The Delhi High Court has declared ITC Limited’s ‘Bukhara’ as a well-known trademark under Section 2(zg) read with Section 11(2) of the Trade Marks Act and also directed the Registrar of Trademarks to add the same to the list of well-known marks following the completion of required formalities.

The court observed that the attribute of certain trademarks attaining the status of ‘well-known marks’ had been acknowledged by courts in India for about three decades.

ITC had filed a case against a Gurgaon restaurant claiming that the usage of the mark ‘Balk Bukhara’ is an infringement of its trademark. Additionally, ITC sought a declaration of its mark ‘Bukhara’ as a well-known mark.

Justice Prathiba M. Singh also observed that there is no doubt that ‘Bukhara’ was a well-known mark as the restaurant has won numerous awards and has had celebrities visiting from across the globe.

Defending ‘Balm Bukhara’, Advocates Peeyoosh Kalra and Nikita Anand informed the court that the mark ‘Bukhara’ had not been protected by courts in the USA.

Whereas, the court said as the mark ‘Bukhara’ originated in India, the judgments from USA courts would not be applicable in India’s context.

“It enjoys substantial goodwill and reputation not only among Indians but also among foreigners who travel to India and carry back the said reputation,” said the court.

Further, the court restrained the defendants from using the mark ‘Balk Bukhara’ or any other similar mark in any form and directed them to change the items or places where the mark appears before December 31, 2022.

The defendants, however, agreed not to use the mark or any other mark with the word ‘Bukhara’ for their hotel, restaurant, or other hospitality services.

The political tussle between Congress and BJP has intensified with respect to the ‘politics of performance’. While Congress is constantly trying to put the Modi government in the dock regarding the economic condition of the country and rising inflation, BJP claims that their government has fared much better in the domain of economy.

Comparing the size of the country’s economy in the tenures of UPA and NDA governments, BJP expressed on twitter that during 10 years of the UPA government, India moved up just one notch as the world’s largest economy. On the other hand, the Indian economy has climbed up five places to become the world’s fifth largest economy in just eight-and-a-half years of under Modi.

India moved from 11th to 10th largest economy in ten years of UPA while India has moved from 10th to 5th largest economy in eight and half years of BJP-led NDA.

The Anti extortion cell (AEC) of the Mumbai Police on Tuesday said that it has arrested Underworld gangster and Dawood Ibrahim’s close aide Chhota Shakeel’s relative Salim Qureshi alias Salim Fruit in a fresh case of land grabbing.

The police said a family based in South Africa had filed a complaint saying that their property in the Umerkhadi area of South Mumbai was allegedly grabbed by preparing fake documents. A case under relevant sections of the IPC was registered by the Economic Offence Wing of the city police and it was later transferred to the AEC.

Initial investigations revealed the involvement of five people including Salim Fruit in the matter following which the police arrested the suspects, an official said.

The police said the complainant had said that his property which is worth over Rs 25 crore was grabbed by making fake documents. The property was originally owned by his father.

“Salim Fruit was lodged in jail. He had been arrested by the NIA in a previous case. With the court’s permission, we have taken him into our custody and he is arrested in the matter,” said DCP Prashant Kadam.

The police said the arrested suspects were produced before a court that sent them to police custody. Further investigations into the matter are going on.