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2019 Supreme(Del) 2597
IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI
PRATHIBA M. SINGH, J.
Amway India Enterprises Pvt Ltd - Appellant
Versus
Img Technologies Pvt Ltd And Another - Respondent
Civil Suit (O S) No. 410, 453, 480, 531, 550 of 2018, 75, 91 of 2019
Decided on : 08-07-2019
Advocate Appeared:
Sudhir Chandra, Advocate, Sohan Singh Rana, Advocate, Bindra Rana, Advocate, Priya Adlakha, Advocate, Tulip De, Advocate, Ashish Sharma, Advocate, Ruhee Passi, Advocate, Sagar Chandra, Advocate, Ishani Chandra, Advocate, Shubhie Wahi, Advocate, Sudarshan Rajan, Advocate, Ramesh Rawat, Advocate, Siddharth Batra, Advocate, Garima Sehgal, Advocate, Vishwajeet Arora, Advocate, Prateek Tewari, Advocate, Dayan Krishnan, Advocate, Nitin Sharma, Advocate, Sanjeev Seshadri, Advocate, Disha Sharma, Advocate, Rajiv Nayar, Advocate, Priya Kumar, Advocate, C.D. Mulherkar, Advocate, Shailabh Tiwari, Advocate, Tejas Chhabra, Advocate, Chanakya Diwedi, Advocate, Sandeep Sethi, Advocate, Prince Pawaiya, Advocate, Prema Arora, Advocate, Peri Surya Yashodhara, Advocate, Karan Chopra, Advocate, Saikrishna Rajagopal, Advocate, Sneha Jain, Advocate, Savni Dutt, Advocate, Devvrat Joshi, Advocate, Nilofar Absar, Advocate, Abhiti Vachher, Advocate, Amita Gupta, Advocate, Anand Chichra, Advocate, Darpan Wadhwa, Advocate, Ankur Sangal, Advocate, Sucheta Roy, Advocate, Amit Sibal, Advocate, Pooja Dodd, Advocate, Saksham Dhingra, Advocate, Vinay Tripathi, Advocate, Aditi Menon, Advocate, Aman Singhal, Advocate, Sidharth Chopra, Advocate, Abhijit Vachher, Advocate, Balbir Singh, Advocate, Mahesh B. Chhibber, Advocate, Mehak Khanna, Advocate, S.N. Thyagrajan, Advocate, Jayant Mehta, Advocate, Manav Kumar, Advocate, Nupur, Advocate, Sajal Jain, Advocate, Waize Ali Noor, Advocate
JUDGMENT :
Prathiba M. Singh, J.
I.A. 11335/2018 (u/Order XXXIX Rules 1 and 2) in CS(OS) 410/2018
CS(OS) 453/2018 and I.A. 12419/18 (for stay) and 14613/18 (u/O VII Rule 11 CPC)
I.A.13159/2018 (u/Order XXXIX Rules 1 and 2) in CS(OS) 480/2018
I.A.14402/2018 (u/Order XXXIX Rules 1 and 2) in CS(OS) 531/2018
I.A. 14858/2018 (u/Order XXXIX Rules 1 and 2) in CS(OS) 550/2018
I.A.1733/2019 (u/Order XXXIX Rules 1 and 2) in CS(OS) 75/2019
I.A.2238/2019 (u/Order XXXIX Rules 1 and 2) in CS(OS) 91/2019
A. INTRODUCTION
1. The old adage, which translates to "with great power comes great responsibility", popularised by a famous movie based on a comic book series, in modern day world would be applicable to e-commerce platforms, which have penetrated all forms of trade, commerce and businesses. The contribution of e-commerce in providing accessible global platforms for traders, craftsmen, traditional artists, home designers, housewives etc., along with the credit for creation of large infrastructural facilities such as warehouses, transportation, etc., as also employment for thousands of people, is well acknowledged. However, there are certain safeguards that need to be followed so as to ensure that existing businesses and trades are not adversely impacted by the growth of e-commerce, without requisite checks in place. The present cases highlight the conflict that can arise between one such existing form of business/trade viz., Direct Selling Businesses and e-commerce platforms. The legal complexities in this conflict involve Constitutional issues, intellectual property rights, information technology laws, consumer protection laws, contractual laws, law of torts, and other applicable guidelines.
2. A batch of seven suits raising overlapping issues were heard together. The same have been filed by three Plaintiffs viz., M/s Amway India Enterprises Pvt. Ltd. (hereinafter, 'Amway'), M/s Modicare Ltd. (hereinafter, 'Modicare') and M/s Oriflame India Pvt. Ltd. (hereinafter, 'Oriflame') against various entities who are either running e-commerce platforms or are sellers on the said platforms, in the following manner:
| CS(OS) 410/2018 and I.A. No.11335/2018 | ||
| PLAINTIFF | DEFENDANTS | |
| Amway India Enterprises Pvt. Ltd. | D1 | 1MG Technologies Pvt. Ltd. - which runs the e-commerce website, www.1mg.com (hereinafter, 1MG') |
|
| D2 | Ghantakarn International |
| CS(OS) 453/2018 and I.A.s 12419/18 and 14613/18 | ||
| PLAINTIFF | DEFENDANTS | |
| Amway India Enterprises Pvt. Ltd. | D1 | Adinath Enterprises |
|
| D2 | Beant Healthcare |
|
| D3 | Beant Buildwell (P.) Ltd. |
|
| D4 | Vivid Solutions |
|
| D5 | Ravinder and Co. |
|
| D6 | Raman Enterprises |
|
| D7 | Xecute India |
|
| D8 | Aarjav International |
|
| D9 | Jasper Infotech Pvt. Ltd. - which runs the e-commerce website www.snapdeal.com (hereinafter, 'Snapdeal') |
| CS(OS) 480/2018 and I.A.13159/2018 | ||
| PLAINTIFF | DEFENDANTS | |
| Amway India Enterprises Pvt. Ltd. | D1 | Pioneering Products |
|
| D2 | Black Olive Enterprises |
|
| D3 | Cloudtail India Pvt. Ltd. |
|
| D4 | Amazon Seller Services Pvt. Ltd. - which runs the e-commerce platform www.amazon.in (hereinafter, 'Amazon') |
| CS(OS) 531/2018 and I.A. 14402/2018 | ||
| PLAINTIFF | DEFENDANTS | |
| Amway India Enterprises Pvt. Ltd. | D1 | Flipkart Internet Pvt. Ltd. - which runs the e-commerce platform, www.flipkart.com (hereinafter, 'Flipkart') |
|
| D2 | Sehgal International |
|
| D3 | Apex Beauty Store |
| CS(OS) 550/2018 and I.A. 14858/2018 | ||
| PLAINTIFF | DEFENDANTS | |
| Amway India Enterprises Pvt. Ltd. | D1 | Bright Lifecare Pvt. Ltd. |
|
| D2 | Kashvi Enterprises |
| CS(OS) 75/2019 and I.A.1733/2019 | ||
| PLAINTIFF | DEFENDANTS | |
| Modicare Ltd. | D1 | Amazon Seller Services Pvt. Ltd. - which runs the e-commerce platform www.amazon.in |
|
| ||
