Indiamart Intermesh Limited Vs Mr Sameer Samim Khan & Ors (Delhi High Court)
This is an application seeking exemption from advance service to Defendant No.1. Considering the nature of the matter, and the fact that Defendant No.1 has registered the domain name https://india-mart.co/ and fraudulently offering jobs using the name of the Plaintiff, the exemption is granted.
The Plaintiff is aggrieved by Defendant No.1’s registration of the impugned domain name- https://india-mart.co/. The said domain name has been registered on 07th August, 2022. However, other details of the said domain name are completely protected and the details on ‘WHOIS’ have been masked for privacy by the domain name registrar, Defendant No.3-GoDaddy.com LLC. Defendant No.1 is also stated to be operating a website from the said domain name where it features the photographs of Plaintiff’s promoters and also gives the details of the Plaintiff’s address- IndiaMart Intermesh Limited 1st Floor, 29-Daryaganj, Netaji Subhash Marg, New Delhi- 110002. The mobile number given by Defendant No.1 is as follows +91-9372944497. On the said website, Defendant No.1 is luring gullible persons and offering them ‘work from home’ jobs under the ‘Indiamart’s Data Entry Project’. For the said purpose, the Defendant No. 1 is also offering various plans which can be availed by anyone after payment of application fees of Rs. 899/- and 1199/-.
In the month of August, 2022, the activities of Defendant No.1 came to the attention of the Plaintiff. The Plaintiff then made some enquiries and found that on some of the openly available telephone directories such as Truecaller, the details of Defendant No.1 are in fact consisting of the logo, name, and the address of the Plaintiff. The only connection to actually trace Defendant No.1 appears to be his e-mail address-[email protected] and mobile number- +91-9372944497.
HC Heard ld. Counsel for the Plaintiff and perused the record. It is clear to the Court that Defendant No.1 is completely passing off and indulging in fraudulent activity by showcasing himself as the Plaintiff/ Plaintiff’s representative and collecting various sums of money by allegedly offering job opportunities. The website leaves no doubt in the mind of the Court that the entire business of Defendant No.1 is mala fide, dishonest and illegal and also contrary to law.
This court is satisfied that the Plaintiff has made out a prima facie case for ex parte ad interim Balance of convenience lies in favour of the Plaintiff. If the activities of Defendant No.1 are not nipped in the bud, irreparable injury would be caused not only to the Plaintiff, but also to public at large that may be deceived by the fraudulent activities of Defendant No.1. Accordingly, Defendant No.1 shall stand restrained from using the mark / name / domain name ‘INDIAMART’ or any other mark or name or domain name which is identical or confusingly / deceptively similar to the Plaintiff’s mark ‘INDIAMART’ till the next date of hearing.
24. Considering that the only connections which are identifiable between Defendant No.1, and the website https://india-mart.co/, are the email addresses, [email protected], [email protected], [email protected] which are Gmail addresses as also the mobile number- +91-9372944497, the following directions are issued:-
(i) The said domain name https://india-mart.co/ shall be immediately blocked. MeitY/DoT to issue blocking orders within 24 hours from the receipt of the present order.
(ii) The domain name https://india-mart.co/ shall be locked and suspended by the domain name registrar- com LLC. Status quo shall be maintained as to the ownership of the domain name. Further, the email address, [email protected] shall also be blocked by Defendant No.3.
(iii) Defendant No.3 shall place on record within one week the following details:
(a) Details of the person who has registered the domain name and as to whether the said person has requested for ‘privacy protect feature’ or was the same given by GoDaddy on its own to the said Domain Name Registrant.
(b) Details of payment received by GoDaddy from Registrant- Defendant No.1 and whether any further services are being offered to the Defendant No.1 by GoDaddy.
Details of the above shall also be provided to Mr. Raman Lamba, ACP, Cyber Crime Unit, Delhi Police so that he can undertake necessary investigation.
(iv) An affidavit shall be filed by Defendant No.2- Google LLC giving details of the person who has registered the following two email addresses:
