Delhi High Court restrains Amazon retailers from selling Pakistan-made 'Rooh Afza'

The T20 World Cup might be over but India versus Pakistan continues - this time over the very popular summer drink 'Rooh Afza'.

The Delhi High Court has permanently restrained retailers on e-commerce platform Amazon from selling sherbets made in Pakistan under the ‘Rooh Afza’ brand owned by India's Hamdard.

The court's verdict came after Hamdard National Foundation (India) had filed a trademark infringement suit against Amazon Seller Services Pvt Ltd and a company called Golden Leaf saying sherbets manufactured in Pakistan were being sold in India as 'Rooh Afza'

Hamdard adopted the mark ‘Rooh Afza’ in 1907 and sells over Rs 200 crore worth of products under this brand name annually.

The plaintiffs claimed that Golden Leaf was selling products not made by Hamdard India under the ‘Rooh Afza’ mark on Amazon India.

They said the product, which infringed their trademark, was manufactured in Pakistan and it does not comply with the requirements of the Legal Metrology Act and the Food Safety and Standards Act which governs such products in India.

The plaintiffs also pointed out that three purchases were made by them from three sellers through the Amazon platform and on all occasions the product was claimed to be manufactured by Hamdard Laboratories (Waqf) Pakistan.