Delhi High Court Restrains 'ANANTARA SPA' From Using 'ANANTARA' For Spa And Wellness Services

The Delhi High Court on 13 August granted an ex-parte ad-interim injunction restraining a wellness and spa business operating as “ANANTARA SPA” from using the marks “ANANTARA”, “ANANTARA SPA” or similar mark in relation to spa, wellness, hospitality or allied services, in a suit filed by MHG IP Holding Singapore Pte Ltd and other entities of the Minor Hotel Group.

Justice A. J. Bhambhani also noted that a domain name arbitrator had already found that the defendants' adoption and use of the domain name “anantaraspa.co.in” did not appear to be bona fide. The Bench held:

“This court is of the view that the plaintiffs have succeeded in making-out a prima-facie case in their favour; that the balance of convenience also lies in favour of the plaintiffs and against the defendants; and it would appear that irreparable loss and injury would be caused to the plaintiffs if the interim injunction as prayed-for is not granted.”

MHG IP Holding Singapore Pte Ltd and other group entities, collectively part of Minor International Public Company Limited's “Minor Hotel Group”, moved the Delhi High Court against a business operating under the name “ANANTARA SPA” and offering wellness, massage and allied hospitality services.

The plaintiffs claimed to be the lawful proprietors of the well-known “ANANTARA” trademark, registered and used across several jurisdictions including India in relation to hospitality and hotel management services.

Senior Advocate Chander Lall, appearing for the plaintiffs, submitted that the defendants were using “ANANTARA” as the dominant, essential, distinctive and source-identifying feature of their infringing mark, and that the addition of the generic word “SPA” did nothing to distinguish it from the plaintiffs' mark.

He also pointed to a prior ruling by an arbitrator under the .IN Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy, who had held that the defendants' registration and use of the domain “anantaraspa.co.in” did not appear to be bona fide and “appears to be intended to deceive the lay public and to trade on the plaintiffs' reputation.” The arbitrator had directed transfer of the domain to the plaintiffs, which had since been carried out.

The High Court also restrained the defendants from operating any website or online platform under an “ANANTARA”-formative domain name and directed them to disclose particulars of all domain names, websites and promotional material used in connection with the impugned marks.

The suit is next listed before the Joint Registrar on 17 November 2026.