BOMBAY HIGH COURT
R.I. Chagla, J.
Pidilite Industries Ltd. – Petitioner
versus
Premier Stationery Industries
Pvt. Ltd. and Ors. – Respondents
Contempt Petition (L) No.28560 of 2021 in
Com Suit No.520 of 2017
Decided on 13.8.2024
Civil Procedure Code, 1908 – Order XXXIX Rule 2A – Contempt Petition – Breach of injunction – Scope of execution proceedings are irrelevant for contempt jurisdiction of this Court – Court’s power to punish for contempt under Article 215 of Constitution of India r/w Contempt of Courts Act r/w Section 151 of CPC, is not only wider than, but is also independent of any rights of parties inter se in any execution proceeding – Respondents have committed willful contumacious contempt of this Court, it would be necessary for Respondents to purge their contempt by penalizing them rather than their being punished by civil imprisonment – Respondents shall jointly and / or severally pay to Petitioner amount of Rs.50,00,000/- – Failure on part of Respondents to comply with this Order would result in Respondents being detained for a period of two weeks in Civil Prison – Respondents restrained by perpetual order from infringing in any manner Petitioner’s copyright in artistic work. (Paras 42, 47, 49 and 50)
Result: Contempt Petition disposed of.
ORDER
The present Contempt Petition has been filed by the Petitioner against Respondent Nos. 1 and 2 (original Defendants in Commercial Suit No. 520 of 2017) as well as Respondent Nos. 3 and 4, for wilful and deliberate disregard, disobedience, disrespect, noncompliance and violation of the order dated 13 July 2017 passed in the above matter by this Hon’ble Court in the above Suit (“Final Order”) in terms of consent terms dated 13 July 2017 (“Consent Terms”) and undertakings contained therein (which were accepted as undertakings to the Hon’ble Court). The Petitioner claims that the Respondents, in blatant breach of the Final Order and Consent Terms, are using the impugned label/trade dress including impugned bottles and glue pens (as set out at Exhibit D-1, page 295 of the Petition), that continue to be in violation of the rights of the Petitioner including its rights in the FEVICOL MR Artistic Work, Distinctive FEVICOL MR Bottle and the FEVICOL MR Glue Pens, as more particularly set out in the Contempt Petition.
2. The Petitioner claims to be a world-renowned company in the field of adhesives and sealants, construction and paint chemicals, automotive chemicals, art materials, industrial adhesives, industrial and textile resins and organic pigments and preparations since atleast 1969. The Petitioner’s aforesaid products are sold under well known trademarks including FEVICOL, FEVICRYL, FEVISTIK, FEVI KWIK, M-SEAL, DR. FIXIT, FEVI BOND, FEVIGUM, FEVITITE, etc. Most of the Petitioner’s products have been developed through strong in-house research and development. The products emanating from the Petitioner and sold under its well-known and famous brands are internationally known for their superior and high quality and technical excellence.
3. On 21 April 2017, the Petitioner had filed the above Suit against Respondent Nos. 1 and 2 to claim reliefs in respect of infringement of the Petitioner’s well known FEVICOL MR Artistic Works (as defined therein) and the Petitioner’s copyrights in the FEVICOL MR Artistic Work (as defined therein), violation of the Petitioner’s design in the Distinctive FEVICOL MR Bottle (as defined therein), violation of the Petitioner’s rights in the Distinctive FEVICOL MR Glue Pens (as defined therein) and the tort of passing off in the circumstances explained in the plaint, which has been annexed to the petition at Exhibit A (Pages 44-274 of the Petition). (Paragraph 1, page 3 of the Petition) 4. Simultaneously along with the Suit, the Petitioner had also filed a Notice of Motion bearing no. 439 of 2017 in the Suit, seeking ad-interim and interim reliefs, as set out therein. Vide an exparte ad-interim order dated 28 April 2017 passed by this Hon’ble Court, Respondent Nos. 1 and 2 had been injuncted in terms of prayer clauses (a), (b) and (f) of the Notice of Motion. A copy of order dated 28 April 2017 is annexed at Exhibit B to the Petition at pages 275 to 281. The above suit was disposed off by an order dated 13 July 2017 passed in the above matter in terms of consent terms dated 13 July 2017. Respondent Nos. 1 and 2 had submitted to a decree in terms of prayer clauses (a), (b), (c), (d) and (e) to the plaint and had provided undertakings in the said Consent Terms which were accepted as undertakings to the Hon’ble Court. A copy of the Final Order and Consent Terms dated 13 July 2017 are annexed to the Petition at Exhibit C, pages 282-294. (Paragraphs 1 and 2, pages 3-4 of the Petition)
5. The above Suit was decreed in terms of prayer clauses (a), (b), (c), (d) and (e) which are being reproduced below for ease of reference:
(a) the Defendants, its Directors, proprietors, partners, owners, servants, subordinates, representatives, stockists, dealers, agents and all other persons claiming under them be restrained by a perpetual order and injunction of this Hon’ble Court from infringing the Plaintiff’s registered mark bearing registration no. 2614770 in any manner and from using in relation to Impugned Goods
Scope of execution proceedings are irrelevant for contempt jurisdiction of High Court.
The court established that third parties can be held liable for contempt if they knowingly assist in violating court orders, reinforcing the court's authority to enforce compliance.
The main legal point established in the judgment is the finding of willful disobedience of the court's injunction order by the respondent, leading to the imposition of a two-week simple imprisonment ....
Willful disobedience of court orders, even if later complied with, can lead to significant penalties to uphold the authority of the court.
The power to punish for contempt should be exercised with care and caution, and the contempt jurisdiction should be confined to deliberate disobedience of court orders.
Contempt proceedings require clear evidence of willful disobedience of court orders, and factual disputes should be resolved in the appropriate civil proceedings, not through contempt.
The court clarified that for a contempt finding, a binding judicial order or undertaking must exist; mere submissions or clarifications without formal judicial acceptance do not constitute contempt.
Failure to comply with court orders triggers contempt proceedings, regardless of any pending appeals against such orders or administrative hurdles.
The judgment emphasized the need for a clear case of wilful disobedience to the Court's order before exercising the jurisdiction to punish for contempt.
(1) Contempt of Court – Power of contempt ought to be exercised with caution, care and sparingly – Contempt proceedings are sui generis inasmuch as Law of Evidence and Code of Criminal Procedure, 197....
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