Delhi High Court
Dabur India Limited vs Ashok Kumar And Ors on 10 February, 2023
Author: Prathiba M. Singh
Bench: Prathiba M. Singh
2023/DHC/001070
$~30(OS), 1(OS) to 29(OS)
* IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI
Date of Decision: 10th February, 2023
+ CS (COMM) 135/2022 & I.As. 3423/2022, 9363/2022, 12156/2022,
16505/2022, 1221/2023, 1222/2023
DABUR INDIA LIMITED ..... Plaintiff
Through: Mr. Anirudh Bakhru, and Mr. Kripa
Pandi, Advocates. (M:9810013453)
versus
ASHOK KUMAR AND ORS ..... Defendants
Through: Mr. Yashvardhan Singh, Advocate for
D-1. (M:9667056770)
Mr. Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar,
CGSC with Mr. Srish Kumar Mishra,
Mr. Sagar Mehlawat Alexander Mathai
Paikaday, Advocates (M: 9810788606).
Ms. Kruttika Vijay, Ms. Geetanjali
Viswanathan, & Ms. Aishwarya Kane,
Advs. for D-5 (M-9910083144)
Mr. K.G. Gopalakrishnan and Ms.
Nisha Mohandas, Advocates for D-7.
(M:8800556341)
Mr. Darpan Wadhwa, Sr. Advocate
with Mr. Alipak K. Banerjee, and Ms.
Shweta Sahu, Advs. for D-4 & 15.
Mr. Harish V. Shankar, CGSC with Mr.
Srish Kumar Mishra, Mr. Sagar
Mehlawat & Mr. Alexander Mathai
Paikaday, Advocates.
Ms. Hetu Arora Sethi, ASC, GNCTD
with Mr. Arjun Basra, Advocate Jai
Prakash, ACP, IFSO Cyber Cell along
with Inspector Sanjeev Solanki,
Inspector Kusum , Inspector Suneel
Siddhu and SI Manzoor Alam.
ACP Raman Lamba with Insp. Suneel
Siddhu, IFSO, Special Cell.
CS (COMM) 135/2022 & connected matters Page 1 of 33
2023/DHC/001070
(1) WITH
+ CS (COMM) 20/2019 & I.As.561/2019, 20157/2022
TATA SKY LIMITED ..... Plaintiff
Through: Mr. Vinayak, Advocate.
(M:9013008939)
versus
S G ENTERPREISES - TATA SKY SALES AND SERVICES AND
ORS. ..... Defendants
Through: Mr. Moazzam Khan, Ms. Shweta Sahu,
Mr. Alipak Banerjee and Ms. Parva
Khare, Advs. for D-5. (M:9987115749)
Ms. Akshita Jain, Advocate for D-8.
(M:9990526912)
(2) WITH
+ CS(COMM) 193/2019 & I.As. 5399/2019, 11497/2019, 18216/2019,
15451/2021, 6069/2022
COLGATE PALMOLIVE COMPANY & ANR. ..... Plaintiffs
Through: Mr. Pravin Anand, Mr. Saif Khan &
Mr. Rohil Bansal, Advs.(M-
9079965359)
versus
NIXI & ANR. ..... Defendants
Through: Ms. Akshita Jain, Advocate for D-1
(M-9990526912).
Mr. Darpan Wadhwa, Sr. Advocate
with Ms. Swati Agarwal, Ms. Binsy
Susan, Mr. Shashank Mishra, Ms.
Akshi Rastogi, Ms. Vaani Kaushik &
Mr. Vaarish Sawlani, Advs for D-3-4.
Mr. Anurag Ahluwalia, CGSC with Mr.
Danish Faraz Khan, Mr. Abhigyan
Siddhant and Mr. Rahul Sharma,
Advocates for UOI (M-9999999045)
with Mr. Tanmay Nirmal, Manager
legal.
Mr. Tentu Satyanarayan, Director
CS (COMM) 135/2022 & connected matters Page 2 of 33
2023/DHC/001070
(Legal), UIDAI & Mr. Tanmaya
Nirmal, Deputy Manager (Legal &
Policy), UIDAI (M-9899113033).
Mr. Kushagra Goel & Mr. Abhimanyu
Yadav, Advocates for D-7 (M-
9711443294).
SI Prince Kumar, PS Hauz Khas.
Ms. Hetu Arora Sethi, ASC, GNCTD
with Mr. Arjun Basra, Advocate Jai
Prakash, ACP, IFSO Cyber Cell along
with Inspector Sanjeev Solanki,
Inspector Kusum, Inspector Suneel
Siddhu and SI Manzoor Alam.
(3) WITH
+ CS (COMM) 297/2019
MOTHER DAIRY FRUIT & VEGETABLE PVT. LTD...... Plaintiff
Through: Mr. Pravin Anand, Mr. Saif Khan, Mr.
Shobhit Agarwal and Mr. Deepank,
Advocates.
versus
KUMAR PRAHLAD & ANR. ..... Defendants
Through: Mr. Yash Vardhan Singh, Advocate for
D-1.
Ms. Hetu Arora Sethi, ASC, GNCTD
with Mr. Arjun Basra, Advocate Jai
Prakash, ACP, IFSO Cyber Cell along
with Inspector Sanjeev Solanki,
Inspector Kusum , Inspector Suneel
Siddhu and SI Manzoor Alam.
(4) WITH
+ CS (COMM) 298/2019 & I.As.8189/2019, 13215/2019, 13631/2019,
15695-96/2019, 14210/2021, 16707/2021
ULTRATECH CEMENT LIMITED & ANR. ..... Plaintiff
Through: None.
versus
WWW.ULTRATECHCEMENTS.COM & ORS. ..... Defendants
Through: Mr. Darpan Wadhwa, Sr. Advocate
with Ms. Binsy Susan & Ms. Swati
CS (COMM) 135/2022 & connected matters Page 3 of 33
2023/DHC/001070
Agarwal, Advocates for GoDaddy.
(M:9650001297)
Mr. Ananta Prasad Mishra & Mr.
Gagan Gupta, Advocates for D-9.
(M:9990937838)
Mr. Manish Mohan, CGSC for UOI.
(M-999910115)
Ms. Hetu Arora Sethi, ASC, GNCTD
with Mr. Arjun Basra, Advocate Jai
Prakash, ACP, IFSO Cyber Cell along
with Inspector Sanjeev Solanki,
Inspector Kusum, Inspector Suneel
Siddhu and SI Manzoor Alam.
(5) WITH
+ CS (COMM) 317/2019 & I.As. 8404-05/2019, 3270/2020
DHARAMPAL SATYAPAL LIMITED ..... Plaintiff
Through: Mr. Rajesh Yadav, Sr. Advocate with
Ms. Ruchira V. Arora and Mr.
Dhananjay Mehlawat, Advocates.
(M:9911006159)
versus
RAJNIGANDHA DISTRIBUTORS PRIVATE LIMITED
& ORS ..... Defendants
Through: Mr. Mahesh, Mr. Gulshan Kumar, Ms.
Shubhangi Sood & Ms. Aashi,
Advocates for D-2,3.
Mr V. P Singh, Advocate for D-10.
Mr. Siddharth Sangal & Ms. Nilanjani
Tandon, Advocates for D-11/SBI.
Ms. Hetu Arora Sethi, ASC, GNCTD
with Mr. Arjun Basra, Advocate Jai
Prakash, ACP, IFSO Cyber Cell along
with Inspector Sanjeev Solanki,
Inspector Kusum , Inspector Suneel
Siddhu and SI Manzoor Alam.
Mr. Santosh Kumar Tripathi, Standing
Counsel with Mr. Arun Panwar, Mr.
Tapesh Raghav, Mr. Prudyumn Rao
CS (COMM) 135/2022 & connected matters Page 4 of 33
2023/DHC/001070
and Mr. Mahak Rankawat, Advcoates.
(6) WITH
+ CS (COMM) 732/2019 & I.As. 3865/2020, 9234/2020, 4171/2021,
4172/2021
MONTBLANC SIMPLO GMBH ..... Plaintiff
Through: Mr. Pravin Anand & Mr. Devesh
Ratan, Advs. (M:9810333571)
versus
MONTBLANCINDIA.COM & ORS. ..... Defendants
Through: Mr. Yajur Bhalla, Mr. Deepak Samota
and Mr. Sumer Ahuja, Advocates for
D-1, 2, 4 to 10 & 20. (M:9711009378)
Ms. Asiya Khan, Advocate for D-25
(M: 9971644936).
Mr. Alipak Banjerjee, Ms. Pava Khare
& Ms. Shweta Sahu Advs for D-18.
Ms. Hetu Arora Sethi, ASC, GNCTD
with Mr. Arjun Basra, Advocate Jai
Prakash, ACP, IFSO Cyber Cell along
with Inspector Sanjeev Solanki,
Inspector Kusum , Inspector Suneel
Siddhu and SI Manzoor Alam.
(7) WITH
+ CS (COMM) 82/2020 & I.A. 2402/2020
JOCKEY INTERNATIONAL INC. ..... Plaintiff
Through: Mr. Pravin Anand, Mr. Saif Khan, Mr.
Shobhit Agarwal and Mr. Deepank,
Advs. (M:8800520258)
versus
WWW.JOCKEYFRANCHISE.COM & ORS. ..... Defendants
Through: Mr. Vivek Jain and Ms. Aastha Tiwari,
Advs. for D-4. (M:9871863446)
Ms. Hetu Arora Sethi, ASC, GNCTD
with Mr. Arjun Basra, Advocate Jai
Prakash, ACP, IFSO Cyber Cell along
with Inspector Sanjeev Solanki,
Inspector Kusum , Inspector Suneel
Siddhu and SI Manzoor Alam.
CS (COMM) 135/2022 & connected matters Page 5 of 33
2023/DHC/001070
(8) WITH
+ CS (COMM) 251/2020 & I.As. 5544/2020, 7655/2022
MICROSOFT CORPORATION & ANR. ..... Plaintiffs
Through: Mr. Pravin Anand, Mr. Saif Khan, Mr.
Shantanu Sahay, Ms. Imon Roy and
Mr. Apoorv Bansal, Advocates.
versus
MS CZONE SOLUTIONS & ORS. ..... Defendants
Through: Mr. Sumit Nagpal, Ms. Nancy, Ms.
Dolly Luthra and Ms. Aastha Sood,
Advs for D-1 & 2. (M:9911995000)
Ms. Hetu Arora Sethi, ASC, GNCTD
with Mr. Arjun Basra, Advocate Jai
Prakash, ACP, IFSO Cyber Cell along
with Inspector Sanjeev Solanki,
Inspector Kusum , Inspector Suneel
Siddhu and SI Manzoor Alam.
(9) WITH
+ CS (COMM) 255/2020 & I.As. 5590-91/2020, 11099/2020, 6402/2022
INDIAMART INTERMESH LIMITED .... Plaintiff
Through: Mr. Sidharth Chopra, Mr. Nitin
Sharma, Mr. Yatin Garg, Mr. Ranjeet
Singh, Mr. Vivek Ayyagari, Mr. Angad
Makkar, Mr. M. J. Sudarshan, Ms.
Ramya Aggarwal and Mr. Sohrab
Mann, Advocates.
versus
MR. AKASH VERMA & ORS. ..... Defendants
Through: Mr. Neel Mason, Mr. Uday Singh
Chopra, Mr. Saransh Saini and Mr.
Ujjawal Bhargava for D-2. (M:
9399304251).
Mr. Saransh, Advocate for Ms. Nandita
Rao, ASC (Crml.),GNCTD.
Ms. Hetu Arora Sethi, ASC, GNCTD
with Mr. Arjun Basra, Advocate Jai
Prakash, ACP, IFSO Cyber Cell along
with Inspector Sanjeev Solanki,
CS (COMM) 135/2022 & connected matters Page 6 of 33
2023/DHC/001070
Inspector Kusum , Inspector Suneel
Siddhu and SI Manzoor Alam.
(10) WITH
+ CS (COMM) 324/2020 & I.As. 6950/2020, 12588/2020, 12611/2020,
11510/2021
MCDONALDS CORPORATION & ANR. ..... Plaintiffs
Through: Ms. Priya Adlakha, Mrs. Bindra Rana,
Ms. Tanvi Bhatnagar, Ms. Rima
Majumdar and Ms. Shilpi Sinha,
Advocates. (M:9818202368)
versus
NATIONAL INTERNET EXCHANGE OF INDIA
& ORS. ..... Defendants
Through: Mr. Vivek Jain & Mr. Aastha Tiwari,
Advocates for D-18 & 28
(M9811426480).
Mr. Alipak K. Banerjee and Ms.
Shweta Sahu, Advocates for D-5, 2, 6
7, & 8 (M: 9987115749).
Mr. Ravi Prakash, CGSC with Mr.
Sahonwlah Farmani Ali, Advocate for
D-35&36 (M-9469448888)
Mr. Santosh Kumar Rout & Mr.
Abhishek Chakraborty, Advocates for
D-13 to 17, 22, 26, 27, 31)
Ms. Hetu Arora Sethi, ASC, GNCTD
with Mr. Arjun Basra, Advocate Jai
Prakash, ACP, IFSO Cyber Cell along
with Inspector Sanjeev Solanki,
Inspector Kusum, Inspector Suneel
Siddhu and SI Manzoor Alam.
(11) WITH
+ CS (COMM) 373/2020 & I.A. 7995-96/2020, 7999/2020, 9171/2020,
84/2021, 430/2021 & 1371/2021
ITC LIMITED ..... Plaintiff
Through: Mr. Pravin Anand, Ms. Vaishali, Mr.
Shivang Sharma & Mr. Siddhant
Chamola, Advocates
CS (COMM) 135/2022 & connected matters Page 7 of 33
2023/DHC/001070
versus
ASHOK KUMAR & ORS. ..... Defendants
Through: Ms. Ritu Mishra, Advocate for D-6.
Mr. Hrithik Goyal and Ms. Lovleen
Goyal, Advocates for D-12.
(M:8826767020)
Ms. Deepika Kathuria, Adv. for D-14.
Ms. Asmita Kumar, Advocate for D-31.
(M:9899967516)
Ms. Hetu Arora Sethi, ASC, GNCTD
with Mr. Arjun Basra, Advocate Jai
Prakash, ACP, IFSO Cyber Cell along
with Inspector Sanjeev Solanki,
Inspector Kusum , Inspector Suneel
Siddhu and SI Manzoor Alam.
(12) WITH
+ CS (COMM) 424/2020 & I.A. 20246-47/2022
SHOPPERS STOP LIMITED ..... Plaintiff
Through: Mr. Sagar Chandra, Ms. Shubhie Wahi,
Ms. Ankita Seth and Ms. Sanya
Kapoor, Advocates. (M:9810907412)
versus
M/S SHOPPERSTOP & ORS. ..... Defendants
Through: Mr. P.S. Sudheer and Ms. Anne
Mathew, Advs. for D-5.
(M:9891760039)
Ms. Hetu Arora Sethi, ASC, GNCTD
with Mr. Arjun Basra, Advocate Jai
Prakash, ACP, IFSO Cyber Cell along
with Inspector Sanjeev Solanki,
Inspector Kusum , Inspector Suneel
Siddhu and SI Manzoor Alam.
(13) WITH
+ CS (COMM) 498/2020 & I.A. 10520-21/2020, 2506/2021, 2530/2021
MICROSOFT CORPORATION & ANR. ..... Plaintiffs
Through: Mr. Pravin Anand, Mr. Saif Khan, Mr.
Shantanu Sahay, Ms. Imon Roy and
Mr. Apoorv Bansal, Advocates.
CS (COMM) 135/2022 & connected matters Page 8 of 33
2023/DHC/001070
versus
PCPATCHERS TECHNOLOGY PRIVATE LIMITED
& ORS. ..... Defendants
Through: Mr. Sumit Nagpal, Ms. Nancy and Ms.
Aashta Sood, Advocates for D-1, 2 & 3.
(M:9911995000)
Ms. Hetu Arora Sethi, ASC, GNCTD
with Mr. Arjun Basra, Advocate Jai
Prakash, ACP, IFSO Cyber Cell along
with Inspector Sanjeev Solanki,
Inspector Kusum , Inspector Suneel
Siddhu and SI Manzoor Alam.
(14) WITH
+ CS (COMM) 95/2021 & I.A. 4800/2021
THE HIMALAYA DRUG COMPANY & ORS. ..... Plaintiffs
Through: Mr. Pravin Anand, Ms. Prachi Agarwal
and Ms. Ms. Ridhie Bajaj, Advocates.
(M:8800972785)
versus
ASHOK KUMAR & ORS. ..... Defendants
Through: Mr. Alipak Banderjee, Ms. Shweta
Sahu, Mr. Parva Khare and Mr. Brijesh
Ujjaniwal, Advocates for Go Daddy
(M: 9987115749).
Mr. Tushar Singh & Ms. Trisha
Patnaik, Advocates for D-25.
Mr. Surinder Singh, Advocate for D-29
(M-9311325398)
Ms. Hetu Arora Sethi, ASC, GNCTD
with Mr. Arjun Basra, Advocate Jai
Prakash, ACP, IFSO Cyber Cell along
with Inspector Sanjeev Solanki,
Inspector Kusum , Inspector Suneel
Siddhu and SI Manzoor Alam.
(15) WITH
+ CS (COMM) 154/2021 & I.A. 4692/2021, 10905/2022
GODREJ PROPERTIES LTD ..... Plaintiff
Through: Mr. Pravin Anand, Mr. Vibhav Mithal
CS (COMM) 135/2022 & connected matters Page 9 of 33
2023/DHC/001070
and Mr. Achyut Tiwari, Advocates.
(M:8447458389)
versus
ASHOK KUMAR & ANR. ..... Defendants
Through: Mr. Darpan Wadhwa, Sr. Advocate
with, Mr. Alipak Banerjee, & Ms.
Shweta Sahu, Advocates for D-2.
(M:9987115749)
Ms. Hetu Arora Sethi, ASC, GNCTD
with Mr. Arjun Basra, Advocate Jai
Prakash, ACP, IFSO Cyber Cell along
with Inspector Sanjeev Solanki,
Inspector Kusum , Inspector Suneel
Siddhu and SI Manzoor Alam.
(16) WITH
+ CS (COMM) 176/2021 & I.As. 14924/2022, 14925/2022
SNAPDEAL PRIVATE LIMITED ..... Plaintiff
Through: Ms. Tanya Varma & Ms. Devyani
Nath, Advocates. (M:7042547106)
versus
GODADDYCOM LLC AND ORS ..... Defendants
Through: Mr. Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar,
CGSC with Mr. Srish Kumar Mishra,
Mr. Sagar Mehlawat Alexander Mathai
Paikaday, Advocates (M: 9810788606).
Ms. Shweta Sahu and Mr. Alipak
Banerjee, Mr. Parava Khare and Mr.
Brijesh Ujjainwal, Advs, for D-
2,3,4,23,26,31. (M:9987115749)
Mr. Darpan Wadhwa, Sr. Advocate
with Mr. Moazzam Khan, Mr. Alipak
Banerjee and Ms. Shweta Sahu,
Advocates for D-1 & 10.
Ms. Kruttika Vijay and Ms. Aishwarya
Kane, Advocates for D-9.
(M:9910083144)
Mr. Praveen Kumar Jain & Ms. Shalini
Jha, for D-34. (M:9871278525)
CS (COMM) 135/2022 & connected matters Page 10 of 33
2023/DHC/001070
Ms. Hetu Arora Sethi, ASC, GNCTD
with Mr. Arjun Basra, Advocate Jai
Prakash, ACP, IFSO Cyber Cell along
with Inspector Sanjeev Solanki,
Inspector Kusum, Inspector Suneel
Siddhu and SI Manzoor Alam.
(17) WITH
+ CS (COMM) 276/2021 & I.A. 7329/2021
MICROSOFT CORPORATION & ANR. ..... Plaintiffs
Through: Mr. Pravin Anand, Mr. Saif Khan, Mr.
Shantanu Sahay, Ms. Imon Roy and
Mr. Apoorv Bansal, Advocates.
versus
TECH HERACLES OPC PRIVATE LIMITED
& ORS. ..... Defendants
Through: Ms. Hetu Arora Sethi, ASC, GNCTD
with Mr. Arjun Basra, Advocate Jai
Prakash, ACP, IFSO Cyber Cell along
with Inspector Sanjeev Solanki,
Inspector Kusum , Inspector Suneel
Siddhu and SI Manzoor Alam.
(18) WITH
+ CS (COMM) 293/2021 & I.As.7543-44/2021, 10308/2021,
15052/2021
TATA SONS PRIVATE LIMITED & ANR. ..... Plaintiffs
Through: Mr. Pravin Anand, Mr. Saif Khan Mr.
Achuthan Sreekumar & Mr. Rohil
Bansal Advocates. (M:9079965359)
versus
M/S ELECTRO INTERNATIONAL & ORS. ..... Defendants
Through: Mr. M.K. Singh, Advocate for Mr.
Samir Chugh, Advocates for Airtel (M-
9810455716)
Ms. Deepika Kathuria, Adv. for D-8.
Ms. Hetu Arora Sethi, ASC, GNCTD
with Mr. Arjun Basra, Advocate Jai
Prakash, ACP, IFSO Cyber Cell along
with Inspector Sanjeev Solanki,
CS (COMM) 135/2022 & connected matters Page 11 of 33
2023/DHC/001070
Inspector Kusum , Inspector Suneel
Siddhu and SI Manzoor Alam.
(19) WITH
+ CS (COMM) 399/2021 & I.A. 10855/2021
HINDUSTAN UNILEVER LIMITED ..... Plaintiff
Through: Mr. Sidharth Chopra, Mr. Nitin
Sharma, Mr. Yatin Garg, Mr. Ranjeet
Singh, Mr. Vivek Ayyagari, Mr. Angad
Makkar, Mr. M. J. Sudarshan, Ms.
Ramya Aggarwal and Mr. Sohrab
Mann, Advocates.
versus
NITIN KUMAR SINGH & ORS. ..... Defendants
Through: Mr. Ankur Prakash, Ms. Simran Gill,
Mr. Yudhishthir Bhardwaj, Mr.
Dhananjay, Mr. Amod Bidhuri & Mr.
Saquib Siddiqui, Advocates for D-1
Mr. Akshit Chaudhary, Advocate for
D-5.
Mr. Bhagvan Swarup Shukla, CGSC
with Mr. Kamaldeep, Advocate for
UOI/D-18 & 19.
Mr. K.K. Singh, Advocate for D-27.
Mr. K.R. Sasiprabhu and Mr. Tushar
Bhardwaj, Advs for Reliance Jio.
Ms. Hetu Arora Sethi, ASC, GNCTD
with Mr. Arjun Basra, Advocate Jai
Prakash, ACP, IFSO Cyber Cell along
with Inspector Sanjeev Solanki,
Inspector Kusum , Inspector Suneel
Siddhu and SI Manzoor Alam.
(20) WITH
+ CS (COMM) 524/2021 & I.A. 13715/2021, 4506/2022
KAMDHENU LIMITED ..... Plaintiff
Through: Mr. Nikhil Sonker, Advocate.
(M:7726021194)
versus
RAGHUNATH VIRDHARAM BISHNOI AND ORS. .... Defendants
CS (COMM) 135/2022 & connected matters Page 12 of 33
2023/DHC/001070
Through:
Mr. Rishabh Gupta and Mr. Abhishek
Kumar Singh, Advocates.
Mr. Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar,
CGSC with Mr. Srish Kumar Mishra,
Mr. Sagar Mehlawat Alexander Mathai
Paikaday, Advocates (M: 9810788606).
Mr. Lakshy Aggarwal, Advocate for D-
3.
Mr. Rishi Kapoor and Mr. Satish Rai,
Advocates for D-3. (M:8368148214)
Ms. Shweta Sahu, Mr. Alipak
Banjerjee, Mr. Parva Khare and Mr.
Brijesh Ujjainwal, Advocates for D-8.
(M:9987115749)
Mr. K.G. Gopalakrishnan and Ms.
Nisha Mohandas, Advocates for D-9.
(M:8800556341)
Mr. Vihan Dang, Ms. Aditi Umapathy
and Mr. Parva Khare, Advocates for D-
10 (M-99101983636)
Mr. K.R. Sasiprabhu and Mr. Tushar
Bhardwaj, Advs. for Reliance Jio.
Ms. Hetu Arora Sethi, ASC, GNCTD
with Mr. Arjun Basra, Advocate Jai
Prakash, ACP, IFSO Cyber Cell along
with Inspector Sanjeev Solanki,
Inspector Kusum , Inspector Suneel
Siddhu and SI Manzoor Alam.
(21) WITH
+ CS (COMM) 26/2022 & I.As. 612-13/2022, 954/2022
HT MEDIA LTD ..... Plaintiff
Through: Mr. Sidharth Chopra, Mr. Nitin
Sharma, Mr. Yatin Garg, Mr. Ranjeet
Singh, Mr. Vivek Ayyagari, Mr. Angad
Makkar, Mr. M. J. Sudarshan, Ms.
Ramya Aggarwal and Mr. Sohrab
Mann, Advocates. (M:8017571175)
versus
CS (COMM) 135/2022 & connected matters Page 13 of 33
2023/DHC/001070
POOJA SHARMA & ORS. ..... Defendants
Through: Mr. Pramod K. Sah, Advocate for D-4.
Ms. Deepika Kathuria, Adv. for D-10.
Mr. Alipak Banerjee, Ms. Shweta Sahu,
Mr. Brijesh Ujjainwal, and Advs. for
D-19. (M:9987115749)
Mr. Vihan Dang, Ms. Aditi Umapathy
and Mr. Parva Khare, Advocates for D-
20. (M:9911983636).
Mr. M.K. Singh, Advocate for Mr.
Samir Chugh, Advocate for Airtel.
Ms. Hetu Arora Sethi, ASC, GNCTD
with Mr. Arjun Basra, Advocate Jai
Prakash, ACP, IFSO Cyber Cell along
with Inspector Sanjeev Solanki,
Inspector Kusum , Inspector Suneel
Siddhu and SI Manzoor Alam.
(22) WITH
+ CS (COMM) 35/2022 I.As. 819/2022, 3168/2022, 4738/2022,
8767/2022
KAJARIA CERAMICS LIMITED ..... Plaintiff
Through: Mr. J. Sai Deepak, Ms. Priya Adlakha,
Mrs. Bindra Rana, Ms. Tanvi
Bhatnagar, Ms. Rima Majumdar and
Ms. Shilpi Sinha, Advocates.
(M:9818202368)
versus
GODADDY.COM LLC & ORS. ..... Defendant
Through: Mr. Moazzam Khan, Ms. Shweta Sahu,
Mr. Alipak Banerjee and Ms. Parva
Khare, Advs. for D-1. (M:9987115749)
Ms. Hetu Arora Sethi, ASC, GNCTD
with Mr. Arjun Basra, Advocate Jai
Prakash, ACP, IFSO Cyber Cell along
with Inspector Sanjeev Solanki,
Inspector Kusum , Inspector Suneel
Siddhu and SI Manzoor Alam.
Mr. Ashwani Kumar, Adv. for D-2.
CS (COMM) 135/2022 & connected matters Page 14 of 33
2023/DHC/001070
Mr. Lakshy Aggarwal, Adv. for d-4
Ms. Kirti Bhardwaj, Adv. for D-5(b).
Mr. M.K. Singh, Advocate for Mr.
Samir, Advocate (M-9810455716)
Mr. Santosh Kr. Rout & Mr. Abhishek
Chakraborty, Advocate for D-6.
(23) WITH
+ CS (COMM) 158/2022 & I.As. 3996-97/2022
MICROSOFT CORPORATION & ANR. ..... Plaintiff
Through: Mr. Pravin Anand, Mr. Saif Khan, Mr.
Shantanu Sahay, Ms. Imon Roy and
Mr. Apoorv Bansal, Advocates.
versus
VACATION RENTAL SERVICES PRIVATE LIMITED
& ORS. ..... Defendants
Through: Mr. Mayank Mehandra, Mr. Charu
Tandon & Mr. Sarthak Kapoor & Mr.
Raghav Tandon, Advocate for D-1 & 2.
Mr. Ramnish Khanna, Adv. for D-7.
SI Manzoor Alam, Cyber Police
Station, South-East.
Ms. Hetu Arora Sethi, ASC, GNCTD
with Mr. Arjun Basra, Advocate Jai
Prakash, ACP, IFSO Cyber Cell along
with Inspector Sanjeev Solanki,
Inspector Kusum , Inspector Suneel
Siddhu and SI Manzoor Alam.
(24) WITH
+ CS (COMM) 233/2022 & I.As. 5780-81/2022
BAJAJ FINACE LTD & ANR. ..... Plaintiffs
Through: Mr. Sidharth Chopra, Mr. Nitin
Sharma, Mr. Yatin Garg, Mr. Ranjeet
Singh, Mr. Vivek Ayyagari, Mr. Angad
Makkar, Mr. M. J. Sudarshan, Ms.
Ramya Aggarwal and Mr. Sohrab
Mann, Advocates.
versus
NIKO DAS & ANR. ..... Defendants
CS (COMM) 135/2022 & connected matters Page 15 of 33
2023/DHC/001070
Through: Mr. Vihan Dang, Ms. Aditi Umapathy
and Mr. Parva Khare, Advocates for D-
3.
Mr. Neel Mason, Mr. V. Dang & Ms.
Aditi, Advocates for D-3.
(M:9971586598)
Mr. M.K. Singh, Advocate for Mr.
Samir Chugh, Advocate for Airtel.
Ms. Hetu Arora Sethi, ASC, GNCTD
with Mr. Arjun Basra, Advocate Jai
Prakash, ACP, IFSO Cyber Cell along
with Inspector Sanjeev Solanki,
Inspector Kusum , Inspector Suneel
Siddhu and SI Manzoor Alam.
(25) WITH
+ CS (COMM) 275/2022 & I.As. 6535-36/2022
HINDUSTAN UNILEVER LTD & ANR. ..... Plaintiffs
Through: Mr. Sidharth Chopra, Mr. Nitin
Sharma, Mr. Yatin Garg, Mr. Ranjeet
Singh, Mr. Vivek Ayyagari, Mr. Angad
Makkar, Mr. M. J. Sudarshan, Ms.
Ramya Aggarwal and Mr. Sohrab
Mann, Advocates.
versus
UNILEVERR1.IN & ORS. ..... Defendants
Through: Ms. Deepika Kathuria, Adv. for D-9.
Mr. S. Surender, Advocate for D-21.
Ms. Asiya Khan, Advocate for D-25
Mr. M.K. Singh, Advocate for Mr.
Samir Chugh, Advocate for Airtel.
Ms. Hetu Arora Sethi, ASC, GNCTD
with Mr. Arjun Basra, Advocate Jai
Prakash, ACP, IFSO Cyber Cell along
with Inspector Sanjeev Solanki,
Inspector Kusum , Inspector Suneel
Siddhu and SI Manzoor Alam.
(26) WITH
+ CS (COMM) 364/2022 & I.As. 8518-20/2022, 12855/2022
CS (COMM) 135/2022 & connected matters Page 16 of 33
2023/DHC/001070
AMAZON SELLER SERVICES PRIVATE LIMITED
& ANR. ..... Plaintiffs
Through: Mr. Sidharth Chopra, Mr. Nitin
Sharma, Mr. Yatin Garg, Mr. Ranjeet
Singh, Mr. Vivek Ayyagari, Mr. Angad
Makkar, Mr. M. J. Sudarshan, Ms.
Ramya Aggarwal and Mr. Sohrab
Mann, Advocates.
versus
AMAZONBUYS.IN & ORS. ..... Defendants
Through: Mr. G. Mirza, Mr. Vishesh Sharma,
Advocates for D-4. (M:7434045442)
Mr. Sohit Choudhary, Advocate for D-
5.
Ms. Mrinal Ojha, Mr. Debarshi Dutta &
Mr. Aayush Kevlani, Advocates for D-
8 (M-9167094381)
Ms. Deepika Kathuria, Adv. for D-10.
Mr. Vineet Dhanda, CGSC with Mr.
Abhishek Singh, Advocate for UOI/D-
18 & 19.
Mr. M.K. Singh, Advocate for Mr.
Samir Chugh, Advocate for Airtel.
Ms. Hetu Arora Sethi, ASC, GNCTD
with Mr. Arjun Basra, Advocate Jai
Prakash, ACP, IFSO Cyber Cell along
with Inspector Sanjeev Solanki,
Inspector Kusum , Inspector Suneel
Siddhu and SI Manzoor Alam.
(27) WITH
+ CS (COMM) 475/2022 & I.As. 10851-52/2022, 12173-74/2022
FASHNEAR TECHNOLOGIES PRIVATE LIMITED ..... Plaintiff
Through: Mr. Sidharth Chopra, Mr. Nitin
Sharma, Mr. Yatin Garg, Mr. Ranjeet
Singh, Mr. Vivek Ayyagari, Mr. Angad
Makkar, Mr. M. J. Sudarshan, Ms.
Ramya Aggarwal and Mr. Sohrab
Mann, Advocates.
CS (COMM) 135/2022 & connected matters Page 17 of 33
2023/DHC/001070
versus
MEESHO ONLINE SHOPPING PVT. LTD. & ANR. ..... Defendants
Through: Mr. Neel Mason, Mr. Vihan Dang, and
Ms. Aditi Umapathy, Advocate for D-6.
Mr. Vihan Dang, Ms. Aditi Umapathy
and Mr. Parva Khare, Advs. for D-10.
Mr. Darpan Wadhwa, Sr. Advocate
with Mr. Alipak Banerjee, Mr. Brijesh
Ujjainwal & Ms. Shweta Sahu,
Advocate for D-7.
Mr. Anurag Ahluwalia, CGSC with Mr.
Abhigyan Siddhant and Mr. Danish
Faraz Khan, Advocates for D-19 & 20.
(M:9999999045)
Mr. K.R. Sasiprabhu and Mr. Tushar
Bhardwaj, Advs for Reliance Jio.
Ms. Hetu Arora Sethi, ASC, GNCTD
with Mr. Arjun Basra, Advocate Jai
Prakash, ACP, IFSO Cyber Cell along
with Inspector Sanjeev Solanki,
Inspector Kusum , Inspector Suneel
Siddhu and SI Manzoor Alam.
(28) WITH
+ CS (COMM) 350/2020 & I.A. 7456/2020, 9624/2020, 9629/2020,
996/2021, 9204/2022, 16148/2022
GUJARAT COOPERATIVE MILK MARKETING FEDERATION
LTD & ANR. ..... Plaintiff
Through: Mr. Abhishek Singh and Mr. J. Amal
Anand, Mr. Elvin Joshy, Ms. Alisha
Sharma & Ms. Insha Mushtaq,
Advocates. (M:9910291290)
versus
AMUL-FRANCHISE.IN & ORS. ..... Defendant
Through: Mr. Anil Soni, CGSC with Mr. Rahul
Mourya, Adv. for UOI.
(M:9560238258)
Mr. Anurag Ahluwalia,, CGSC with
Mr. Abhigyan Siddhant, G.P. and Mr.
CS (COMM) 135/2022 & connected matters Page 18 of 33
2023/DHC/001070
Danish Faraz Khan, Advocate for UOI.
(M:9811418995)
Mr. Darpan Wadhwa, Sr. Advocate
with Mr. Alipak Banerjee & Ms.
Shweta Sahu and Advocates for D-26.
(M:9987115749)
Mr. Alipak Banerjee, Mr. Brijesh and
Ms. Shweta Shahu, Advocates for D-
27, 28 & 30.
Mr. Praveen Kumar Jain, and Ms.
Shalini Jha, Advocates for D-37.
(M:9871278525)
Mr. Ramesh Babu, Ms. Manisha Singh,
Ms. Jagriti Bharti, and Ms. Tanya
Chowdhary, Advocate for D-28 (M:
9971671294).
Mr. Vihan Dang and Mr. Parva Khare
& Ms. Aditi Umapathy, Advs for D-52.
Ms. Hetu Arora Sethi, ASC, GNCTD
with Mr. Arjun Basra, Advocate Jai
Prakash, ACP, IFSO Cyber Cell along
with Inspector Sanjeev Solanki,
Inspector Kusum , Inspector Suneel
Siddhu and SI Manzoor Alam.
(29) WITH
+ CS (COMM) 228/2021 & I.As. 6441/2021, 11684/2021, 1412-
13/2022, 12160/2022, 12171/2022, 13443/2022, 14920/2022,
14923/2022, 17716-17/2022
BAJAJ FINANCE LIMITED ..... Plaintiff
Through: Mr. Abhishek Singh, Mr. Jamal Anand,
Mr. Elvin Joshy, Ms. Insha Mushtaq
Ms. Alisha Sharma & Mr. Ujjwal.
versus
REGISTRANT OF WWW.BAJAJ-FINSERVE.ORG
& ORS. ..... Defendants
Through: Mr. Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar,
CGSC with Mr. Srish Kumar Mishra,
CS (COMM) 135/2022 & connected matters Page 19 of 33
2023/DHC/001070
Mr. Sagar Mehlawat Alexander Mathai
Paikaday, Advocates (M: 9810788606).
Mr. Alipak Banerjee, Ms. Shweta Sahu,
Ms. Parva Khare and Mr. Brijesh
Ujjainwal, and Advs. for D-7, 12, 14,
17, 6, 11 & 22 (M:9987115749)
Mr. Manish Paliwal, and Ms. Himanshi
Kaushik, Advocates for D-18.
(M:8448257585)
Mr. Akhil Sibal, Sr. Advocate with Mr.
Aditya Gupta, Ms. Aishwarya, Mr.
Sauhard Alung and Ms. Asvari Jain,
Advocates for D-19. (M:9910083144)
Mr. Rajshekhar Rao, Sr. Advocate with
Mr. Tine Abraham, Mr. Manasa
Sundaraman C., Ms. Kshipra Pyare and
Ms. Mansi Sood Trileyal, Advocates
for D-28. (M:9324328752)
Mr. Ashok Kumar, Advocate for D-31.
(M:9810011826).
Ms. Swati Aggarwal, Ms. Binsy Susan,
Mr. Aasish Samasi and Mr. Mohit
Singh, Advs. for GoDaddy.
Ms. Hetu Arora Sethi, ASC, GNCTD
with Mr. Arjun Basra, Advocate Jai
Prakash, ACP, IFSO Cyber Cell along
with Inspector Sanjeev Solanki,
Inspector Kusum , Inspector Suneel
Siddhu and SI Manzoor Alam.
CORAM:
JUSTICE PRATHIBA M. SINGH
Prathiba M. Singh (Oral)
1. This hearing has been done through hybrid mode.
2. This Court has been considering the above matters from time to time.
The present set of suits and proceedings have been filed before this Court, by
a large number of trademark and brand owners, seeking reliefs against misuse
CS (COMM) 135/2022 & connected matters Page 20 of 33
2023/DHC/001070
of their marks / names / brands by unauthorized persons, who register such
marks as part of their domain names. The primary issue that arises in these
cases is that the proliferation of these fraudulent and illegal domain names has
resulted in enormous damage to innocent and gullible members of the public,
who have mistakenly paid large sums of money to the said website
owners/domain name owners. From time to time, directions have been issued
by this Court for blocking and for removal/suspension of the domain names
and pulling down of the websites.
The appointment of grievance officers by Domain Name Registrars (DNR)
and giving effect to orders passed by this Courts and other authorities.
3. It is seen in these matters that the details for the persons registering the
illegal domain are usually not available on the website. In view of the same,
vide order dated 3rd August, 2022, recommendations were to be given by
MEITY after consulting various stakeholders, including the CGPTDM, DOT,
NIXI, Delhi Police, etc on the following aspects:
"(i) The manner in which the details of the domain name
registrants, can be verified by the DNRs, at the time of
registration of domain names;
(ii) The manner in which the privacy protect feature and proxy
servers are made available: whether it is only upon a specific
registrant choosing the said option, rather than as a standard
feature as part of a 'bundle';
(iii) If the owner of a well-known brand or a trademark
contacts any DNR, the manner in which the data related to the
registrant can be provided, without the intervention of a Court,
or any governmental agency;
(iv) Whether the identity of the owner of a domain name, which
consists of a registered trademark or a known brand can be
verified at the time of registration itself;
(v) If a specific link could be provided by the CGPTDM,
covering a list of well-known marks, maintained by the
CS (COMM) 135/2022 & connected matters Page 21 of 33
2023/DHC/001070
Registrar of the Trademarks, or declared by any Court of law,
which can then be used for expedited blocking of domain
names consisting of such marks;
(vi) If there can be any agency that can be identified in India,
such as NIXI, who can be made a repository of the data
concerning the registrant, or an agency through which the
data could be transmitted by the DNR, upon verification by
NIXI, in case a trademark owner has a grievance against a
specific domain name;
(vii) If any directions are issued to the DNRs, and the same are
not implemented, the manner in which the implementation of
the said orders can be ensured;
(viii) Since almost all, domain names are registered only after
payments are made through credit card, or other online
payment methods or apps, is it possible, upon request by any
identified agency, to provide the information relating to the
person who has made the payment, to the trademark owners.
This should be discussed in the aforementioned meeting to be
held on 30th August, 2022."
4. In addition, a further aspect to be considered by the MEITY and DoT as
recorded in the order dated 14th September, 2022, was the issue of whether
grievance officers had been appointed by the DNRs and in case of no
information regarding the same, MEITY was to take steps in accordance with
law. A status report detailing the steps taken by MEITY was also to be filed.
The said status report reflecting the action taken by the MEITY has been
placed on record. The relevant part of the same is as under:
S. RELEVANT PARA OF ACTION TAKEN
No. THE ORDER SHEET
DATED 14.09.2022
7. Para No. 34 On 16.11.2022, an email has
Insofar as those DNRs sent to the Jia Rong Low the
which have appointed Vice President, Stakeholder
Grievance Officers are Engagement and Managing
concerned, including Director Asia Pacific ICANN
CS (COMM) 135/2022 & connected matters Page 22 of 33
2023/DHC/001070
Newfold Group and regarding the appointment of
Google, it is made clear Grievance Officers by ICANN
that they ought to function accredited DNRs
in accordance with law ICANN has also submitted its
including the IT Rules, response to the MeitY. It is
2021. In such cases, pertinent to mention here that,
Plaintiffs are permitted to in response ICANN has not
make advance service in provided the details of
cases relating to domain Grievance officer of ICANN
names registered with the accredited DNR. ICANN has
said DNRs to the mentioned that ICANN's
Grievance Officers relationship with ICANN
through the contact details accredited Registrars is merely
of the grievance officers. It contractual. ICANN does not
would then be expected in provide legal counsel to
such cases, that the said ICANN accredited registrars
DNRs would enter and does not coordinate their
appearance or facilitate participation in, or responses
the compliance and give to, Court directives.
effect to the orders or Accordingly, ICANN does not
directions passed by currently have any information
Courts. with regard to the appointment
of Grievance Officers by the
Para No.35 registrars identified.
No other DNRs have made
any submissions before A copy of the Correspondence
this Court today. MeitY is with ICANN 1s placed at
directed to look into the Annexure - 7.
issue of appointment of
Grievance Officers by the On 13.11.2022, through NIXI,
other DNRs who are a notice has been circulated in
parties in these suits. the newspapers "Times of
India" and "Hindustan Times"
Para No.36 throughout the country by
If the said DNRs have not requesting the ICANN
appointed Grievance accredited DNRs to appoint
Officers, one week's time Grievance Officer in their
shall be given to them for organization accordingly. The
CS (COMM) 135/2022 & connected matters Page 23 of 33
2023/DHC/001070
making the appointments screenshot of the notice
in accordance with the IT published newspaper is placed
Rules, 2021. If the said at Annexure -8.
compliance
is not made by DNRs, In addition, MeitY vide its
MeitY is free to proceed in email dated 29.12.2022
accordance with law requested 'I CANN accredited
against such DNRs who DNRs for .com/.net/.org' for
are offering their domain appointment of Grievance
name registration, hosting Officer or establishment of
and related services m Grievance Redressed
India, without complying Mechanism by DNRs as
with the local laws. A prescribed under Intermediary
status report be put up by Guidelines and Digital Media
MeitY by the next date, on Ethics Code) Rules, 2021. The
this aspect including the same is placed at Annexure -
steps taken by MeitY 8A.
pursuant to the directions
contained above. None of the ICANN-accredited
DNRs for .com/.net/.org' have
responded.
In persuasion of
aforementioned actions from
MeitY and NIXI, all twenty (20)
.IN DNRs have shared the
details of Grievance Officers
appointed by them. A copy of
the current status of the
appointment of .IN DNRs is
placed at Annexure - 9.
5. The response of MEITY insofar as the issue relating to non-
appointment of grievance officers is as under:
S. ISSUE IDENTIFIED BY RESPONSE
No. HON'BLE DELHI HIGH COURT
UNDER PARA NO. 36 OF COURT
CS (COMM) 135/2022 & connected matters Page 24 of 33
2023/DHC/001070
ORDER 13.08.2022
1. If the said DNRs have not As of today, MeitY does
appointed Grievance Officers, one not have powers to take
week's time shall be given to them for action against
making the appointments in noncompliant domain
accordance with the IT Rules, 2021. name registrars. On
If the said compliance is not made by the order of the
DNRs, MeitY is free to proceed in Hon'ble Court, action
accordance with law against such on blocking of website
DNRs who are offering their domain and email IDs would be
name registration, hosting and taken. The power of
related services in India, without such blocking is vested
complying with the local laws. A with DoT through ISPs.
status report be put up by MeitY by
the next date, on this aspect including
the steps taken by MeitY pursuant to
the directions contained above.
6. It is noticed that there are two sets of DNRs which are operating in
India.
• The first sets of DNRs are those who offer various Global Top Level
Domains (GTLDs) such as (.com), (.net) and (.org). Some such DNRs
have agreed to appoint grievance officers and implement orders passed
by Indian Courts/Authorities. However, a number of DNRs have either
not responded to MEITY or have belatedly refused to comply with the
orders passed by this Court.
• The second set of DNRs which operate in India are (.in) DNRs. In so
far as (.in) DNRs are concerned, they are stated to have appointed
Grievance Officers, as reflected in MEITY's report.
CS (COMM) 135/2022 & connected matters Page 25 of 33
2023/DHC/001070
7. In addition, ld. Counsel for the Plaintiffs in some of the matters have
also informed the court that a number of DNRs have completely refused to
comply with the blocking orders and other directions issued by this Court, in
respect of infringing domain names.
8. In view of the aforementioned facts which have come to light through
MEITY's status report, the submissions made before this Court from time to
time and the e-mails which have been placed on record today, such as e-mails
by Namecheap Inc, it is clear that stringent steps would be required to be
taken, in order to curb the menace of illegal domain name registrations having
well known marks and names of business houses. It is accordingly directed
that MEITY/DoT/the appropriate authority shall take steps action in
accordance with the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and
Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 against DNRs who do not agree to
comply with the said Rules or do not appoint grievance officers or implement
orders of Indian Courts/Authorities.
9. Ld. Counsel for the Plaintiffs are free to communicate with the official
from MEITY Mr. Pradip Verma, who shall act as the nodal officer for this
purpose to coordinate with DoT and any other authorities, at the e-mail
address [email protected] and submit their respective lists of DNRs who
are stated to be not complying with the orders passed by this Court and not
appointing the grievance officers.
10. It is directed that the concerned MEITY/DOT officials shall peruse the
various orders which are passed in these proceedings prior to taking any
action under the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and
Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021. Steps in respect thereof, in terms of
CS (COMM) 135/2022 & connected matters Page 26 of 33
2023/DHC/001070
Rules be taken within four weeks. The action so taken shall be placed on
record by MEITY by means of a status report by the next date of hearing.
Bank Account Details and Matching of the Bank Account Holder's Name
with Account Number and Other Details
11. On 14th September, 2022, during the hearing, it was brought to the
attention of the Court that in many cases under consideration, there was a
mismatch between the name of the account holder of the bank account, and
the name given in the billing details. The fact that whenever payments are
made into a bank account, the name of the account holder and the name of the
recipient are not matched and it is only the account number which is matched,
is leading to innocent consumers being duped. From the submissions made it
appears that currently there is no verification done by banks qua the name of
the account holder at the time of payment transaction.
By way of illustration, if ,bank account no. 1234 is in the
name of one Mr. XXX, and as per the billing details, the
payment is being made to 'YYY Pvt. Ltd', with bank
account no. 1234, the said mismatch would not be taken
note of by the bank and only the account number is verified
for the purposes of accepting deposits.
12. Taking note of this submission, on the last date of hearing, i.e., 1st
December, 2022, the Court had directed RBI, impleaded as Respondent No.38
in CS (COMM)- 350/2022 titled Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd. v. Amul-Franchise.in to place its stand on record in regard to the aforementioned issue. The said direction reads:
" 15. In this regard, it has also been noticed that the Reserve Bank of India, impleaded as Defendant No.38 in CS(COMM) 350/2022, has not entered appearance today.CS (COMM) 135/2022 & connected matters Page 27 of 33
2023/DHC/001070 Let fresh notice be issued to the nominated counsel for the Reserve Bank of India for appearance in this matter.
16. Ld. counsel for the Plaintiffs to serve a copy of this order to the nominated counsel for RBI as well.
17. Registry to also give intimation to the nominated counsel of RBI and attach with the same, the order of this Court dated 14th September, 2022. The RBI shall also place its stand on record on the aspect of discrepancies between account holders' name and the name of the account itself and recommendations as to the way forward."
13. Today, Mr. Ramesh Babu, ld. Counsel for the RBI has handed over a copy of its affidavit dated 9th February, 2023 in compliance of the order dated 1st December, 2022. The stand of the RBI is that various guidelines in respect of RTGS and NEFT transactions have already been issued and guidelines are regularly issued from time to time in respect of mandatory compliances that are to be affected by banks at the time of opening of accounts etc.
14. Insofar as the question as to whether both the beneficiary account number and the account holder's name have to match while receiving payments or deposits, into a particular account is concerned, the stand of the RBI is as under:
"6. It is most humbly submitted that the RBI has not issued any specific instruction advising banks to ensure that the name of bank account holder and the names in the billing details correspond with each other. It is however, of significance to mention here that the RBI has already issued guidelines in relation to Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS)/National Electronic Fund Transfer (NEFT) transactions viz., 'Electronic payment products - Processing inward transactions based solely on account number information', vide Circular No. DPSS (CO) EPPD No./863/04.03.01/2010-11 dated October 14, 2010.CS (COMM) 135/2022 & connected matters Page 28 of 33
2023/DHC/001070 These guidelines, as is explicitly stated therein, have been issued with respect to various electronic payment products introduced by RBI to facilitate electronic transfer of funds in a secure and efficient manner. A copy of the Circular No. DPSS (CO) EPPD No./863/04.03.01/2010-11 dated October 14, 2010 has been annexed herewith and marked as Annexure D-1.
7. That, Paras 2, 3 and 4 of the said Circular, explain the challenges with manual intervention in processing transactions. It is submitted that in Core Banking Solutions (CBS) environment, customers of a bank can be uniquely identified by their account numbers across branches. However, in terms of the extant Procedural Guidelines for RTGS / NEFT / National Electronic Clearing Services (NECS) Electronic Clearing Service (ECS) Credit, banks are generally expected to match the name and account number information of the beneficiary before affording credit to the account. In the Indian context, many different ways in which beneficiary names can be written, it becomes extremely challenging to perfectly match the name field contained in the electronic transfer instructions with the name on record in the books of the destination bank. This leads to manual intervention hindering Straight Through Processing (STP) and causing delay in credit or due return of uncredited instructions. Any manual intervention not only delays completion of the instruction but also provides scope for error and fraudulent intent.
Responsibility for accurate input and successful credit lies with the remitting customers and the originating banks. The role of destination banks is limited to affording credit to beneficiary's account based on details furnished by the remitter/originating bank. In order to handle surging volumes in a limited time window, some banks use name matching software, while a few others employ a risk- based approach based on the nature and value of transfer.
CS (COMM) 135/2022 & connected matters Page 29 of 332023/DHC/001070
8. It is submitted that Para 5(1) of the said Circular states that responsibility to provide correct inputs in the payment instructions, particularly the beneficiary account number, rests with the remitter/originator. While the beneficiary's name shall be compulsorily mentioned in the instruction request and carried as part of the funds transfer message, reliance will be only on the account number for the purpose of affording credit. The said instructions are applicable both for transaction requests emanating at branches and those originated through online/internet delivery channels. The name field in the message formats will, however, be a parameter to be used by the destination bank based on risk perception and/or use for post- credit checking or otherwise.
9. Further, under Para 5 of said Circular, the banks are also advised to introduce following features for enhancing safety and security of electronic payments:
i. Banks should put suitable disclaimers on the funds transfer screens in the online/internet banking platform and funds transfer request forms advising customers that credit will be effected based solely on the beneficiary account number information and the beneficiary name particulars will not be used therefor.
ii. Destination banks may afford credit to the beneficiary's account based on the account number as furnished by remitter/originating bank in the message/data file. The beneficiary's name details may be used for verification based on risk perception, value of transfer, nature of transaction, post-credit checking, etc. CS (COMM) 135/2022 & connected matters Page 30 of 33 2023/DHC/001070 iii. Member banks shall take necessary steps to create awareness amongst their customers about the need for providing correct account number information while making payments through RTGS/NEFT/NECS/ECS Credit.
In addition to the above, the beneficiary banks are advised that, in cases where it is found that credit has been afforded to a wrong account, banks need to establish a robust, transparent and quick grievance redressal mechanism to reverse such credits and set right the mistake and/or return the transaction to the originating bank. This particularly needs to function very efficiently and pro-actively till such time customers are comfortable with the new arrangements.
10. It is submitted that Immediate Payment Service (IMPS), one of the modes of electronic fund transfer is operated by National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). NPCI has enabled the banks to offer beneficiary account validation functionality to confirm the beneficiary account name (as per bank CBS) and account status before making the transaction. Banks need to ensure that they are equipped for providing this functionality and also necessary changes in their Bank application (net banking/mobile banking) User Interface (UI)/User Experience (UX) to enable this functionality to their customers in the transaction process flow. Unified Payments Interface (UPI), which is also operated by NPCI offers the functionality wherein the customer can verify the beneficiary UPI ID/Virtual Payment Address (VPA) from the app thus providing a layer of protection to the remitter."
15. Mr. Ramesh Babu, ld. Counsel appearing for the RBI submits that without conducting KYC verification, it is not permissible for a bank to open an account. However, he submits that insofar as the beneficiary account CS (COMM) 135/2022 & connected matters Page 31 of 33 2023/DHC/001070 validation functionality i.e., confirming the name of the beneficiary's account and not merely the account number is concerned, the said functionality is available with banks and it is for them to enable the same if they choose to do so. This mechanism has been introduced by NPCI.
16. Ld. counsel for the Plaintiffs, however, submits that the entire difficulty has arisen because of the fact that the banks only seek to match the account number while accepting payments through online, electronic and offline modes and do not verify the name of the beneficiary and match the same with the account holder's name.
17. In the opinion of this Court, the RBI needs to take steps in order to curb malpractices as has been seen in all these suits where amounts have been accepted by banks in the names of well-known companies but the bank account stands at the name of some third party.
18. ld. Counsel for the RBI to seek instructions as to whether the RBI can issue guidelines making it mandatory for banks to match the beneficiary's name/ name in the billing details with the account holder's name and not merely the account number, whenever banks accepts online or offline payments.
19. Let an affidavit in this regard be placed on record by the RBI within 4 weeks.
Investigation of Criminal Complaints
20. A common status report on behalf of Special Cell of Delhi Police dated 8th February, 2023 has been filed by Ms. Hetu Arora Sethi, ld. ASC giving the status of investigation in all the 30 suits. The ld. ASC submits that in some cases the Delhi Police has taken cognizance, though, there were no victims who were traceable in Delhi.
CS (COMM) 135/2022 & connected matters Page 32 of 332023/DHC/001070
21. Let investigation in all the 30 suits continue and a further status report be filed by the next date of hearing.
Privacy Protection Feature
22. All the DNRs who are appearing before the Court would seek instructions and make submissions on the next date of hearing as to whether privacy protection feature masking the details of the Domain Name Registrant is being automatically offered or is the concerned Domain Name Registrant required to 'choose' the said feature by a positive act as per the policies which they are following.
23. List on 27th March, 2023
24. These are part heard matters.
PRATHIBA M. SINGH JUDGE FEBRUARY 10, 2023 Mr/dj/sk/kt CS (COMM) 135/2022 & connected matters Page 33 of 33