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2025 Supreme(Online)(Mad) 70360
HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS
A. No.1861 of 2025 in O.A. No.489 of 2020 in C.S. No.427 of 2015
| RESERVED ON | 09/23/25 |
| PRONOUNCED ON | 11/26/25 |
CORAM: THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE N.SENTHILKUMAR
Hindustan Unilever Limited, 101,Santhome High Road, Chennai- 600 028 Applicant(s)
Vs
1. Roopa Industries, Rep by Mr Satish Honnahalli, Gadag Industrial area, Kanaganahalli Road, Betageri, Gadag, Karnataka.
2.Satish Honahalli, Proprietor
For the Appellants/Petitioners: B.Madhan Babu
For the Respondents: L.M.Akki
The court has the discretion to restrict the participation of a party in legal proceedings if they are in wilful disobedience of an injunction order, and failure to comply justifies punitive action, including property attachment and civil imprisonment, under Order XXXIX Rule 2A of the Code of Civil Procedure.
Headnote:The present application concerns a breach of an interim injunction order passed under O.39 R.2A of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908. The plaintiff sought a perpetual injunction against the defendants for trademark infringement of their registered marks and copyright infringement of their artistic works. Despite subsisting interim orders restraining the defendants from using deceptively similar trademarks, the defendants persisted in infringing by using a modified mark while initiating a separate suit in another jurisdiction. The court determined that the defendants were in wilful disobedience of the interim order. The main issues addressed were whether the respondents breached the court's injunction and whether the contemnor is entitled to participate in proceedings while in contempt. Relying on established jurisprudence, the court reaffirmed that it possesses the discretion to withhold a contemnor's right of participation in proceedings if the disobedience impedes the course of justice and persists despite prior warnings. Accordingly, the application was allowed, directing the attachment of the property of the first respondent and ordering the detention of the second respondent in civil prison for a period of three months.
| Table of Content |
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| 1. violation of court issued injunction orders regarding trademark infringement and procedural history. (Para 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7) |
| 2. contentions regarding the maintainability of the contempt application and the validity of corporate representation. (Para 8 , 9 , 10) |
| 3. the court's power to punish for the breach of injunctions and procedural disobedience under order 39 rule 2a. (Para 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15) |
| RESERVED ON | 09/23/25 |
| PRONOUNCED ON | 11/26/25 |
Hindustan Unilever Limited
101,Santhome High Road,
Chennai- 600 028
Applicant(s)
Vs
1. Roopa Industries
Rep by Mr Satish Honnahalli
Gadag Industrial area,
Kanaganahalli Road, Betageri, Gadag,
Karnataka.
2.Satish Honahalli
Proprietor
New Hindustan Petro Chemicals
Gadag
Karnataka 582120
Respondent(s)
PRAYER: Application filed to initiate appropriate action against the 2nd respondent herein for the disobedience and/or breach of the injunction granted by this Honble Court in O.A.No. 489 of 2020 in C.S.No.427 of 2015 dated 23.12.2020, including detaining the respondent and all the persons in-charge of the respondents in civil prison for such period as this Honble Court may deem fit under Order 39 Rule 2A of CPC.
For Appellant(s): Mr.B.Madhan Babu
For Respondent(s): Mr.L.M.Akki
ORDER
The present application is filed to initiate appropriate action against the second respondent for his disobedience and for breach of the injunction order granted by this court in O.A. No.489 of 2020 in C.S. No.427 of 2015 dated 23.12.2020, including detaining the respondent and all the persons in-charge of the respondents in civil prison for such period as this court may deem fit under Order XXXIX Rule 2A of the Civil Procedure Code.
2. The plaintiff is a multinational company, also dealing with manufacture and marketing washing powder and washing bar under the trademark 'WHEEL' and 'ACTIVE WHEEL'. The applicant/plaintiff submits that perpetual injunction was sought against the respondent/defendant in the suit for infringement of Trademark WHEEL/ACTIVE WHEEL committed by the respondent by using the trademark DOUBLE WHALE, which is a deceptively similar mark. The said trademarks are scanned and pasted hereunder.
Plaintiff: Defendants:
3. In the above suit filed by the applicant/plaintiff against the respondents/defendants, the following prayers were sought:
a. A perpetual injunction restraining the defendants, their distributors, printer, stockists, servants, agents, retailers, representatives, franchisees or any other person claiming through or under them from in any manner infringing the plaintiff's registered trademarks WHEEL and ACTIVE WHEEL by printing, stocking, manufacturing, selling, offering for sale, stocking, advertising directly or indirectly, any goods, and in particular washing powder or washing bar, employing the trademark DOUBLE WHALE either per se or in combination with other mark, and/or any other mark or device either in English or any other language, which is identical/deceptively similar to the plaintiff's registered trademarks WHEEL or ACTIVE WHEEL or in any other manner whatsoever;
b. A perpetual injunction restraining the defendants, their distributors, stockists, servants, agents, retailers, representatives, franchisees or any other person claiming under them from in any manner manufacturing, selling, offering for sale, stocking, advertising directly or indirectly, any products, and in particular washing powder or washing
bar, under the label/mark as contained in plaint document No.6 or any label/mark which is identical with or deceptively similar to the plaintiff's label/mark filed as plaint document No.3, so as to pass off the defendants' goods as and for the goods of the plaintiff or in any other manner whatsoever connected with the plaintiff;
c. A perpetual injunction restraining the defendants, their distributors, stockiest, servants, agents, retailers, representatives or any other person claiming under them from in any manner committing acts of copyr
