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Synopsis

The Delhi High Court, recently, granted an ad-interim injunction to Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of India TV, Rajat Sharma against Ravindra Kumar Choudhary, and all those acting on their behalf from using the mark/logo ‘Adalat’ or any other trademark/logo deceptively similar to IndiaTV trademark/logo, ‘Aap Ki Adalat’, and other attendant reliefs.

The bench of Justice Anish Dayal held, “Plaintiff has made out a prima facie case for the grant of an ex parte ad interim injunction till the next date of hearing. Balance of convenience lies in favour of plaintiff, and they are likely to suffer irreparable harm in case the injunction, as prayed for, is not granted”. 

An application was filed under Order XXXIX Rules 1 and 2 of the Civil Procedure Code (CPC) as part of the accompanying suit seeking a decree of permanent injunction to restrain Ravindra Kumar Choudhary and all those acting on his behalf from using the mark/logo ‘Adalat’ or any other trademark/logo deceptively similar to the IndiaTV trademark/logo, ‘Aap Ki Adalat’, along with other attendant reliefs.

The grievance was against Ravindra Kumar Choudhary, a self-proclaimed political satirist who created and published various video and audio content on social media, including on their platforms.

The IndiaTV company was incorporated in 1997 by its Chairman and Editor-in-Chief, Rajat Sharma. In 2002, the IndiaTV company received permission from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, to uplink its 24-hour Hindi news channel called ‘India TV’. The mark ‘India TV’ was coined by Rajat Sharma.

IndiaTV, represented by Senior Advocate Rajiv Nayyar, was aggrieved by the use of a deceptively similar mark by Ravindra Kumar Choudhary, including one of the principal and popular programs, ‘Aap Ki Adalat’. Senior Advocate Rajiv Nayyar stated that the manner in which Ravindra Kumar Choudhary used the impugned trademark/logo for social media posts was identical to the manner in which India TV had been using the mark on his channels.

The court provided the following reliefs to India TV:

• Ravindra Kumar Choudhary, along with all those acting on his behalf, was restrained from using or dealing with the disputed trademark/logo "Baap ki Adalat" or any other trademark/logo deceptively similar to India TV's trademarks/logos in any manner, including as a trademark, trading style, domain name, social media posts, or audio-video content, which would infringe upon the statutory and common law rights of  India TV.
• Ravindra Kumar Choudhary, along with all those acting on his behalf, was restrained from using or dealing with the photograph, video, and name of Rajat Sharma in any manner, including as a trademark, trading style, domain name, social media posts, or audio-video content, which would violate the personality rights of Rajat Sharma.
• Ravindra Kumar Choudhary was directed to remove the disputed content, including social media posts and links containing the trademark/logo "Baap ki Adalat" or any other trademark/logo deceptively similar to India TV’s trademarks/logos.

Accordingly, the court listed the matter for October 18, 2024 for further hearing.

Case Title: Independent News Service Private Ltd & Anr. v Ravindra Kumar Choudhary & Ors.