JUDGMENT:

1. The captioned Suit has been filed seeking reliefs inter alia include injunction against the Defendants restraining them from infringing the Plaintiff’s registered trade mark “LOTUS”, restraining Defendants from passing off their products as those of the Plaintiffs’ and restraining Defendants from using the trade name, corporate name and trading style of the Plaintiff. The prayer clauses of the Suit read thus:

"a) that the Defendants by themselves, their servants, agents, and distributors be restrained by an Order and perpetual injunction of this Hon'ble Court from using in relation to edible vegetable oils, hydrogenated vegetable oils and fats and/or any other goods falling in Class-29 and/or manufacturing, exporting, selling or distributing the said goods or in any manner advertising the said goods under the trade marks "LOTUS" or under any other trade mark which is identical with or deceptively similar to the registered "LOTUS" trade marks of the

Plaintiff bearing Nos. 131541, 131542 and 131543 falling in Class 29 and thereby infringing the said registered trade marks of the Plaintiff.

(b) that the Defendants by themselves, their servants, agents and distributors be restrained by an Order and perpetual injunction of this Hon'ble Court from, directly or indirectly, using in relation to edible vegetable oils, hydrogenated vegetable oils and fats and/or any other goods falling in Class-29 or manufacturing, exporting, selling or distributing the said goods or advertising in any manner goods under the trade mark "LOTUS" or under any other trade mark deceptively similar to the "LOTUS" trade marks of the Plaintiff so as to pass off or likely to pass off and/or enable others to pass off the Defendants edible vegetable oils, hydrogenated vegetable oils and fats as and for those of the Plaintiff's.

(c) That the Defendant be restrained by an Order and perpetual injunction of this Hon'ble Court from using the trade name, corporate name and trading style "LOTUS Refineries" or any other trade name, corporate name and trading style deceptively similar to the Plaintiff's registered "LOTUS" trade marks bearing Nos. 131541, 131542 and 131543 falling in Class 29 and thereby infringing the said registered trade marks of the Plaintiff.

(d)(i) That the Defendant be restrained by an order and perpetual injunction of this Hon'ble Court from using the domain name "www.lotusrefineries.com" or any other domain name deceptively similar to the Plaintiff's registered "LOTUS" trade marks bearing Nos. 131541, 131542 and 131543 falling in Class 29 and thereby infringing the said registered trade marks of the Plaintiff.

(d)(ii) That the Defendant be ordered forthwith by an order and mandatory injunction of this Hon'ble Court to take all necessary steps to have the domain name removed or cancelled by the concerned authority."

2. Defendant Nos. 1 and 2 have filed an unaffirmed copy of the written statement, which is a matter of record. The Defendant Nos. 3 to 5, despite being duly served with the Writ of Summons, have chosen not to contest the Suit. Defendant Nos. 1 and 2 failed to cross-examine the Plaintiff's Witness (PW-1) or present any evidence, despite having ample opportunity to do so. The evidence of Defendant Nos. 1 and 2 was therefore closed by the Order dated 26th June 2025, and it was thus that the Suit was taken up for final hearing.

Submissions on behalf of the Plaintiff

3. Ms. Rashmi Thakur, Learned Counsel for the Plaintiff, submitted that originally, Hindustan Lever Limited (“Hindustan Lever”) was the proprietor of the three registered trade marks “LOTUS”, the word mark (bearing no. 131541), and two label marks containing the device of a lotus (bearing nos. 131542 and 131543), all of which were registered on 14th November 1947 in Class 29 for hydrogenated vegetable oils (vanaspati) and liquid edible vegetable oils excluding gingelly oil. She submitted that these marks are valid until 14th November 2034.

4. She then pointed out that by a Deed