Moti Mahal said that Daryaganj is falsely claiming that it is inventor of Butter Chicken and Dal Makhani.
The dispute over the invention of Butter Chicken and Dal Makhani took a new turn on Monday with Moti Mahal restaurant filing a plea before the Delhi High Court for cancellation of Daryaganj restaurant chain’s trademark [Rupa Gujral & Ors v Raghav Jaggi].
Justice Anish Dayal heard the matter and issued notice on the applications moved by Moti Mahal.
The Court said that Justice Sanjeev Narula will hear the case in July since he is already seized of Moti Mahal’s suit to restrain Daryaganj from claiming that it invented Butter Chicken and Dal Makhani.
Moti Mahal has challenged the registration of the trademark “DARYAGANJ: BY THE INVENTORS OF BUTTER CHICKEN & DAL MAKHANI” in favour of Daryaganj restaurant
The same was granted in favour of Daryaganj on March 14, 2018 on a ‘proposed to be used’ basis.
It is Moti Mahal’s case that they have been using the tagline “Inventors of Original Dal Makhani, Tandoori Chicken & Butter Chicken” since the year 2005 and Daryaganj’s trademark is a false claim.
“The Mark is virtually identical the petitioners’ earlier, well-known tagline with just the addition of the word ‘DARYAGANJ’ above, which is in no way distinctive and does not extinguish itself from the petitioners’ earlier, well-known tagline, which has been coined and used exclusively by the petitioners since 2005 and the petitioners continue to use the even as on date,” the suit argued.
In April 2023, Moti Mahal applied for registration of device mark in which it claimed to be original inventors of Dal Makhani, Butter Chicken and Tandoori Chicken. The application is pending before the trademark registry.
The suit has been filed through advocates Shreya Sethi and Anirudh Bhatia. Senior Advocate Chander M Lall argued the case on behalf of Moti Mahal.
Advocate Pravin Anand represented Daryaganj.
Moti Mahal has also separately filed a civil suit against Daryaganj over the use of the tagline “Inventors of Butter Chicken and Dal Makhani”.