Delhi High Court Injuncts Online Sellers Peddling Fake S Chand Books, Directs Flipkart To Act
Delhi High Court Injuncts Online Sellers Peddling Fake S Chand Books, Directs Flipkart To Act
Introduction
The Delhi High Court has granted ex-parte ad-interim relief in favour of S Chand and Company Limited, restraining multiple online sellers from selling counterfeit versions of its textbooks and directing Flipkart to remove infringing listings from its platform. The Court found a strong prima facie case of copyright infringement and trademark misuse involving pirated educational books.
Factual Background
S Chand and Company Limited is a well-established publishing house, founded in 1970, engaged in publishing school textbooks, higher education material and competitive exam books. It holds multiple trademark registrations for the mark “S Chand” and owns copyright in its literary works, illustrations and book cover designs.
In March–April 2025, S Chand discovered that counterfeit copies of its books were being sold on Flipkart through four storefronts:
- All Book Point
- Fly Case Gallery
- Arun Books
- Simra Collection
To verify the infringement, S Chand purchased books from two of these sellers in August 2025. Its authorised printers confirmed that the copies were pirated. Despite raising complaints with Flipkart as early as April 2025, the infringing listings continued to remain active.
Procedural Background
S Chand instituted a commercial suit before the Delhi High Court seeking urgent interim relief against the online sellers and Flipkart. The matter was placed before a Single Bench of Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora, which considered the plea at the ex-parte stage due to the urgency involved.
Issues
1. Whether the sale of counterfeit S Chand books amounted to copyright infringement and trademark misuse.
2. Whether the plaintiff had made out a prima facie case warranting ex-parte ad-interim relief.
3. Whether Flipkart could be directed to remove infringing listings and act on future complaints.
Contentions of the Parties
S Chand contended that the counterfeit books were visually indistinguishable from its genuine publications and that ordinary consumers would assume the sellers to be authorised distributors. It argued that the continued sale of pirated books caused serious financial loss and dilution of its goodwill.
Flipkart appeared through counsel and defended itself as an intermediary, while the four online sellers did not appear before the Court. The Court noted that the GST addresses provided by these sellers were non-existent.
Reasoning and Analysis
The High Court observed that an ordinary purchaser browsing on Flipkart would be unable to distinguish counterfeit books from genuine S Chand publications. The similarity in content, cover design and branding created a clear likelihood of deception.
The Court further noted the absence of the sellers from the proceedings and the dubious nature of their registered addresses. It held that the conduct of the sellers prima facie indicated a deliberate attempt to ride upon the goodwill and reputation of S Chand for commercial gain.
Justice Arora held that S Chand had successfully established a prima facie case of copyright infringement and trademark misuse. The balance of convenience lay in favour of the publisher, and irreparable harm would be caused if the sale of counterfeit books was allowed to continue.
Decision
The Delhi High Court granted an ex-parte ad-interim injunction:
- Restraining the four online bookstores from printing, reproducing, selling or distributing counterfeit S Chand books or using its registered trademarks in any manner.
- Directing Flipkart to remove the infringing listings forthwith.
- Ordering Flipkart to act within 72 hours on any future complaints by S Chand regarding pirated books sold by unidentified sellers.
The injunction will remain in force until May 6, 2026, the next date of hearing.
In this case the plaintiff was represented by Mr. Rahul Beruar, Ms. Nidhi Jain, Ms. Manini Sidhu and Ms. Aeshna Raghuwanshi, Advocates.
