1. The defendants in O.S. No. 31 of 1974 on the file of the Court of the District Judge of Coimbatore are the appellants. The plaintiff is a firm known as “Sri Durga Textiles” carrying on business in the sale of bed sheets, towels, napkins, pillow-covers, and curtain cloth with the registered trade mark of Sri Durga Textiles. The firm is registered under the Indian Partnership Act. The first defendant is a firm carrying on business at Chennimalai manufacturing the same type of goods like bed-sheets under the name and style of ‘Durga Fabrics”. Defendants 2 to 5 are the partners of the said firm. The plaintiff firm was started in the year 1956 and the partner K.N. Ramamurthy has been a partner right through, though there have been other changes in the partnership on account of death or retirement. The case of the plaintiff was that it was continuously and exclusively using the business name “Durga Textiles” and the trade mark “Sri Durga Textiles” in connection with its goods. The turnover, which was Rs. 1,65,000 in 1956-1957 had gone upto Rs. 7,75,000 in the year in which the suit was filed. The income also increased from Rs. 9,750 to Rs, 26,400 in this period. The plainti