* IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI % Order reserved on: 30.03.2026 Order delivered on: 02.04.2026 + CS(COMM) 1394/2025, I.A. 32351/2025 & I.A. 2059/2026 BROWN-FORMAN DISTILLERY, INC. .....Plaintiff versus BREWHOLIK PRIVATE LIMITED & ANR ....Defendants Advocates who appeared in this case:

For the Plaintiff : Ms. Shwetasree Majumder, Mr. Rohan Krishna Seth and Mr. Ritwik Marwaha, Advocates.

For the Defendants : Mr. J. Sai Deepak Senior Advocate with Mr. Kapil Midha, Ms. Sindhoora Ravindran, Mr. Garv Singh, Ms. Vartika Gautam and Mr. Abhishek, Advocates for D-1.

CORAM:

HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE TUSHAR RAO GEDELA

O R D E R

TUSHAR RAO GEDELA, J.

I.A. 2059/2026 (By D1 seeking necessary directions)

1. Present application has been filed on behalf of defendant no.1 (hereinafter referred to as “the defendant”) under Section 151 of Code of Civil Procedure, 1098 (‘CPC’) seeking necessary directions.

2. Brief background leading to the filing of this application are as under:-

a. Defendant claims to import whiskey under the brand “OLD FORESTER BLENDED RESERVE WHISKY”, which is manufactured and bottled by a company namely M/s Yeti Distillery (P.) Ltd., having its registered office at Nepal. It is claimed that M/s Yeti Distillery (P.) Ltd. is the owner of the trademark “OLD FORESTER” in Nepal and holds valid registrations for the same.

b. It is claimed that M/s Yeti Distillery (P.) Ltd. and defendant executed a Sale and Purchase Agreement dated 08.11.2023 for import, sale and distribution of the whiskey under the brand name “OLD FORESTER BLENDED RESERVE WHISKY” and other brands in the territories of India. Pursuant to the said Agreement, defendant claimed to obtain all requisite licenses and approvals for the purpose of import and sale of the whiskey under the brand “OLD FORESTER BLENDED RESERVE WHISKY” in compliance with all the existing and applicable excise, customs, GST and corporate regulatory frameworks.

c. As per the case set out in the suit, it is claimed that the plaintiff is registered proprietor of over 100 registrations for the Mark “OLD FORESTER”, and is engaged in the business of beverage alcohol products which are manufactured, marketed, and sold around the world by the plaintiff’s affiliates and authorized licensees. It is claimed by the plaintiff that sometime in December, 2025, plaintiff became aware of the defendant’s alleged activities in India when its representatives came across the product being “BLENDED RESERVE WHISKEY” bearing the plaintiff’s trademark “OLD FORESTER”, being sold at liquor stores in Delhi. Upon perusing the packaging of the products, the plaintiff’s noticed that the said products were manufactured by an entity, M/s Yeti Distillery Private Limited, and are being imported and sold by defendant in India. Being aggrieved thereof, plaintiff filed the suit for permanent injunction restraining infringement of the registered trademarks, passing off, rendition of accounts, damages, delivery up/destruction, etc. by the defendants.

d. This Court by way of an ex-parte ad-interim injunction order dated 22.12.2025, restrained the defendant from importing, selling, distributing, marketing or advertising counterfeit products bearing the mark “OLD FORESTER” or any other deceptively similar variant thereof. Vide the said order, this Court had also appointed a Local Commissioner to visit the premises of the defendant and seize the products bearing the impugned mark “OLD FORESTER”. It is claimed by the defendant that the Local Commissioner on 30.12.2025, prepared an inventory of the counterfeiting products and released the seized goods on superdari to the representative of the defendant.

e. It is stated by the defendant that qua the stocks lying at its premises in Delhi, the defendant had already made payments to M/s Yeti distillery (P.) Ltd., and had obtained all the requisite permissions and approvals to sell the said stocks. Furthermore, it had also paid applicable customs duties, GST, and other taxes on the Purchase Order in ac