly, both appeals were dismissed, and related applications seeking to vacate the injunction, introduce new evidence, and modify the interim directions were disposed of as infructuous.
The Bench clarified that its observations were prima facie and would not affect the outcome of the pending suits before the Single Judge.
Appearances:
For the Appellant: Mr. J Sai Deepak, Sr. Advocate with Mr. Lalltaksh Joshi, Mr. Luv Virmani, Ms. Ananya Sanjiv Saraogi, Advocates.
For the Respondent: Mr. Chander Lall, Sr. Advocate with Mr. Divyakant Lahoti, Ms. Vindhya Mehra, Ms. Samridhi Bhatt and Ms. Ananya Mohan, Advocates.
