TARSEM AND COMPANY Vs. VIRDI MOTORS PRIVATE LIMITED

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Through this appeal, the appellants (the defendants in the suit) assail the correctness of the order of the Additional District Judge, Amritsar, passed under Order XXXIX Rule 1 and 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (hereinafter referred to as "CPC") while restraining them from using their registered trademarks "Virdi Pump Industries", "T.S.Virdi Pumps Private Limited" and "T.S.Virdi" in a suit filed by the plaintiff/respondents. Before this Bench proceeds further, it would be appropriate to draw a small pedigree table in order to understand inter-se relationship between the parties:

(2.) It is evident that the plaintiffs and the defendants are companies or firms floated by the members of family having a common ancestor namely late Sh. Karan Singh Virdi except M/s Durga Sales. These firms and companies are owned by the family members. The plaintiffs filed a suit claiming that the company is manufacturing, selling and marketing electric motors, motors, mono block pumps, pumping sets (inclusive of submersible pumps and sewage submersible pumps for irrigational, industrial and domestic use), sanitary fungus pumps, grinders and polishing motors and parts thereof. The company initially started using the trademark "Virdi" in the year 1960 and after that the trade name "Virdi Motors Private Limited" and subsequently, the trademark "Virdi Pumps Private Limited" was being used. The company got its trademark "Virdi" and subsequently, the trademark "Virdi" in the Cursive writing, registered. It is claimed that in the month of August, 2020, the defendants started using a deceptively similar name. Formerly, the defendants were working under the name "Surya Pump Industries" but now they have started writing "Virdi Pump Industries Private Limited" and "T.S.Virdi Pump Limited".

(3.) Per Contra, the defendants contested the suit while asserting that the plaintiffs have not come to the Court with clean hands. It was pointed out that the Director of the plaintiff-company is the younger brother of defendant-Tarsem Singh Virdi and it was he (Tarsem Singh Virdi) who along with his father Karam Singh Virdi promoted the plaintiff company; and established the business and the impugned trademark. Subsequently, Tarsem Singh started his own business while allowing Rajwinder Singh to become the Director in the plaintiff company. It has further been pointed out that Tarsem Singh also has a proprietorship firm "Tarsem and Company" whose name was later on changed to "Texla Pump Hi-Power Industries". Besides this, Tarsem Singh Virdi has obtained registration of trademarks, namely "T.S.Virdi" vide registration No. 3979077, "Virdi Pump Industries" vide registration No. 4043492, "VPI" vide registration No 4234620 and 4408370. The defendants are old businessmen having established their business in manufacturing and marketing of the electric pumps, submersible pumps, electric motors and allied products, besides providing installations and repairing services for the same. The other defendants Jagdeep Singh Virdi and Mandeep Singh Virdi are the sons of Tarsem Singh Virdi, whereas Smt.Harmeet Kaur is the wife of Mandeep Singh Virdi son of Tarsem Singh Virdi. They have been using the trademark, namely "Virdi Pump Industries" bonafidely and honestly since 6/4/2015. It was further pointed out that a firm run by Smt. Rajwinder Kaur i.e. M/s King Sales has been purchasing the products manufactured by the defendants and she never raised any objection. It has further been pointed out that Virdi is an integral part of their name as it is a family name/surname and therefore, in view of Sec. 35 of the Trade Marks Act, 1999 Act (hereinafter referred to as "the 1999 Act"), no one can claim an exclusive right to use the expression "Virdi".