A Division Bench of the Bombay High court on Tuesday stayed a single-judge order that had imposed a cumulative penalty of Rs 4.5 crore on Patanjali Ayurved, as per a report by Bar & Bench. The penalty was imposed on company for alleged non-compliance with the Court’s trademark infringement injunction.
A single bench of Justice R.I. Chagla had, in July this year, directed Patanjali to pay Rs 50 lakh for violating an August 2023 restraining order against selling camphor products purportedly infringing the trademark of Mangalam Organics.
Following further alleged breaches, the Court imposed an additional Rs 4 crore penalty on July 29. Patanjali challenged these orders before the Division Bench of Justices A.S. Chandurkar and Rajesh Patil.
While granting a stay on both the July 8 and July 29 orders, the Division Bench allowed the Rs 50 lakhs already deposited by Patanjali to remain with the High Court.
The dispute originated after Mangalam Organics filed a lawsuit accusing Patanjali of trademark infringement and passing off. The High Court, responding to Mangalam’s plea, had issued an injunction on August 30, 2023, restraining Patanjali from selling its camphor products.
Patanjali, in an affidavit, admitted it had dispatched products worth nearly ₹49.6 lakh to distributors until June 24, 2024, and halted sales on the remaining stock worth ₹25.9 lakh.
Observing Patanjali’s admitted possession and continued sale of the stock post-injunction, the single Bench initially levied the ₹50 lakh penalty and asked Mangalam Organics to provide an affidavit detailing the violations.
Persistent non-compliance led the Court to impose the additional ₹4 crore penalty. Patanjali’s appeal against these orders resulted in the Division Bench’s interim relief.