BRISTOL MYERS SQUIBB COMPANY Vs. V.C. BHUTADA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is an application by the Defendant No. 2 under Section 20 read with Order VII Rule 10 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 ('CPC') seeking return of the plaint to the Plaintiff for presentation in the appropriate court.

(2.) The background to the present application is that the aforementioned suit has been filed by Bristol Myers Squibb Company (Plaintiff No.1) and Bristol Myers Squibb India Private Limited (Plaintiff No.2) against Mr. V.C. Bhutada, the Managing Director ('MD') of Shilpa Medicare Limited (Defendant Nos.1 and 2 respectively), both located at Raichur, Karnataka and Natco Pharma Limited (Defendant No.3), having its office in Hyderabad and also shown as operating from D-70, Okhla Industrial Area, Okhla Phase-I, New Delhi. The prayer in the suit is for a permanent injunction restraining infringement of Indian patent No. 203937, damages, rendition of accounts and delivery up.

(3.) The Plaintiffs state that Plaintiff No.1was founded under its present name in the year 1989 as a result of a merger between Bristol Myers Company and John Ripley Myers and Squibb Corporation, both stated to be pharmaceutical giants. Plaintiff No.1 has its principal place of business in New York, USA. Plaintiff No.2 was incorporated under the Indian Companies Act 1956, and has its registered office in Mumbai. It is stated that Plaintiff No.2 also carries on business from its office at Barakhamba Road, New Delhi. Plaintiff No.2 is a subsidiary of Plaintiff No.1 and markets pharmaceutical products in the domestic market. It is stated that the Plaintiffs have a strong presence in various therapeutic areas, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, psychiatric disorders, Alzheimer's disease, hepatitis, HIV/AIDS and rheumatoid arthritis.