Delhi High Court Temporarily Restrains 'SettlementGuru' From Using Bajaj Finance Trademarks, Promoting Defaults

Justice Tushar Rao Gedela passed the order on January 22, 2026, while hearing an interim injunction application filed by Bajaj Finance, a registered non-banking financial company, which alleged large-scale misuse of its brand across social media platforms and websites.

Holding that a prima facie case had been made out for grant of interim relief, the Court observed that, “The use of the plaintiff's trademarks by the defendant no.1 in the form of purported settlement deeds displayed unauthorizedly on the social media platforms and URLs belonging to defendant no.1, prima facie, appears to be dishonest.”

Bajaj Finance told the Court that it has been operating since 2007 and forms part of the Bajaj Group, with a nationwide customer base. It stated that the name “Bajaj Finance” has acquired significant goodwill through continuous use, extensive advertising, and long-standing lending operations across India.

According to the company, the platform 'SettlementGuru' was being run on Instagram, YouTube, X, and a dedicated website, offering debt settlement services while claiming it could secure settlements with lenders, including Bajaj Finance, for amounts lower than the outstanding dues. It was alleged that borrowers were encouraged to stop paying their EMIs on assurances that their loans would later be settled for substantially lower amounts.

The company further alleged that misleading videos, stage-managed call recordings, and purported settlement letters bearing its trademarks were being circulated online, creating the false impression that such settlements were officially approved. Several social media posts and URLs were placed before the Court to demonstrate the scale of the alleged activity.

After examining the material on record, the Court observed that the balance of convenience lay in favour of Bajaj Finance and that failure to grant interim protection would result in irreparable harm to its reputation.

Accordingly, the Court restrained the operators of “SettlementGuru” from using the name “Bajaj” or “Bajaj Finance,” from publishing misleading or defamatory content concerning the company, and from inducing borrowers to breach their loan agreements.

The court also directed social media platforms to take down the impugned links and content.

The matter will next be listed on July 06, 2026.

For Plaintiff: Advocates Karan Luthra, Ankit Banati, Aarushi Tiku and Piyush Thanvi

For Defendants: CGSC Rohan Jaitley with Advocates Akshay Sharma, G.P, Dev Pratap Shahi, Varun Pratap Singh and Yogya Bhatia for UOI; Advocates Ankit Parhar and Abhishek Kumar for X Corp.; Advocates Neel Mason, Ekta Sharma, Udit Tewari and Surabhi Katare for Google LLC.