Court restrains defendants from marketing products under "RASANAND SCHEZWAN CHUTNEY," recognizing plaintiff's exclusive rights and goodwill in the registered trademark.
In a significant ruling delivered on August 25, 2026, the Delhi High Court, presided over by Justice Jyoti Singh, granted an ex parte ad interim injunction in favor of Capital Foods Private Limited, restraining Patson Foods (India) Private Limited and its associated entities from using the trademark "SCHEZWAN CHUTNEY" or any deceptively similar marks on identical products.
The suit filed by Capital Foods, a renowned FMCG company acquired by Tata Consumer Products Limited, alleges that the defendants have unlawfully adopted and used the plaintiff's registered trademark "SCHEZWAN CHUTNEY" on their products, causing confusion among consumers and infringing upon the plaintiff's intellectual property rights under Section 29 of the Trade Marks Act, 1999.
The plaintiff demonstrated that the mark "SCHEZWAN CHUTNEY," coined in 2012, has gained substantial goodwill and secondary significance in the market through continuous and extensive use. The Court took note of the plaintiff's extensive promotional activities, including celebrity endorsements by Mr. Ranveer Singh and others, significant advertising expenditure running into crores of rupees, and impressive sales turnover exceeding Rs. 186 crores in 2024-25, all contributing to the mark's strong consumer association and reputation.
The defendants, part of the Patson Group with shared directors and promoters, marketed their products under the mark "RASANAND SCHEZWAN CHUTNEY." However, the Court found that the prominent use of "SCHEZWAN CHUTNEY" by the defendants with their brand name in smaller font was misleading and likely to deceive the average consumer, thus amounting to passing off and trademark infringement.
Despite an earlier acknowledgment by the defendants about the plaintiff's rights and an undertaking to cease usage, the defendants continued to manufacture and sell the infringing products, including online sales through their website. The Court observed that this conduct was mala fide and intended to ride on the formidable goodwill of the plaintiff's mark.
Justice Jyoti Singh held that the plaintiff had made out a prima facie case for grant of interim relief, balancing the convenience in favor of the plaintiff and recognizing the irreparable harm caused by the defendants' actions. Consequently, the Court restrained the defendants from selling, marketing, or offering for sale any products bearing the mark "SCHEZWAN CHUTNEY" or any deceptively similar mark until the next hearing.
The judgment underscores the importance of protecting intellectual property rights and the goodwill of established brands in India's competitive FMCG sector. It serves as a strong deterrent against unauthorized use of registered trademarks and reinforces the legal remedies available under the Trade Marks Act, 1999 to uphold brand integrity.
Bottom Line:
Intellectual Property - Trademark infringement and passing off - Use of trademark "SCHEZWAN CHUTNEY" by defendants for identical products amounts to infringement of plaintiff's registered trademark and passing off - Interim injunction granted restraining defendants from using the mark "SCHEZWAN CHUTNEY" or any deceptively similar mark.
Statutory provision(s):
Trade Marks Act, 1999 Section 29, Commercial Courts Act, 2015 Section 12A, Code of Civil Procedure Section 151, Order XXXIX Rules 1 and 2 CPC
