( 1 ) THE applicant/plaintiff has been carrying on his business of arranging tour programmes to various religious places all over India under the name and style of shri shiv Shankar Tirath Yatra Company since 1981. It also got the declaration and registration of the said trade name on 26/02/1990 under the provisions of Indian registration Act and also got it registered as an artistic work under the provisions of Indian Copyright Act on 20th june, 1990.

( 2 ) THROUGH this application the applicant/plaintiff seeks injunction against the defendants as the latter has given an advertisement in the newspaper that shri Shiv shankar Tirath Yatra Company Private Limited has arranged a tour programme for Chaar Dham Yatra. The plaintiff was hocked to come across the said advertisement and after inspecting the records of the Registrar of Companies came to know that the company under the name and style of Shri shiv Shankar Tirath Yatra Company Private Limited was also registered on 16/06/2000 and its Directors are Ami chand Bhardwaj, defendant no. 2 and his son Shri Shyam sunder Bhardwaj. Shri Ami Chand Bhardwaj is the same person who had worked as a Halwai for cooking food under the plaintiff for 10 long years on the various tour programmes arranged by the plaintiff.

( 3 ) IT is alleged that the defendants have deliberately adopted the same trade name as that of the plaintiff/applicant and got it registered dishonestly and fraudulently and has now started passing off their own business as that of the plaintiff, resulting in unjust enrichment to the defendant and causing irreparable loss and injury to the plaintiff/applicant. The customers and the public are likely to suffer on account of want of proper and efficient services as they are bound to be confused that the tours are being arranged by the plaintiff.

( 4 ) THE defendant has admitted that it has registered its trade name under the name and style of Shri shiv Shankar Tirath Yatra Company Private Limited but at the same time has defended its action on the ground that every person has a right to use the same either by itself or in combination with other words as these words are religious and are, therefore, public! juris. He has taken refuge under several such deceptively similar or near similar names being used by various other persons some of which are jai Shiv Shankar Tirath Yatra Company ; om shiv Shankar Tirath Company and om Shiv Shankar Char dham Yatra Company Private Limited .

( 5 ) ACCORDING to the defendants the adoption and user of the same name as the plaintiff has been using for its business and and trade is honest, bonafide and is in his own rights. However so far claim of the applicant/plaintiff as to its reputation and the goodwill of the plaintiff s trade name since 1981 and its continuous, extensive, open and exclusive business under the aforementioned trade name is concerned, there is only a bald denial and not specific one. According to the defendants the registration under the Indian Registration act has no legal consequences as the same does not confer any legal right.

( 6 ) THE circumstance that the defendant had been employed with the plaintiff/applicant for 10 long years when the tour programmes were being conducted by the plaintiff/applicant under the trade name of shri Shiv shankar Tirath Yatrat Company shows that the defendant has conscious knowledge about its continuous, long and extensive use of the trade name.

( 7 ) TO support his contention that the impugned trade name is a generic term and publici juric, the learned counsel for the defendant has relied upon (i) rupee Gains Tele-Times Private Limited Vs. Rupee Times 1995 PTC (15) 384 and (ii) Competition Reviewcp) Limited vs. N. N. Ojha 1996 PTC (16) 124. In Rupee Gain s case the question for determination was whether the word RUPEE is a distinctive word or a generic word. The action for passing off was preferred for restraining the respondents from. publishing its paper as Rupee T