Multani Pharmaceuticals Limited vs Mayuri Bhupal Bhamare

$~
* IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI
th
% Date of Decision: 28 April, 2026

+ CS(COMM) 934/2024 and I.A. 43164/2024
MULTANI PHARMACEUTICALS LIMITED .....Plaintiff
Through: Mr. Pravin Anand and Mr. Ashutosh
Upadhyay, Advocates.

versus

MAYURI BHUPAL BHAMARE .....Defendant
Through: Ms. Nupoor Maharaj, Advocate.

CORAM:
HON'BLE MS. JUSTICE JYOTI SINGH
JUDGEMENT
JYOTI SINGH, J.
1. This suit is instituted on behalf of the Plaintiff inter alia seeking a
decree of permanent injunction restraining the Defendant and all others
acting on its behalf from selling, exporting, offering for sale, advertising,
manufacturing the impugned products in any manner whatsoever or using
the impugned marks MULTANI/
/
and/or
any other mark identical or deceptively similar to Plaintiff’s registered
trademarks MULTANI/
(Multani)/
/
Signature Not Verified
Digitally Signed
By:KAMAL KUMAR
Signing Date:29.04.2026
15:01:04
CS(COMM) 934/2024 Page 1 of 14

/
, amounting to infringement of
trademarks and/or passing off.
2. As stated in the plaint, Plaintiff originally started as a small clinic run
by its founder in 1905 and in 1938, Multani Pharmacy was formally
established and Plaintiff launched its first ever product MULTANI KUKA
TABLETS. Plaintiff company was incorporated on 05.03.1986, originally as
Multani Pharmaceuticals Pvt. Ltd., whereafter pursuant to special Resolution
dated 02.08.1995, the name was changed to Multani Pharmaceuticals
Limited. Plaintiff has been involved in manufacture and distribution of
Ayurvedic, Unani and herbal medicines and is a research oriented
organization driven by a constant endeavour to produce safe, efficacious and
consistent remedies using Ayurvedic principles and over the years, through
continuous and rigorous research, Plaintiff has successfully developed
several pharmaceutical-grade herbal healthcare and cosmetic products and
has brought the traditional Indian herbal medicinal products within reach of
consumers, not only in India but also internationally, at highly affordable
prices.
3. It is stated that Plaintiff operates under the house mark
MULTANI/
(Multani)/
/
/
and offers a wide range of nearly 500 products under
various categories such as personal care, healthcare, home care, Ayurvedic,
Signature Not Verified
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Unani medicines, nutraceuticals, food and consumables and cosmetics. Few
of the well-known products of the Plaintiff include Multani KUKA Cough
Syrup, Multani Chyawanprash, Multani Shaktiton Bal Tonik, Multani
Rajbhog Prash, Multani Pachmeena and Multani Rovaan Keshtel, which
have become household names by winning the trust of customers in India
and globally. Plaintiff’s product range spans from classical Ayurvedic
medicines to Ayurvedic OTC products, catering to a wide spectrum of
consumer needs.
4. It is stated that Plaintiff’s journey spans over 86 years, marked by
significant milestones that showcase its growth and commitment to
Ayurvedic healthcare and a bird’s-eye view is as follows:-
a). In 1905, Vaidya Pt. Thakur Datta Multani began practicing
Ayurveda in Lahore, sowing the seeds of Multani Pharmacy.
b). In 1938, Plaintiff launched its first product MULTANI KUKA for
sale in undivided India.
c). In 1938, Multani Pharmacy was formally established and after
partition, the company relocated to Delhi.
d). 1970s saw global expansion of Ayurvedic Pharma Division,
Tekhand, Delhi and by 1995, Plaintiff had started global expansion of
Multani Pharmacy by exporting MULTANI products to various
countries through merchant exporters based out of India.
e). In 2003, Plaintiff established another manufacturing facility at
Okhla, Delhi and later in 2008, a modern manufacturing unit was
established in Haridwar, which later received WHO GMP (WHO
Good Manufacturing Practices) certification.
5. It is stated that the trademark MULTANI was bona fidely adopted by
Signature Not Verified
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the founder of the Plaintiff after his own name Vaidya Pt. Thakur Datta
Multani and the mark has been honestly and extensively used for over eight
decades. The trademark has been instrumental in building Plaintiff’s
reputation across pharmaceutical, cosmetic and food sectors, demonstrating
company’s versatility and commitment to quality and is also the house mark
for all its products. The mark has acquired distinctiveness and has become
synonymous with the Plaintiff. Plaintiff has also secured multiple
registrations in the mark MULTANI across multiple Classes such as 01, 03,
05, 16, 18, 25, 30, 31 etc. The registrations are valid and subsisting and the
details are as follows:-

6. It is stated that Plaintiff has also secured registrations for MULTANI
trademarks in international jurisdictions, which are also valid and subsisting
and details are as under:-
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7. It is stated that Plaintiff has extensively promoted its brand
MULTANI and invested substantial amount of money every year on its
promotion, publicity and advertisement through print and electronic media
as also on social media platforms. Details of expenses incurred on
advertising and promotion as certified by the Chartered Accountant, are as
follows:-


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8. It is stated that the formidable and enviable goodwill and reputation
garnered by the Plaintiff over the years by sale of its products under the
trademark MULTANI is illustrated from the sales turnover and duly
certified figures are as follows:-

9. It is stated that Plaintiff has been diligent in protecting its intellectual
property rights in the mark MULTANI and has successfully initiated
multiple actions against its misuse. Details of the actions taken against third-
party infringers and exploiters of the mark are furnished in paragraph 37 of
the plaint.
10. It is stated that in August, 2024, Plaintiff became aware of
Defendant’s trademark application dated 09.12.2021 for registration of the
trademark
. It was learnt that Defendant was using the
impugned mark for manufacture and supply of identical products for skin
care, hair care and body care such as anti-hair fall kits, face masks,
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shampoos, handmade soaps etc and being aggrieved, Plaintiff filed the
present suit.
Proceedings in the Suit
11. Summons were issued in the suit on 24.10.2024 and Court granted ex
parte ad interim injunction restraining the Defendant from using the
impugned marks MULTANI/
/
and/or any other
mark identical or deceptively similar to Plaintiff’s registered trademarks.
Thereafter, Plaintiff and Defendant amicably settled their disputes and
Settlement Agreement was executed on 12.06.2025, which was placed on
record. The proceedings in the suit, however, continued since Plaintiff
pressed its relief for declaration of the trademark MULTANI as a well-
known trademark in respect of Ayurvedic Pharmaceutical Products.
12. I have perused the terms of settlement and find the same to be lawful.
Accordingly, the suit is decreed in favour of the Plaintiff and against the
Defendant in terms of the settlement and the Settlement Agreement shall
form a part of the decree. Plaintiff is held entitled to refund of the entire
Court fees under Section 16 of the Court Fees Act, 1870.
Well-known trademark
13. Mr. Pravin Anand, learned counsel for the Plaintiff urges that the
trademark MULTANI be declared as a well-known trademark in terms of
Section 2(1)(zg) of the Trade Marks Act, 1999 (‘1999 Act’), as per relief
sought in paragraph 89(h) of the plaint in respect of Ayurvedic
Pharmaceutical Products and has placed on record two notes of submissions
in this regard.
Signature Not Verified
Digitally Signed
By:KAMAL KUMAR
Signing Date:29.04.2026
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14. It is submitted that Section 11(6) of the 1999 Act deals with the five
factors which are required to be taken into consideration by the Registrar of
Trade Marks while determining whether a trademark can be declared as a
well-known trademark and as per the Scheme of the 1999 Act, Section 11(7)
provides the factors that Registrar must consider while deciding whether the
trademark is known or recognised in the relevant section of the public for
the purpose of sub-Section (6) and that Plaintiff has placed on record
relevant data with corroborating and supporting documents which is
sufficient to show that it satisfies the parameters under each of the five
factors enumerated in Clauses 1-5 of Section 11(6) of the 1999 Act. In the
context of the five-factor test, the documents on record reflect as follows:-
(I) Factor 1 Section 11(6)(i) : Knowledge and recognition in relevant section
of the public in India obtained because of promotion:
(a) Plaintiff boasts of 1000 distributors and its products are widely
sold at every pharmacy and on multiple e-commerce websites
including Amazon, Flipkart, Tata 1mg, Zepto, Insta Mart,
Meesho, Snapdeal, Myntra etc.
(b) Plaintiff’s products catalogues curated for various stores across
India;
(c) Lahore Advertisement of MULTANI KUKA tablets published in
1938 and Advertisements on several TV channels such as NDTV,
AAJ TAK, India TV, TV9 Bharatvarsh, Republic Bharat, ABP
News, News 24, Bharat Express, Live Times, News 18, Zee
Punjabi, PTC etc.;
(d) Extracts from Plaintiff’s registered website registered in 2012;
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(e) Extracts from Plaintiff’s social media accounts on YouTube since
2017, Facebook since 2012 and Instagram since 2019;
(f) Advertisements for ayurvedic products under the House Mark
MULTANI featuring Mr. Boman Irani in Dainik Savera
Times Newspaper, at least since 2019 and Mr. Shakti Kapoor and
Ms. Soha Ali Khan;
(g) Tax invoices and newspaper certificates (Times of India, Punjab
Kesari, Hind Samachar, Dainik Savera, Dainik Jagaran, Dharitri)
and telecast certificates (Orissa TV), featuring the brand
MULTANI, at least since 2005; and
(h) CA certificate dated 13.08.2024 certifying the sales revenue in
India under the brand MULTANI since 2015.
(II) Factor 2 Section 11(6)(ii) : The duration, extent and geographical area
of any use of that trademark:
(a) Lahore Advertisement of MULTANI KUKA tablets published in
1938;
(b) Certificate of Incorporation of Multani Pharmaceuticals Private
Limited dated 05.03.1986;
(c) Drugs Manufacturing License dated 1990 issued in Plaintiff’s
name;
(d) Certificate of Registration dated 09.10.2013 issued by the
Ministry of Health of Moldova approving the sale of MULTANI
KUKA cough syrup in Moldova;
(e) Certificate of Good Manufacturing Practices issued by Ministry of
Health and Family Welfare dated 06.10.2024;
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(f) Sales in India since the year 1938 in undivided India and abroad
since 1995;
(g) Internal export records and purchase orders evidencing sales in
India and exports to various countries such as Armenia,
Kazakhistan, Thailand, Russia, Nairobi, Uzbekistan; and
(h) Revenues to the tune of Rs. 266 Crores in Financial Year 2023-
2024 alone.
(III) Factor 3 Section 11(6)(iii) : The duration, extent and geographical area
of any promotion of the trademark, including advertising or publicity and
presentation, at fairs, or exhibition of the goods or services to which the
trademark applies:
(a) Plaintiff’s products are widely sold at every pharmacy and on e-
commerce websites including Amazon, Flipkart, Tata 1mg, Zepto,
Insta Mart, Meesho, Snapdeal, Myntra etc.;
(b) Lahore Advertisement of MULTANI KUKA tablets in 1938;
(c) Extracts from Plaintiff’s website registered in 2012;
(d) Extracts from Plaintiff’s social media accounts on YouTube,
Facebook and Instagram (YouTube since 2017, Facebook since
2012 and Instagram since 2019);
(e) Advertisements of ayurvedic products under the House Mark
MULTANI featuring Mr. Boman Irani in Dainik Savera
Times Newspaper at least since 2019;
(f) Tax invoices and certificates for newspapers (Times of India,
Punjab Kesari, Hind Samachar, Dainik Savera, Dainik Jagran,
Dharitri) as also TV commercials (Orissa TV) featuring the brand
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MULTANI since at least 2005;
(g) CA certificate dated 13.08.2024 certifying the advertisement
expenses in India under the brand MULTANI since 2014;
(h) Advertisements of ayurvedic products under the House Mark
MULTANI in Russian TV commercials; and
(i) Products under the house marks MULTANI advertised on
numerous TV channels, namely: (1) NDTV India; (2) AAJ TAK;
(3) India TV; (4) TV9 Bharatvarsh; (5) Republic Bharat; (6) ABP
News; (7) News 24; (8) Bharat Express; (9) Live Times; (10)
News 18; (11) Zee Punjabi; (12) Fastway; (13) Pitara; (14) PTC;
(15) 9X Tashan; (16) Surya Samachar; (17) Zee-Delhi NCR and
Haryana; (18) Banwal News; and (19) Bhojpuri Cinema etc., as
and advertisements aired in cinema halls in the form of
slides/videos.
(IV) Factor 4 Section 11(6)(iv) : The duration and geographical area of any
registration of or any application for registration of that trademark under this
Act to the extent they reflect the use or recognition of the trademark:
(a) Registration certificates of Plaintiff’s MULTANI trademarks
issued by the Indian Trade Marks Registry, with the oldest
registration dating back to 1984, showing multiple registrations in
Classes 1, 3, 5, 16, 18, 25, 30, 31, 32, 37, 39, 40, 44 etc.;
(b) International trademark applications filed in Sri Lanka, Nepal and
Qatar for the trademark Multani; and
(c) Registrations for trademark MULTANI under the Madrid protocol
in Brunei, China, Egypt, EU, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Kazakhstan,
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Russia, Singapore and Turkey.
(V) Factor 5 Section 11(6)(v) : The record of successful enforcement of the
rights in that trademark, in particular, the extent to which the trademark has
been recognised as a well-known mark:
(a) Plaintiff has successfully opposed third party use of the mark
MULTANI and has obtained favourable orders:
➢ Opposition against the trademark MULTANI KHAL in Class
31.
➢ Opposition against the trademark MULTANI in Class 34.
➢ Opposition against the trademark JYOSH MULTANI
JEERA in Class 32.
➢ Opposition against the trademark MULTANI in Class 06.
➢ Opposition against the trademark MULTANI in Class 43.
➢ Opposition against the trademark MULTANI DI HATTI in
Class 30.
➢ Opposition against the trademark MULTANI UBTAN in
Class 05.
➢ Opposition against the trademark MULTANI in Class 05.
(b) CS (COMM) No. 341 of 2019 which was settled and decreed in
favour of the plaintiff vide order dated 19.11.2019.
(c) CS (COMM) 740/2024 enforcing rights in MULTANI KUKA was
settled and decreed in favour of Plaintiff vide order dated
14.02.2025 and the mark KUKA was declared ‘well-known’ by
this Court.
15. Having considered the submissions made by Mr. Pravin Anand,
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learned counsel for the Plaintiff and upon examination of the material on
record, I am of the view that the trademark MULTANI has acquired
extensive recognition and association within the relevant section of the
public in the concerned industry with respect to Ayurvedic Pharmaceutical
Products. Over a span of 86 years, Plaintiff has achieved several milestones
in respect of use of the mark MULTANI for Ayurvedic Pharmaceutical
Preparations and the goodwill and reputation earned by the brand is evident
from the sales turnover and the money invested in promotion and
advertisement. Several well-known magazines have carried advertisements
promoting the mark MULTANI and there is consistent visibility of the mark
in almost all pharmacies and e-commerce websites. Many celebrities have
endorsed the products and brand has been bestowed with WHO-GMP
Certification, which places the Plaintiff among the top Ayurvedic and Unani
manufacturers in the country and this is significant because out of
approximately 9,000 Ayurveda medicine manufacturing companies across
India only about 50 including the Plaintiff, have earned this certification.
16. Plaintiff’s long-standing reputation and extensive and continuous use
of the mark MULTANI across jurisdictions reflects its significant
commercial presence. The mark has received enviable recognition in India
and abroad and this is testament of its distinctiveness in respect of
Ayurvedic Pharmaceutical Products and resultant reputation and goodwill of
the Plaintiff. Hence, the mark MULTANI satisfies the criteria and
parameters set out in Section 11(6) and (7) of the 1999 Act for declaring it
as a well-known mark for Ayurvedic Pharmaceutical Products.
17. Accordingly, in terms of paragraph 89(h) of the plaint, a decree of
declaration is passed declaring the trademark MULTANI as a ‘well-known’
Signature Not Verified
Digitally Signed
By:KAMAL KUMAR
Signing Date:29.04.2026
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trademark within the meaning of Section 2(1)(zg) of the 1999 Act in respect
of Ayurvedic Pharmaceutical Products.
18. Decree sheet be drawn up accordingly.
19. Suit stands disposed of along with the pending application.








JYOTI SINGH, J.
APRIL 28 , 2026 /YA
Signature Not Verified
Digitally Signed
By:KAMAL KUMAR
Signing Date:29.04.2026
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