Delhi High Court Bars AI Urdu Poetry Platform From Using “rekhta.in” Domain, Protects Rekhta Trademark

The Delhi High Court on 24 April 2026 granted an ad-interim injunction in a trademark infringement dispute filed by the Rekhta Foundation, restraining the use of the domain name "www.rekhta.in" by a rival entity and protecting the Foundation's registered mark “REKHTA”.

Justice Jyoti Singh restrained the defendants from using the impugned domain and referred the parties to mediation to explore settlement. The Bench noted:

“I am of the view that Plaintiffs have made out a prima facie case for grant of ad interim injunction against the Defendants. Balance of convenience lies in favour of the Plaintiffs and they are likely to suffer irreparable harm in case the interim injunction, as prayed for, is not granted.”

Sanjiv Saraf, founder of the Rekhta Foundation, along with other trustees, filed the commercial suit against Manzar Hasan Mukhatar Hasan Syed and another entity, alleging trademark infringement and passing off.

The Foundation stated that it had discovered the defendants operating an AI-powered Urdu poetry platform under the domain “www.rekhta.in”, which was deceptively identical to its own well-known digital platform, risking confusion among users and dilution of goodwill.

It submitted that it established the charitable trust in 2012 to preserve and promote languages and literature of the Indian subcontinent, with a focus on Urdu literature. The Foundation adopted the mark “REKHTA” in 2011, describing it as its trading name and trademark.

It further stated that its platform is among the largest digital repositories of Urdu literature globally, hosting works of over 7,000 poets and more than 2 lakh digitised books and magazines. It also highlighted its large user base of around 27 million annual visitors and significant social media presence, claiming strong association of the mark with the Foundation in public perception.

The Foundation argued that the defendants' use of an identical mark for similar services targeting Urdu literature audiences was misleading and amounted to infringement.

Accepting the submissions at the interim stage, the Court held that the balance of convenience lay in favour of the Foundation and that irreparable harm would be caused if protection was not granted. It restrained the defendants and their associates from operating the website “https://rekhta.in” or any other domain name incorporating the mark “REKHTA”.

During the proceedings, counsel for the defendants informed the Court that the parties were willing to explore an amicable settlement.

Accordingly, with consent of both sides, the Court referred the matter to the Delhi High Court Mediation and Conciliation Centre. It directed the parties to appear before the mediator on 7 May 2026 and listed the matter for further hearing on 4 August 2026.