Delhi High Court Restrains Two Rivals From Using Marks Similar To 'Schezwan Chutney'

The Delhi High Court has restrained Fivestar Dehydration Pvt Ltd and another from using the mark 'Schezwan Chutney' or deceptively similar variants. It held that merely inserting the word 'Hot' between 'Schezwan' and 'Chutney' would not distinguish the rival products for an average consumer.

Justice Tushar Rao Gedela passed the ex-parte ad-interim order on May 14 in a suit filed by Capital Foods Private Limited, an associate of the Tata Group. The suit seeks permanent injunction against trademark infringement, passing off, dilution, unfair competition, rendition of accounts and damages in relation to its registered mark 'Schezwan Chutney.'

Capital Foods, which sells the product under its Ching's Secret brand, told the Court that it has held the wordmark registration for 'Schezwan Chutney' since November 22, 2012 in Class 30.

It submitted that it was acquired by Tata Consumer Products Limited. It said it recorded revenue of ₹93,417 lakh in FY 2024-25 and spent ₹6,388 lakh on advertising.

Capital Foods also relied on a January 2023 Division Bench ruling of the Delhi High Court recognising that the mark had acquired secondary significance.

According to Capital Foods, it first came across the defendants' allegedly infringing product listings on IndiaMart, Flipkart, JioMart and Desertcart in mid-April 2025.

A legal notice issued on April 23, 2025 called upon the defendants to stop using the mark. One of the defendants rejected the demand, claiming the expression was descriptive, incapable of monopoly, and used by several manufacturers.

Capital then engaged an investigator, who purchased the defendants' product from Flipkart in June 2025. While the online listing described the product as 'Nutty Schezwan Chutney,' the product delivered was labelled 'Nutty Guddie Szechuan Sauce.'

Since Capital said it had no objection to the use of 'Szechuan Sauce,' it did not initiate action at that stage.

It argued that the dispute resurfaced in February 2026 when the defendants launched a rebranded variant called 'Schezwan Sauce Hot Chutney.' In April 2026, the defendants allegedly launched 'Guddie Schezwan Hot Chutney.'

It said 'Schezwan Chutney' was prominently displayed against a white background. It also said the product carried a descriptor similar to its “Dip • Spread • Cook” tagline.

Comparing the rival products, the Court observed: “Merely by using the word 'hot' between the words 'Schezwan' and 'Chutney' would really not make such a distinction as to enable an unwary consumer with an average intelligence and imperfect recollection to be able to differentiate between the two products.”

It further held that the presence of the brand name 'Guddie' would not sufficiently distinguish the products.

“The brand 'Guddie' written on top would really not make such an impact as to make the public aware that the product belongs to defendants and not to the plaintiff,” the Court said.

On the defendants' argument that the mark was descriptive, the Court said the mark appeared to have been “arbitrarily coined by combining an English and Hindi word for which there is no dictionary meaning.”

Holding that the adoption of the mark was prima facie dishonest, the Court observed: “The defendants appear to be riding the coat tails of the plaintiff's immense reputation and substantial goodwill.”

Finding that Capital Foods had made out a prima facie case, the Court said the balance of convenience lay in its favour. It held that monetary compensation would not be an adequate remedy.

The Court restrained Fivestar Dehydration, the co-defendant, and all persons acting on their behalf from dealing in products or services bearing the marks 'Schezwan Chutney,' 'Schezwan Hot Chutney,' 'Schezwan Sauce Hot Chutney,' or any deceptively similar mark.

The Court also directed the defendants to place on record, in a sealed cover within six weeks, their books of accounts, invoices, sales memos and other documents evidencing sale of the impugned products from the date of launch till date.

The matter will next be heard on October 29, 2026.