In a recent development, the Delhi High Court has issued an order to suspend the operations of a website named "Khadi Organic" for falsely presenting itself as the official platform for the sale of Ayodhya Ram Mandir prasad on various social media platforms.
The website, which fraudulently claimed to offer free prasad from the Pran Pratishta ceremony at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, was found to exploit people's religious faith, misleading them into sending money to its owners. Justice Sanjeev Narula emphasized that the website leveraged the reputation of the Khadi and Village Industries Commission, a government body dedicated to advancing textiles. as reported by Live Law.
The court directed the website owners to remove any social media pages using marks similar to the registered "KHADI" marks of the Khadi and Village Industries Commission. Additionally, the owners were prohibited from producing, selling, or promoting any products or services under the "KHADI ORGANIC" mark or any other marks that could be construed as infringing on the "KHADI" marks.
Justice Narula noted that the website owners took money from the public without providing a receipt or proof that the "prasad" was dispatched. The Khadi and Village Industries Commission filed a lawsuit against Ashish Singh and M/s DrillMaps India Private Limited for trademark infringement.
The website falsely claimed that the public could obtain "Ram Mandir Prasad" for free by completing a form and paying Rs. 51 for Indian customers and USD 11 for foreign customers.
The plaintiff argued that the "KHADI ORGANIC" mark included the "KHADI" trademark and asserted that the defendant lacked the right to use Khadi in a manner falsely implying affiliation with the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust. The court agreed with the plaintiff, stating that they had presented a strong case in their favor. The court also highlighted that without an interim injunction, the plaintiff would suffer irreparable loss, and the balance of convenience favored the plaintiff over the defendants. Advocates representing the plaintiff included Ms. Shwetasree Majumder, Ms. Diva Arora Menon, Ms. Devyani Nath, Ms. Aiswarya Debadarshini, and Mr. Shiv Mehrotra.