Bombay High Court
Sudhir Bhatia Trading As vs The Central Government Of India on 26 October, 2010
Author: U.D. Salvi
Bench: B.H. Marlapalle, U.D.Salvi
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION
WRIT PETITION NO.8116 OF 2010
WITH
WRIT PETITION NO.8119 OF 2010
WITH
WRIT PETITION NO.8121 OF 2010
WITH
WRIT PETITION NO.8139 OF 2010
Sudhir Bhatia Trading as
M/s. V. Bhatia International,
R/o. 62, Westwind, 3 X Road,
Lokhandwala, Andheri (W),
Mumbai - 400 053. ..Petitioner.
V/s.
1. The Central Government of India,
Through Ministry, Udyog Bhawan,
New Delhi.
2. The Registrar of Trade Marks,
Trade Marks Registry at Mumbai,
Boudhik Sampada Bhavan, Near
Antop Hill Head Post Office, S.M.
Road, Mumbai - 400 037.
3. Midas Hygiene Industries Pvt. Ltd.,
D-46, S-4, Amarjyoti, M.G.H. Complex,
Section-14, Vashi, Navi Mumbai-400 703. ..Respondents.
Mr. Shailen Bhatia and Sanjay Malhotra i/b. R.K. Midha for petitioner.
Mr. J.P. Cama, senior Advocate, Ms. Laxmi Maria Jenkins i/b. Jehangir
Gulabbhai and Bilimoria & Danawala for respondent No.3.
CORAM : B.H. MARLAPALLE AND U.D.SALVI, JJ.
JUDGMENT RESERVED ON : 13TH OCTOBER, 2010
JUDGMENT PRONOUNCED ON : 26TH OCTOBER, 2010
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JUDGMENT (PER U.D. SALVI, J.)
1. Rule. Taken up for final hearing with the consent of parties.
2. The orders dated 13/03/2009 passed by the Intellectual Property Appellate Board (Circuit Bench at Mumbai) rejecting the prayer for production of additional documents in M.P. No.112/2008 in OA/20/ 2004/TM/MUM, M.P. No.108 & 110/2008 in TA/62-63/2003/TM/MUM (M.P. No.27 & 28 of 2003). M.P. Nos.111/2007 & 106/2008 in ORA/14/ 2007/TM/MUM and M.P.No.114/2008 in OA/90/2004/TM/MUM are assailed in these petitions.
3. The aforesaid bunch of appeals are the result of row over the registration of Trade mark "Laxman Rekha" between the petitioner Bhatia, the sole proprietor of M/s. V.Bhatia International and the respondent No.3 Midas Hygiene Industries Pvt. Ltd. before the Assistant Registrar of Trade Marks. The petitioner moved the said Misc.
Applications for production of the following documents in the said appeals:-
Sr. Particulars
No.
1. Affidavit
2. Exhibit "A" - Copy of the letter received from Dy. Commr. of Sales Tax (Adm) dated 10/10/2006.
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3. Exhibit "A1" - Copy of letter received from Jt. Commr. of Sales Tax (Adm) dated 17/11/2006 along with the enclosures therein.
4. Exhibit "B" - Copy of certificate of registration under Bombay Sales Tax Act, 1959 of Mr.Sudhir Bhatia trading under name and style of M/s. V. Bhatia International.
5. Exhibit "C" - Copy of letter dated 13/09/2005 of Asstt. Commissioner Sales Tax.
6. Exhibit "D" - Copy of letter dated 6/10/1985 of M/s. Midas Marketing House addressed to M/s. Bhatia International.
7. Exhibit "E" - Copy of the caution notice published in MID-DAY Newspaper on July 17, 1993.
8. Exhibit "F" - Copy of let ter 16/07/1993 addressed by the Advocates of M/s.V.Bhatia International to M/s.Midas Marketing House.
9. Exhibit "G" - Copy of the letter received from Dy. Commr. of Sales Tax (Adm,) dated 10/10/2006.
10. Exhibit "H" - Copy of invoice dated 12/11/1996 of Midas Hygiene Industries Pvt. Ltd.
11. Exhibit "I" - Copy of letter received from Jt. Commr. Sales Tax (Adm) dated 22/11/2006.
12. Exhibit "J" - Copy of letter received from Office of Commr. of Central Excise, Mumbai -III dated 28/02/2008.
13. Exhibit "K" - Copies of some invoice dated 8/10/1988 of M/s. Midas Marketing House.
14. Exhibit "L" - Copy of translated letter from Marathi along with Marathi letter dated 15/02/2007 of Jt. Commr. Food & Drugs Administration, Mumbai.
15. Exhibit "M" - Copy of letter of Jt. Commr. Food & Drugs. Mumbai.
16. Exhibit "N" - Copies of letters dated 23/01/2007 and 14/03/2008 of Trade Marks Registry, Mumbai.
17. Exhibit "O" - Copies of pages from the Trade Marks Journal publishing the Trade mark LAXMAN REKHAA bearing application No.545610 and Trade Mark KRAZY LINES LAXMAN REKHAA bearing application No.545609.
18. Exhibit "P" - Copy of letter dated 21/06/2007 of Sr. Police Inspector, Goregaon police station, Mumbai.
19. Exhibit- Q - Copy of the additional representation of trade mark application bearing No.568046.
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20. Exhibit "R" - Copy of page from the Trade Marks Journal publishing the Trade mark LAKSHMANREKHA - WHITE CHALKS (Label) bearing application No.568046 along with the corrigenda of the same.
21. Exhibit "S" - Copy of the carton of NEW KRAZY LINES PLUS
22. Exhibit "T" - Copy of the Form TM 1 for application of trade mark NEW KRAZY LINE PLUS (Label) bearing application No.580872.
23. Exhibit "U" - Copy of the additional representation of the trade mark application MAGIC PREMIUM LAXMANREKHA (Label) dated 30/05/1996.
24. Exhibit "V" - Copy of the filing notings.
25. Exhibit "W" - Copy of the letter dated 31/01/2008 of Trade Marks Registry, Mumbai.
4. The petitioner pleaded that the documents sought to be produced before the Appellate Board were not in his possession when the appeals were preferred and could be secured by means of provisions of Right to Information Act with great effort; and the said documents are relevant and necessary for proper adjudication of the said matters particularly for showing how the respondent No.3 M/s.
Midas Hygiene Pvt. Ltd. by concealment of material particulars and manipulation of the records had succeeded in making out a case based on false user before the Registrar of Trade Marks.
5. The contesting respondent No.3 Midas Hygiene Industries Pvt. Ltd. resisted the applications by filing replies. The contesting respondent contended that the documents sought to be produced are irrelevant and despite the same being in the knowledge of the appellant, ::: Downloaded on - 09/06/2013 16:34:29 ::: 5 wp8116-10++ there was no whisper about them in the pleadings. Generally, the contesting respondent No.3 denied all the contentions of the appellant in support of the claim for production of the additional evidence. The maintainability of the applications for production of additional evidence was also questioned by the contesting respondent, particularly with reference to Rule 8 of the Intellectual Property Appellate Board (Procedure) Rules, 2003.
6. After hearing the parties, the learned Board Members with reference to the said Rules observed that though there is no express provision for tendering additional evidence at the appellate stage, Section 92 of the Trade Marks Act, 1999 exhorted the Appellate Board to be guided by the principles of natural justice and for the purpose of discharging its function under the Act to exercise powers as vested in a Civil Court under the Civil Procedure Code, 1908 while trying a suit in respect of receiving evidence, etc. The learned Board for the purposes of the said applications moved by the petitioner / appellant thought it fit to take recourse to the principles for production of additional evidence in C.P.C. contained in Order 41 Rule 27 and sought guidance from the judgment of the Apex Court in Mahavir Singh and Ors V/s. Naresh Chandra & Anr., [2001 (1) S.C.C. 309] expounding the said principles.
With reference to clauses 1(a) and (aa) of Order 41 Rule 27 of CPC, the learned Board observed as under:-
::: Downloaded on - 09/06/2013 16:34:29 :::6 wp8116-10++ " ..In so far as the second circumstance (i.e. 1 (aa) of O.41 R. 27 of CPC) is concerned, it is noticed that the applicant / appellant has not averred that the subject documents were not in its knowledge but only has said that the subject documents were not in its possession when it preferred the appeal. It is not specified whether the applicant / appellant made any diligent attempt or effort to obtain copies of those documents from the concerned authorities. Further, the applicant / appellant has not pointed out that it has mentioned about the non-availability of those documents and reserved its right to produce as and when the same comes in its possession. It is also not the case of the applicant / appellant that notwithstanding the exercise of due diligence, the evidence sought to be filed was not within its knowledge or could not, after exercise of due diligence, be produced by it at the time when the impugned order was passed by the Assistant Registrar of Trade Marks. The diligence or otherwise of the applicant / appellant can be safely inferable from the instance that the appeals were filed by the appellant in the first half of year 2004 and now sought to file the additional evidence in the second half of the year 2008. "
7. The observations made by the learned Board are not correct. The Appellate Board has to allow the production of additional evidence in either of the three contingencies spelled out in clause 1(a) (aa) or (b) of Order 41 Rule 27 of the C.P.C. So far as the contingency under clause 1 (aa) of Order 41 Rule 21 of the C.P.C. is concerned, it is sufficient for the parties seeking permission to produce the evidence to ::: Downloaded on - 09/06/2013 16:34:29 :::
7 wp8116-10++ establish that notwithstanding the exercise of due diligence, such evidence was not within his knowledge or could not after after the exercise of due diligence, be produced by him at the time when the decree appealed against was passed. It is, therefore, sufficient for the party seeking permission to produce additional evidence that it establishes that such evidence could not, after the exercise of due diligence, be produced by him at the time when the decree appealed against was passed.
8. Evidently, there is an averment made by the applicant / appellant that some of the documents sought to be produced were not in his possession and could be secured with considerable effort by resorting to the provisions of Right to Information Act, 2005. It can also be seen that after the orders were passed by the Registrar of Trade Marks and appeals preferred against them the Right to Information Act, 2005 came to be enacted and as such before such enactment, there was no effective tool to secure the documents from the concerned quarters. The perusal of the documents sought to be be produced in evidence and listed at Annexure Q of the petition reveals that the documents marked as Exhibit "A", Exhibit "A1", Exhibit "C", Exhibit "G", Exhibit "I", Exhibit "J", Exhibit "M", Exhibit "N", Exhibit "P" and Exhibit "W" could be secured from the concerned quarters by resorting to the provisions of the Right to Information Act, 2005, and could not have been ::: Downloaded on - 09/06/2013 16:34:29 ::: 8 wp8116-10++ in the possession of the applicant / appellant and, therefore, could not have been produced at the time of passing the impugned order by the Registrar of Trade Marks. The production of the said documents, except at serial Nos.6 to 8 and 17 to 21 before the Appellate Board is, therefore, justified. In our opinion, the lower appellate forum ought to have allowed the public documents on record with the aid of Order 41 Rule 27 of C.P.C. The petitions are partly allowed accordingly. Hence, the order.
9. The orders dated 13/03/2009 passed in M.P. No.112/2008 in OA/20/2004/TM/MUM, M.P. No.108 & 110/2008 in TA/62-63/ 2003/TM/ MUM (M.P. No.27 & 28 of 2003). M.P. Nos.111/2007 & 106/2008 in ORA /14/ 2007/TM/MUM and M.P. No.114/2008 in OA/90/ 2004/TM/MU are set aside. The production of aforesaid documents listed at Annexure "Q" to the petitions and except the documents at serial Nos.6 to 8 and 17 to 21, before the Intellectual Property Appellate Board (Circuit Bench at Mumbai) is allowed. All the petitions are partly allowed accordingly. The pending appeals are directed to be heard and decided, as per law, as expeditiously as possible and preferably before 31st March, 2011.
10. Rule is made absolute in terms of the above order with no order as to costs.
(U.D.SALVI, J.) (B.H. MARLAPALLE, J.)
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