Recently, the Supreme Court stopped the contempt proceedings against Yoga Guru Ramdev, his associate Balkrishna and Patanjali Ayurveda Limited after accepting their apology in the misleading advertisement case. This was a big relief for Patanjali in this long-running case. But as soon as one relief was received, another trouble arose.
According to a Live Law report, the Bombay High Court on Friday asked the Patanjali Group to deposit the fine of Rs 4 crore imposed on it within a week. A single judge bench of the Bombay High Court had imposed a fine of Rs 4 crore on the Patanjali Group for disobeying the court orders. However, along with this, the court has also given a suggestion. A division bench of Justices Atul Chandurkar and Rajesh Patil advised the parties – Patanjali Ayurveda and Mangalam Organics to sit together and try to resolve their dispute in the trademark infringement case.
“Why don’t both of you sit together and resolve the dispute? And if that happens, this case will be resolved,” Justice Patil told the counsel appearing for Patanjali and Mangalam Organics.
Reacting to the suggestion, advocate Hiren Kamod, representing Mangalam Organics, said the parties can sit together and consider resolving the dispute, but the issue of imposing a heavy penalty by a single judge bench should be kept open. He said this should be done because the respondents (Patanjali) have deliberately disobeyed the court’s order.
Kamod said, “A definite conclusion is that they (Patanjali) are guilty of contempt. This order has been passed to maintain the safety and sanctity of this court and its orders. We have no objection if this amount (Rs 4 crore) is given to some charity.” Patanjali’s senior counsel Jal Andhiarijuna told the judges that his client was ready to sit down and settle the dispute.
The senior advocate said, “We can settle the litigation by changing our packaging etc…I believe such issues can be resolved by sitting together…We are ready to change the packaging of our product in such a manner that it does not resemble their product in any manner.”
After this, the judges adjourned the hearing on the appeal filed by Patanjali so that the parties can talk among themselves to see if there is any possibility of resolving the dispute. The judges said, “Until the parties come back to us, we extend the deadline to deposit Rs 4 crore.” Also, the deadline was extended to September 2. The next hearing of the case will be held on this day.
The bench was hearing an appeal filed by the Patanjali Group challenging the July 29 order of a single judge Justice Riyaz Chagla. Justice Riyaz Chagla had imposed an additional fine of Rs 4 crore on the Patanjali Group for violating the August 30, 2023 order of the High Court. Along with this, he had restrained Patanjali from selling camphor products, which were deceptively similar to the product of Mangalam Organics.