Moti Mahal owner files suit against Daryaganj restaurant over using tagline

A Suit has been moved in Delhi High Court by the owners of Moti Mahal restaurants against Daryaganj restaurant over the use of tagline "Inventors of Butter Chicken and Dal Makhani"

Plaintiffs Moti Mahal restaurants claims that their predecessor's Late Chef Kundan Lal Gujral alone has been known and identified as the sole "Inventor of Butter Chicken and Dal Makhani" since the 1950s and the tagline "Inventors of Butter Chicken and Dal Makhani" acts as a brand identity of the Plaintiffs even as on date.

Suit claimed that Daryaganj restaurants owners/Defendants through their alleged acts of misappropriating the business, goodwill and reputation of the Plaintiffs and misrepresenting to the general public by claiming that their predecessor Late Kundan Lal Jaggi was the inventor of the dishes - Butter Chicken and Dal Makhani by falsely using the tagline "Inventors of Butter Chicken and Dal Makhani".

Senior Advocate Sandeep Sethi, Counsel for Plaintiffs, argued before the Bench of Justice Sanjeev Narula that the owners of the famous trademark "MOTI MAHAL" and related formative marks, used in relation to restaurants operating nationally and internationally since 1920. He contended that the Defendants/Daryaganj restaurant are misleading the public into believing that their "DARYAGANJ" restaurants are connected with the Plaintiffs' predecessor's first "MOTI MAHAL" restaurant in Daryaganj. This misleading representation the Defendants' use of a picture of the Plaintiffs' predecessor, the l Kundan Lal Gujral, on their Facebook page, misrepresenting it as that of the Defendants' predecessor, (late) Kundan Lal Jaggi.

Counsel of plaintiff also highlighted the alleged manipulation of the photograph of the Moti Mahal Restaurant in Peshawar on their website, substantiating this claim with a comparison to the 'original' photograph shown at Plaintiffs' own website.

Noted the submissions, the bench of Justice Sanjeev Narula recently issued summons to Daryaganj restaurant owner and other Defendants and listed the matter before Joint Registrar on March 18, 2024.

Amit Sibal, Senior Counsel representing the Defendants, stated that the suit is misconceived, baseless and lacking a cause of action. Senior Advocate Sibal and advocate Anand argued that the Defendants have not engaged in any false representation or claim, and the allegations made in the suit are far from truth. Regarding the screenshot extracted in paragraphs of the plaint, Adv Sibal clarified that same is not from the Defendants' Facebook page and evidently belongs to "A to Z Kitchen", an entity unrelated to the Defendants.

Regarding the photograph of the Moti Mahal restaurant in Peshawar, Advocate Sibal elucidates that the said restaurant was established jointly by predecessors of both parties, thus invalidating any claims of exclusive rights over the image that the Plaintiffs might claim.

Advocate Sibal underscored that the Defendants are equally entitled to use this photograph. He also gave emphasis to the fact that the photograph on the Defendants' website has been cropped to exclude the term "MOTI MAHAL", rendering the Plaintiffs' grievance unfounded.