Capital Foods Private Limited, a leading food enterprise and associate of TATA Group pioneering 'Desi Chinese' cuisine, adopted and registered the trademark 'SCHEZWAN CHUTNEY' in 2012 for sauces with copyright in trade dress, achieving secondary significance per prior court order, significant sales of Rs. 18,677 lakhs and promotion expenses of Rs. 1,599.96 lakhs in FY 2024-25; discovered in May 2025 that defendant Spice Nest Impex was manufacturing and selling identical products under the same mark via websites and e-commerce, sent cease notices met with refusal claiming descriptiveness; filed commercial suit for infringement, passing off, seeking injunction. Court granted procedural reliefs including extension for court fee, exemption from pre-institution mediation due to urgency, filing dim documents and additional documents; registered plaint as suit, issued summons with 30-day WS deadline; on ex-parte IA hearing, found prima facie triple identity in mark, goods, channels causing confusion, irreparable harm to plaintiff, balance of convenience favoring it; granted ad-interim injunction restraining defendant from using 'SCHEZWAN CHUTNEY' or similar marks, but permitted 'SCHEZWAN SAUCE' per plaintiff's concession, with notice and compliance under Order XXXIX Rule 3 CPC, listing for further dates.
- Prior registered trademark with acquired secondary significance warrants ex-parte ad-interim injunction against identical impugned mark on identical goods due to triple identity and likelihood of confusion: Capital Foods Private Limited vs Spice Nest Impex Private Limited, Para 29.
- Exemption from mandatory pre-institution mediation under Section 12A of Commercial Courts Act, 2015, permissible in suits seeking urgent interim relief as per Yamini Manohar v. T.K.D. Keerthi: Capital Foods Private Limited vs Spice Nest Impex Private Limited, Para 5.
- Plaintiff entitled to protection against passing off where defendant's adoption lacks plausible explanation other than riding on goodwill: Capital Foods Private Limited vs Spice Nest Impex Private Limited, Para 24.2.
Case Title: Capital Foods Private Limited Vs Spice Nest Impex Private Limited:18.12.2025:CS(COMM) 1358/2025: Hon'ble Ms. Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora
[Readers are advised not to treat this as substitute for legal advise as it may contain errors in perception, interpretation, and presentation]
[Written By: Advocate Ajay Amitabh Suman, IP Adjutor [Patent and Trademark Attorney], High Court of Delhi]
