Delhi High Court Upholds Interim Ban on Jaipur Restaurant Chain's Use Of 'DASAPRAKASH' Trademark
Ayushi Shukla
23 Jan 2026 1:09 PM IST
The Delhi High Court has upheld an interim injunction restraining a Jaipur-based company, Dasaprakash Restaurant and Ice Cream Parlour Private Limited, from using the “DASAPRAKASH” trademark. The restraint covers ice creams, restaurants, and allied goods and services.
The court held that the continued use of the mark was prima facie unauthorized and amounted to trademark infringement.
A Division Bench of Justice C. Hari Shankar and Justice Om Prakash Shukla delivered the judgment on January 21, 2026. The bench dismissed a batch of appeals in a long-running trademark dispute that began before the Madras High Court in 2008.
Observing that a prima facie case of infringement was made out and that confusion was likely, the Court said, “The mark in question is the very mark which is registered in favour of the respondents (Mysore Dasaprakash). The use by the appellants (Jaipur company) of the mark are for restaurants and other such activities which are allied and cognate to the activities in respect of which the mark is registered in favour of the respondents.”
The dispute traces back to a suit filed in 2008 before the Madras High Court by Mysore Dasaprakash. The suit claimed exclusive rights over the “DASAPRAKASH” trademark. The mark was registered in 1963 in favour of Sitarama Rao and his sons for ice creams and allied goods.
Along with the suit, interim applications were filed seeking to restrain the Jaipur company from using the mark. In November 2008, a single judge of the Madras High Court granted an interim injunction. The order was upheld by a Division Bench in August 2009.
In 2015, the Supreme Court set aside the appellate judgment and remanded the matter for fresh consideration, noting that all aspects had not been examined. In 2017, the Supreme Court transferred the suit to the Delhi High Court. The suit is presently pending. In July 2023, the connected appeals were also transferred to the Delhi High Court.
The Jaipur company claimed rights over the mark on the basis of a memorandum of understanding and a subsequent agreement executed in 2001 with K. Balakrishna Rao, one of the family members of the Mysore Dasaprakash group.
Mysore Dasaprakash, however, relied on a family arrangement dated 1989, under which the use of the mark by an outsider was permissible only so long as the concerned family member remained a director, major shareholder, or partner.
The court noted that Balakrishna Rao had been adjudged insolvent by the Madras High Court in March 2001 and that any agreement executed by him thereafter was void in law. It also relied on a December 2025 judgment of the Madras High Court, which held that the “DASAPRAKASH” trademark is a family mark and that Balakrishna Rao, being only a minority shareholder, could not have transferred any rights in the mark.
Holding that the Jaipur company could not be treated as a permitted user of the registered trademark, the Court found that the continued use of the identical mark for restaurants and ice cream parlours amounted to prima facie infringement and was likely to cause confusion.
Referring to the Supreme Court's ruling in Midas Hygiene Industries v. Sudhir Bhatia, the Court reiterated that once infringement is established at a prima facie stage, an injunction must ordinarily follow.
Consequently, the appeals were dismissed.
For Appellants: Advocates Joshy John, Manav Vohra, Kavita Nailwal and Pranjul Jain
For Respondents: Advocates Tishampati Sen, Riddhi Sancheti, Anurag Anand and Mukul Kulhari