PRAYER: To grant leave to sue the Respondent before this Honble Court

ORDER

This application is filed under Clause 12 of the Letters Patent. The applicants seek leave to institute a commercial suit against the respondent for infringement of the registered trademark PREETHI HOSPITALS, passing off and consequential reliefs.

The first applicant, Blossom Global Trust, is a charitable trust having its office at No.27, Ganesh Nagar, 120 Feet Road, Mattuthavani, Madurai. The second applicant, Preethi Hospitals Private Limited, has its principal place of business at No.50, Melur Main Road, Uthangudi, Madurai. The applicants state that they function under common management. The first applicant runs Preethi College of Nursing with the permission of the second applicant and as part of the Preethi group of institutions.

The second applicant states that it has used the mark PREETHI HOSPITALS continuously since 2001 in relation to hospital and healthcare services. It is the registered proprietor of the word mark PREETHI HOSPITALS under Trade Mark No.5466102 in Class 44 and Trade Mark No.5466103 in Class 41. The registrations cover hospital, healthcare, educational and training services. It is also stated that Preethi Institute of Health Sciences has been functioning since the academic year 2018-2019 and that Preethi College of Nursing has been functioning under the first applicant since the academic year 2023-2024. On the strength of long use, registration, turnover, advertisement and institutional activities, the applicants claim goodwill and reputation in the word PREETHI in the fields of healthcare, nursing education and allied services. Paragraph 8 of the plaint pleads that the marks serve as a source identifier of their educational and healthcare services in the same location, No. 50 Melur Main Road, Uthangudi, Madurai 625107.

The respondent, Augustine Educational and Charitable Trust, is situated at the campus of S. Preethi Group of Colleges, Sivagangai Highway, Arasanoor, Thirumansolai Post, Sivagangai District. According to the applicants, they came to know in the year 2026 that the respondent was using the name S. PREETHI GROUP OF COLLEGES for its educational institutions. The respondent is said to offer B.Ed., M.Ed. and D.El.Ed. courses. The applicants also state that the respondent proposes to commence a nursing college under the name S. PREETHI NURSING COLLEGE during the current academic year. Paragraph 3 of the plaint states that service of summons on the respondent may be effected through the Sivagangai District Court.

The applicants allege that PREETHI is the essential feature of their registered marks and institutional names. According to them, the addition of the letter S. and the words GROUP OF COLLEGES or NURSING COLLEGE does not remove the similarity. They allege that use of the impugned names is dishonest, is likely to cause confusion among students and the public, and gives a false impression of association with the applicants. They therefore propose to seek permanent injunctions against infringement and passing off, rendition of accounts, delivery up, and removal of the impugned material from physical and digital platforms, damages of Rs. 10,00,000/-, and costs.

The applicants further state that the respondent advertises its institutions and courses through the websites https://www.aeact.org/contactus.html and https://spreethinursingcollege.com/. These websites are said to be interactive, accessible across India and capable of receiving online applications and enquiries from prospective students.

For territorial jurisdiction, the applicants rely on four circumstances. First, the second applicant obtained registration of its trademarks through the Trade Marks Registry at Chennai. Second, the applicants have statutory and regulatory dealings with authorities situated in Chennai. Third, their institutions are said to draw students from Chennai and their hospital treats patients from Chennai. They also refer to connection