The owner of a registered trade mark has an exclusive right to use the trade mark in relation to the goods in respect of which the trade mark is registered.

( 1 ) THIS is an appeal from Judgment and Order dated 14-5-1992 passed by the learned Trial Judge on an application under Article 226 of the Constitution, made by the respondents challenging the show-cause notice dated 3-3-1992 as also the letter dated 9-3-1992 issued pursuant to the said show-cause notice which have been impugned in the writ proceedings. The learned Trial Judge allowed the writ application and quashed the show-cause notice dated 3-3-1992 and also the letter dated 9-3-1992 issued pursuant to the said show-cause notice.

( 2 ) THE respondents (hereinafter referred to as the writ petitioner) are the manufacturers of mechanical power transmission equipments including 'vulkan' Diaphragm Couplings (Flexible) (hereinafter referred to as the said product ). The writ petitioner is the registered proprietor of the trade mark 'vulkan' duly registered under the Trade and Merchandise Marks Act, 1958, and possesses Registration Certificate No. 357127 dated 4-1-1980 issued by the Registrar of Trade Marks.

( 3 ) THE case of the writ petitioner before the Trial Court was that it had the exclusive right and authority to use the said registered trade mark 'vulkan' in relation to manufacture, sale and supply or distribution of the said product and its spares all over the country. The writ petitioner was a small scale industrial unit and as such was entitled to certain exemption of central excise duty by virtue of a Notification No. 175/86-C. E. , dated 1-3-1986 as amended. The further case of the writ petitioner before the Trial Court was that the writ petitioner was granted necessary Central Excise Licence, bearing No. L-4/24/chapter-8483/r-6/call-1/86 dated 8-8-1986.

( 4 ) SOMETIME in February 1992 various search and seizure proceedings were carried out by the Officials of the Central Excise Department at the writ petitioner's factory sites at Taratala Road and Beliaghata Road. Ultimately on 3-3-1992 a notice to show cause was issued to the writ petitioner from the office of the Assistant Collector of Central Excise. The main charge in the said notice to show cause was that the writ petitioner's establishment, M/s. ESBI Transmission Private Ltd. , had established themselves as designers and manufacturers in India for producing 'vulkan' Diaphragm Couplings (Flexible) with their own designs and rights for supplying the said couplings in this country and as the said concern of the writ petitioner carried on manufacturing of the specified goods with a brand name or a trade name of another person who was not eligible for the grant of exemption under the Notification, the writ petitioner was also not entitled to any exemption under the said Notification dated 1-3-1986 as amended. The learned Trial Judge found as a fact that there was no dispute that the writ petitioner had availed of the benefits of the said Notification dated 1-3-1986 as amended, from time to time by virtue of the fact that the writ petitioner was a small scale industrial unit and it was allowed the benefit of the exemption extended by that Notification. The learned Trial Judge also found that the writ petitioner had used a brand name of its own, of which it was the registered owner under the Trade and Merchandise Marks Act, 1958, and the writ petitioner was the owner of a registered trade mark 'vulkan' by virtue of the provisions of the Trade and Merchandise Marks Act, 1958, in particular Section 28 thereof. As such the writ petitioner had acquired an exclusive right to the use of the trade mark in relation to the goods in respect of which the trade mark was registered. Accordingly, as held by the learned Trial Judge, the writ petitioner was entitled to obtain relief against any person in respect of infringement of the trade mark in the manner provided by the Trade and Merchandise Marks Act, 1958, and, therefore, no other person apart from the writ petitioner was entitled to use that trade mark. It was further found by the learned Tria