Once again the Court has directed private entities to restrain from illegally using the brand name ‘Khadi’ of Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) and carrying out any ‘misleading’ activities in the name of Khadi.

Khadi Design Council of India (KDCI) and ‘Miss India Khadi Foundation’ (MIKF) were accused by the KVIC of fraudulently using the brand name and deceiving people.

It is pertinent to mention here that an arbitration tribunal in Delhi last month had said that ‘Khadi’ was not a generic name to be used by private individuals or firms while permanently restraining an individual from using the brand name ‘Khadi’.

In March this year, the Delhi High Court had also restrained a firm from using brand name Khadi and the charkha symbol to sell its products under the name ‘IWEARKHADI’.

The defendant KDCI was duping people by promising ‘Khadi Certification’ to fashion designers and charging Rs. 2,000 per head in lieu of that and they also claimed to be associated with KVIC’s Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Program (PMEGP) on their website www.missindiakhadi.in which contained a hyperlink to the KVIC’s PMEGP page.

In an ex-parte order, the Delhi High Court said the names of the two entities were ‘deceptively similar’ to the KVIC’s trademark ‘Khadi’ and hence amounted to violation of the trademark.

It was also directed by the court that KDCI, MIKF and its self-proclaimed CEO Ankush Anami should take down all their social media accounts under the trade name ‘Khadi Design Council of India’ and ‘Miss India Khadi’.