More Stories

Informist, Wednesday, Jul. 1, 2026

 

NEW DELHI – A division bench of the Delhi High Court Wednesday rejected pleas by ITC Ltd. and ITC Hotels Ltd. to restrain Adyar Gate Hotels Ltd. from using the name 'Dakshin' for restaurant and food business till the permanent injunction suit is decided. Upholding a single judge's order, the bench questioned the silence of ITC and ITC Hotels while Adyar Gate used the 'Dakshin' name from 2015 to 2023.  

 

The silence amounts to tacitly allowing Adyar Gate to continue to use the mark till 2023 and, thereby, build up a reputation, the court said. In such circumstances, Section 33(1) of the Trade Marks Act specifically proscribes the grant of any injunction against the continued use of the mark, the court said.

 

Significantly, even after Adyar Gate registered the trademark 'Dakshin', ITC has not chosen to file any application seeking rectification of the trademark, the court said. ITC and ITC Hotels have, therefore, allowed the registration to continue unchallenged, it said.

 

The high court's order follows a plea filed by ITC and ITC Hotels seeking to restrain Adyar Gate Hotels from infringing registered trademarks and copyright. In October 2024, ITC demerged the hotels and hospitality business to ITC Hotels. After the demerger, ITC granted ITC Hotels an exclusive licence to use several of its well-known trademarks, including the 'Dakshin' mark, for operating premium restaurants. 

 

ITC said that it held various trademark registrations in respect of 'Dakshin'. The earliest registration granted to ITC was dated December 2000. ITC said that the highly stylised and unique mark 'Dakshin' was adopted by it for use in the restaurant on the premises of Welcomgroup Park Sheraton Hotel, Chennai, in 1989.

 

ITC subsequently launched 'Dakshin' restaurants in various other hotels across India. It is one of the conglomerate's most-awarded restaurants, ITC said. It was operating 'Dakshin' in Mumbai, Hyderabad, Delhi, Visakhapatnam and Bengaluru, and the revenue generated by these under the mark for 2023-24 (Apr-Mar) was to the tune of INR 123.8 million, ITC said.

 

ITC had entered into an operating services agreement with Adyar Gate Hotels in 1985, and a hotel named 'Welcomgroup Park Sheraton' was launched under the terms of the agreement. As per the agreement, the present and future trademarks, trade names, service marks, and other intellectual property were to belong to ITC, and Adyar Gate was granted only a limited right to use them. The agreement also provided that Adyar Gate would have no right to use the trademarks after the agreement's expiry.

 

In 2015, the agreement expired. Thereafter, ITC withdrew from the hotel, which was transferred to a third party and renamed 'Crowne Plaza, Chennai, Adyar Park'. ITC said that even though Adyar Gate did not have any right to use the 'Dakshin' name after the expiry of the agreement, the company did not object to the restaurant operating under that name, which continued to operate even after the plaintiffs withdrew from the hotel in 2015. The restaurant named 'Dakshin' continued to operate until December 2023, when it was shut down.

 

ITC said that in October 2024, it was shocked to learn that Adyar Gate had opened a standalone restaurant at a new location using the mark 'Dakshin'. Further, the defendant was using the mark in an identical style and get-up to that used by ITC, and serving similar cuisine, ITC said.

 

Wednesday, ITC's shares ended 1.2% higher at INR 290.30 on the National Stock Exchange, while shares of ITC Hotels ended 1.5% lower at INR 177.37.  End   

 

Reported by Surya Tripathi

Edited by Saji George Titus

 

For users of real-time market data terminals, Informist news is available exclusively on the NSE Cogencis WorkStation.

 

Cogencis news is now Informist news. This follows the acquisition of Cogencis Information Services Ltd. by NSE Data & Analytics Ltd., a 100% subsidiary of the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. As a part of the transaction, the news department of Cogencis has been sold to Informist Media Pvt. Ltd.

 

Informist Media Tel +91 (11) 4220-1000

Send comments to feedback@informistmedia.com

 

© Informist Media Pvt. Ltd. 2026. All rights reserved.