Madras High Court Restrains “Sri Aachi Mess” From Using Registered AACHI Trademark

The Madras High Court on 9 March 2026, held that a restaurant in Ulundurpet cannot use the name “SRI AACHI MESS”, permanently restraining it in favour of Mr. A.D. Padmasingh Isaac and his firms, Aachi Masala Foods and Flora Foods.

Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy observed:

“The nature of food served in the defendant's restaurant is insufficient to conclude that services are not similar. Thus, the defendant is the later user of a deceptively similar mark in respect of similar services.”

The Aachi group filed the suit to stop the rival eatery from using “SRI AACHI MESS”, claiming it was deceptively similar to their registered “AACHI” trademarks. They stated that their brand had expanded from a successful spices business into the hospitality industry and had achieved massive commercial recognition, with a turnover exceeding Rs.13,206 crore.

The plaintiff contended that the defendant's use of “AACHI” on name boards and invoices was deliberate infringement and continued even after a cease and desist notice was ignored.

Reviewing the uncontested evidence, the Court held that the word “AACHI” constitutes the essential feature of the registered trademarks and that the rival restaurant's use of this dominant element was likely to cause confusion among consumers.

Although the Aachi group primarily operates vegetarian restaurants while the defendant served non-vegetarian food, the Court found that this distinction was insufficient to conclude that the services were dissimilar. In the absence of contrary evidence from the eatery, the Court concluded that the claims of trademark infringement and passing off were proved.

The Bench ordered the defendant-restaurant to surrender all infringing packaging materials and hoardings to the Aachi group and to render an account of the profits made through the use of the trademark. It also awarded Rs. 3,00,000 in legal costs to Padmasingh Isaac and his companies.

Accordingly, the Court permanently restrained Sri Aachi Mess and its agents from using the contested name on menu cards, invoices, websites, or social media platforms.