Judicial Analysis Court Copy Headnote Facts Arguments Court observation

2026 Supreme(Online)(Del) 6519

IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI
V. Kameswar Rao, Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora, JJ
Loreal S.A. – Appellant
Versus
SPV Laboratories Private Limited – Respondent
FAO (COMM) 18/2026 | CM APPL. 4701/2026 | CM APPL. 4702/2026 | CM APPL. 4705/2026

Advocates:
For the Appellants/Petitioners: Shravan Kumar Bansal, Suvarna Singh
For the Respondents: Satish Kumar, Aditya Gauri, Amar Vivek, Damini Srestha, Anant Jain, Aryan Chhabra

Litigation may be effectively disposed of when the respondent voluntarily modifies the impugned conduct to satisfy the appellant's concerns, thereby rendering the underlying cause of action non-existent and the legal dispute infructuous.

Headnote:(A) Commercial Litigation - Disposal of appeal and suit - Where the respondent demonstrates a change in the impugned product packaging, effectively removing the cause of action, the court may dispose of the ongoing litigation upon the agreement of the parties. (Paras 1, 2, 3)

(B) Seized Goods - Release and disposal - Upon the parties reaching a consensus to change the impugned packaging, the court may authorize the release of previously seized inventory to the respondent to facilitate the alteration of the product packaging before sale in the commercial market. (Paras 4, 5, 6)

Facts of the case:
The appellant filed a suit against the respondent regarding objectionable product packaging. During the pendency of the appeal, the respondent developed a new packaging design. Upon review of the changes, the appellant accepted that the original cause of action no longer persisted.

Findings of Court:
The court acknowledged the voluntary change in packaging by the respondent. It was agreed that the previously seized goods would be voluntarily released to the respondent for the purpose of adopting the new packaging, thereby ensuring compliance and the resolution of the dispute.

Issues: Whether the cause of action survives given the modification of the impugned packaging and the subsequent agreement reached between the parties.

Ratio Decidendi: When the underlying cause of action is resolved through the voluntary modification of the impugned conduct by the respondent, and the appellant expresses satisfaction with the changed circumstances, the court is justified in disposing of the suit and appeal as the litigation no longer serves an active purpose.

Result: Appeal and suit disposed of; pending applications deemed infructuous.

Table of Content
1. disposal of litigation upon resolution of cause of action via consensus. (Para 1 , 2 , 3)
2. regulation of disposal of seized infringing goods upon remedial restructuring. (Para 4 , 5 , 6)
3. formalization of final disposition of suit and pending applications by consent. (Para 7 , 8 , 9)

V. KAMESWAR RAO , J. (ORAL)

1. On the last date of hearing, learned Counsel appearing for appellant stated that the respondent has completely changed the packaging of the product from the one existing earlier (i.e., the impugned packaging), and because of this change to the new packaging, the appeal and the suit can be disposed of. The learned counsel for the respondent sought time to take instructions.

2. Today, learned counsel for the respondent states that, as per his instructions, respondent has changed the packaging in the following manner:

[[IMG_1]]

[[IMG_2]]

He states on instructions that respondent intends to continue using the new packaging and agrees that the appeal and suit can be disposed of.

3. In view of the fact that the impugned packaging has been changed in the manner depicted above, we record the submission of the appellant that the cause of action for the appellant/plaintiff to file the suit does not survive anymore and therefore both the appeal and the suit can be disposed of in view of these changed circumstances.

4. At this stage, learned counsel for the respondent states that the goods in the old packaging were seized by the Local Commissioner, and the same be released in favour of the respondent, to enable the respondent to change the packaging of the product with the new one and then sell it in the market by destroying the empty pack. He states that the seized goods are lying with the appellant/plaintiff and the vendors/distributors of the respondent.

5. Mr. Shravan Kumar Bansal, learned counsel for the appellant is agreeable to the submission made by the learned counsel for the respondent. He states that the seized goods lying in the custody of the appellant, shall be released to the respondent within two weeks from today.

6. It is directed that the respondent is at liberty to collect the goods from its vendors/distributors as well as the appellant/plaintiff and deal with the same as per the statement recorded above.

7. In view of the statements of the parties, the suit as well as this appeal shall stand disposed of.

8. The pending applications are also disposed of as having become infructuous.

9. The parties are directed to place this order before the concerned commercial Court for recording the disposal of the suit itself.

Click Here to Read the rest of this document

2026 Supreme(Online)(Del) 6519

IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHIV. Kameswar Rao, Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora, JJLoreal S.A. – AppellantVersusSPV Laboratories Private Limited – RespondentFAO (COMM) 18/2026 | CM APPL. 4701/2026 | CM APPL. 4702/2026 | CM APPL. 4705/2026

Litigation may be effectively disposed of when the respondent voluntarily modifies the impugned conduct to satisfy the appellant's concerns, thereby rendering the underlying cause of action non-existent and the legal dispute infructuous.

IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI
V. Kameswar Rao, Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora, JJ
Loreal S.A. – Appellant
Versus
SPV Laboratories Private Limited – Respondent
FAO (COMM) 18/2026 | CM APPL. 4701/2026 | CM APPL. 4702/2026 | CM APPL. 4705/2026