Zippo Manufacturing Company vs Anil Moolchandani & Ors. on 31 October, 2011

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Delhi High Court
Zippo Manufacturing Company vs Anil Moolchandani & Ors. on 31 October, 2011
Author: V. K. Jain
         THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI

%                     Judgment Reserved on:   29.09.2011
                      Judgment Pronounced on: 31.10.2011

+ CS(OS) 1355/2006

ZIPPO MANUFACTURING COMPANY          ..... Plaintiff
             Through: Mr. Pravin Anand, Advocate
             and Ms. Tanya Verma, Advocate

                      versus


ANIL MOOLCHANDANI & ORS.                         ..... Defendants
              Through: None.
CORAM:-
HON'BLE MR JUSTICE V.K. JAIN

1.

Whether Reporters of local papers may
be allowed to see the judgment? Yes

2. To be referred to the Reporter or not? Yes

3. Whether the judgment should be reported Yes
in Digest?

V.K. JAIN, J

1. The plaintiff is a company registered in U.S.A and

claims to be world leader in manufacture and trade of

lighters, which it sells under its invented trademark Zippo,

which is alleged to be well-known trademark. The use of the

trademark Zippo extends to other products as well such as

desk accessories, writing instruments, travel accessories,

outdoor products, golf accessories, money clips, key

CS(OS)No. 1355/2006 Page 1 of 23
holders, tape measures, shoes, belts and suspenders, etc.

The design of the trademark Zippo has the lighter resting in

a rectangular casing, split into two parts and the bottom

part has a matching flip-top part welded into a hinge. Both

the parts are rectangular in shape with rounded edges and

corners to hold the flip-top in a fully opened or shut

position. The lighter incorporates a spring and cam

arrangement that enables the user to operate the top with

on hand. An important feature of the lighter is the chimney

or windscreen enclosing the wick with round air holes

punched into its sides in horizontal rows of three-two-three

formation. It is claimed that the shape of the lighter as well

as well as the windscreen chimney are unique and have

acquired a secondary meaning to denote the plaintiff‟s

cigarette lighters. It is also alleged that the plaintiff has

been manufacturing and selling lighters across 120

countries and by virtue of such continuous and

longstanding user, the mark has acquired the status of well-

known trademark. It is also alleged that the plaintiff has

invested the huge sums of money in promoting and

publicizing the sale of goods using the trademark Zippo. It

is also alleged that the goods under the trademark Zippo

CS(OS)No. 1355/2006 Page 2 of 23
have been available in India at duty free shops, embassies,

consulates and have been regularly brought into the

country by tourists and have been imported under

permitted baggage rules. It is claimed that the trademark

Zippo is well-known to Indian consumers due to their

exposure to advertisements for various products under the

trademark Zippo in prominent magazines including in-flight

magazines in domestic and international airlines operating

in and from India. The plaintiff also claims to be the

proprietor of a registration for the 3-dimensional shape of

its lighters by registration No. 714368 since 10th May, 1996.

2. It is alleged that in February, 2006, it was brought

to the notice of the plaintiff that defendant No. 2 was selling

counterfeit Zippo lighters from its various outlets in Delhi

and those lighters not only bore the word mark Zippo, but

also constituted infringement of plaintiff‟s shape mark and

were in fact verbatim imitation of the product of the

plaintiff. In reply to a notice sent to it by the plaintiff,

defendant No. 1 gave a categorical undertaking to remove

the infringing stock from all shops and not to sell any

objectionable counterfeit Zippo lighters in future. However,

in first week of June, 2006, the plaintiff discovered that the

CS(OS)No. 1355/2006 Page 3 of 23
defendants were continuing to sell the counterfeit products.

Such counterfeit lighters were purchased by the

representative of the plaintiff from defendants No. 3 and 4.

It is alleged that the activities of the defendants, besides

infringing the registered trademark of the plaintiff, also

amount to passing off their cheap quality lighters as those

of the plaintiff and sale of such counterfeit product has

already caused unquantifiable losses to the plaintiff. The

plaintiff has accordingly sought injunction, restraining the

defendants from manufacturing, selling, offering for sale or

advertising lighters which are deceptively similar to that of

the plaintiff and thereby infringing its registered shape mark

under registration No. 714368.

3. During the pendency of the suit, the suit was

decreed against defendants No. 1 and 2 on 8th December,

2008 in terms of their compromise with the plaintiff and

they were restrained from (i) importing, marketing, selling or

offering for sale or using the plaintiff‟s registered trademark

ZIPPO in an unauthorized manner on the product or the

casing, or in any other manner in the course of trade,

amounting to infringement of plaintiff‟s registered

trademark under No. 562866; (ii) importing, marketing,

CS(OS)No. 1355/2006 Page 4 of 23
selling or offering for sale cigarette lighters infringing the

plaintiff‟s registered shape mark under No. 714368; (iii)

using the logo of the plaintiff in an unauthorized manner on

the product or in any other manner amounting to passing

off;

4. The suit against defendant No. 3 was also disposed

of in terms of its settlement with the plaintiff contained in IA

No. 9109/2009. Under this settlement, defendant No. 3

undertook not to purchase ZIPPO lighters from any other

person other than official distributor of plaintiff in India and

not to file any application for registration of the trademark

ZIPPO or any other mark similar to the aforesaid mark of

the plaintiff.

5. The plaintiff has examined two witnesses by way of

ex parte evidence. PW-1 Mark Paup, is the Vice-President

(Sales and Marketing) of the plaintiff-company. He has

supported, on oath, the case setup in the plaint and has

stated that goods under the trademark ZIPPO have been

available in India at duty free shops, embassies and

consulates and have been brought into the country

regularly by tourists or have been imported under permitted

baggage rules. He has further stated that the goods of the

CS(OS)No. 1355/2006 Page 5 of 23
plaintiff are available in India at a number of retail outlets

in major cities. PW-2 J.P. Sharma has stated that he was

employed by the plaintiffs to investigate whether defendant

No. 4 was dealing in counterfeit ZIPPO lighters and in June,

2006, he visited the premises of defendant No. 4 and

purchased lighters bearing the trademark ZIPPO against

cash memo, copy of which is annexure „B‟ to his affidavit.

The copy of the photographs of that product is Annexure „A‟

to the affidavit of the witness. A perusal of the legal

proceedings certificates (Ex. PW-1/21) filed by the plaintiff

company would show that the trademark ZIPPO (word

mark) is registered in favour of the plaintiff Company in

respect of cigarette lighters since 29.11.1991 vide Certificate

No. 219509. The registration is valid upto 29.11.2015.

These documents also show that the device appearing on

the Registration No.714368 (Ex. PW-1/22) issued on

13.12.2005, is also registered in the name of the plaintiff

Company since 10.5.2006, in respect of cigarette lighter

falling in Class 34. The registration is valid upto

10.05.2016.

6. The plaintiff-company also holds a number of other

registration of the mark ZIPPO in its favour, in respect of

CS(OS)No. 1355/2006 Page 6 of 23
products other than cigarette lighters such as lighter fluid,

flints and wicks, writing instruments viz. mechanical

pencils and ball point pens, wearables viz. Tee-shirts, sports

shirts, sweat shirts and sweaters, flash lighters and

fragrances for personal use.

7. In his affidavit by way of evidence, Mr Mark Paup,

vice-president (Sales and Marketing) of the plaintiff-

company has stated that the plaintiff-company is a world

leader in manufacturing and trade of lighters under the

invented and well-known trademark ZIPPO. According to

him, these lighters are windproof and are sold with a

lifetime guarantee to repair them free of charge, regardless

of age and condition of the lighter. According to him, the

plaintiff has extended use of its well-known trademark

ZIPPO to various other products, including desk accessories

(letter openers), writing instruments (turtle point pens,

Tionesta), travel accessories, outdoor products, golf

accessories, money clips, key holders, watches (human

flame), sunglasses (Zippo Italia), Flashlights, women‟s and

men‟s begs, men‟s accessories such as wallets, etc.). He has

claimed that lighters under the trademark ZIPPO are being

sold by the plaintiff-company in 160 countries and this

CS(OS)No. 1355/2006 Page 7 of 23
trademark came to be coined by Mr George G. Blaisdell,

founder of the company. He has further stated that goods

under the trademark ZIPPO have been available in India at

duty free shops, embassies, consulates and have been

regularly brought into the country by tourists and have

been imported under permitted baggage rules. He has

further claimed that the trademark ZIPPO is well-known to

Indians and global consumers due to the exposure to

advertisements of products sold under the trademark

ZIPPO, in various prominent magazines, including in-flight

magazines and that the goods of the plaintiff-company are

available in India in a number of outlets in most major

cities.

8. In his affidavit, Mr J.P. Sharma, Investigator,

whom the plaintiff-company had deployed to verify whether

defendant No. 4 was engaged in dealing in counterfeit ZIPPO

products or not, has stated that in June, 2006, he visited

the premises of Archie‟s Gallery and purchased lighters vide

invoice, copy of which has been annexure B to his affidavit

Annexure A to his affidavit is the photograph purchased by

him from Archie‟s Gallery at D-851, New Friends Colony. It

would thus be seen that the plaintiff is the registered owner

CS(OS)No. 1355/2006 Page 8 of 23
of the mark ZIPPO in India in respect of cigarettes lighters.

The plaintiff-company also holds a registration of the device

of a lighter in India vide Registration No. 714368. Section

2(m) of Trademarks Act, 1999 defines the mark to include a

device and shape of goods. Normally, device would mean

pictorial representation of a product which is used either on

the product or on its packaging. However, considering the

nature of the product in respect of which the device has

been registered in favour of the plaintiff-company vide

Registration No. 714368, it appears to me that this is

nothing, but registration of the shape of a cigarette lighter.

Though it has been described as a device in the registration,

it is difficult to say that by registering this device vide

Registration No. 714368, the Registrar of Trade Marks was

registering only a pictorial representation of the lighter

shown in the device. Considering the nature of the product

in respect of which registration has been obtained, no useful

purpose is served from obtaining registration of a pictorial

representation of a lighter. I am in agreement with the

learned counsel for the plaintiff that while seeking

registration granted by Registration No. 714368, the plaintiff

was seeking registration of the shape of the lighter, as

CS(OS)No. 1355/2006 Page 9 of 23
shown in the pictorial representation of the product which

appears on the Certificate of Registration to describe it as a

device, appears to me an inadvertent error on the part of

Trade Mark Registry. I agree with him that it is meaningless

to obtain registration of a pictorial representation of the

lighter if the shape of the lighter is not the subject matter of

registration. Vide his affidavit dated 20 th September, 2011,

Col. J.K. Sharma, constitute attorney of the plaintiffs, has

stated that defendant No. 4, which is a franchise of

defendant No. 2, is owned and managed by Mr Vinod

Sachdeva along with his son Mr Vineet Sachdeva and has

since shifted its operations from D-851, New Friends Colony

to Shop No. 134-A, Taimoor Nagar, New Friends Colony. He

has further stated that telephone No. 26840507 which

appears on the invoice, issued by defendant No. 4 and

telephone No. 26840506 which appears on the visiting card

of Mr Vineet Sachdeva, are registered in the name of Mr

Vinod Sachdeva. It would thus be seen that the plaintiff-

company is the exclusive owner of the word mark ZIPPO

and it also holds trademark in respect of the shape of the

lighters being sold by it under the trademark ZIPPO. The

affidavit of Mr J.P. Sharma shows that the defendant sold a

CS(OS)No. 1355/2006 Page 10 of 23
lighter bearing the trademark ZIPPO to him vide invoice,

copy of which is annexure B to his affidavit. A perusal of

the photograph of the product, which Mr J.P. Sharma

purchased from defendant No. 4, would show that the

defendant has been using the trademark ZIPPO on the

lighters sold by him. A comparison of the photograph of the

product of the plaintiff with the photograph of the product

purchased by Mr J.P. Sharma from defendant No. 4 shows

that the name on and shape of the lighter which Mr.

J.P.Sharma purchased from defendant No.4 is exactly the

same which the plaintiff-company has been using its

lighters and which is the registered trademark of the

plaintiff-company. Therefore, by using the word mark ZIPPO

and the shape of the product of the plaintiff-company,

defendant No. 4 infringed the registered trademarks of the

plaintiff-company.

9. In M.R.F.Limited versus Metro Tyres Limited,

1990-PTC-101, the plaintiff sought an injunction restraining

the defendant from selling autorikshaw tyres having

prominent features of the tread pattern similar to that of the

tread pattern of the autorikshaw tyres of the plaintiff. While

granting injunction to the plaintiff, the Court observed that

CS(OS)No. 1355/2006 Page 11 of 23
in India, all the tyres are black and circular, the prominent

distinguishing feature being the tread pattern and other

features of arrangement. The Court felt that tread is an

essential and integral part of the tyre itself performing

purely a functional and utilitarian role. The Court was of

the view that unlike a wrapper, a label or a container, the

tread was not something external to the tyre but it was an

indivisible part. It was also observed that when a purchaser

goes to purchase a scooter tyre manufactured by the

plaintiff and that tyre is not available whereas the tyre of the

defendant is available, the shopkeeper may point out the

tread pattern in the tyre of the defendant and the purchaser

may purchase the tyre having regard to the similarity of the

tread pattern irrespective of the manufacturers. The Court

felt that similarity of the tread pattern may also raise a

presumption of common origin or close business association

between the plaintiff and the defendant. The Court was of

the view that merely because the plaintiff had not secured

registration of the design under the Designs Act or under

the Patent Act, it cannot be said that the tread pattern of

the plaintiff‟s tyres could be copied by the defendant.

In the case before this Court, even if defendant No.4

CS(OS)No. 1355/2006 Page 12 of 23
does not use the word mark „ZIPPO‟ but continues to

use the shape of the lighter of the plaintiff, the

customer on account of unique shape of the lighter,

may presume that it is Zippo lighter which the plaintiff

company sells almost through the world and,

therefore, may believe that the lighter which defendant

No.4 is offering to him has been either manufactured

by the plaintiff company itself or it has been

manufactured in collaboration with and/or under

licence from the plaintiff company and that is why, it

has a shape identical to that of the lighters of the

plaintiff company.

In Gorbatschow Wodka KG versus John

Distilleries Limited, 2011 (47) PTC 100(Bom), the plaintiff

claimed that the shape of its bottles of Vodka was distinctive

and formed an intrinsic part of its goodwill and reputation.

The bottle which the defendant had adopted was alleged to

be deceptively similar to that of the plaintiff. The plaintiff,

on account of similarity in the shape of the bottles, claimed

a dilution of the distinctive shape under which Vodka

bottles of the plaintiff are marketed and sold, a dilution of

the goodwill and reputation of the plaintiff in relation to the

CS(OS)No. 1355/2006 Page 13 of 23
distinctive shape of the bottle, passing off at common law,

unfair competition and a mushrooming effect in that unless

the defendant were to be stopped other potential infringers

may be emboldened to encroach upon the rights of the

plaintiff. The defendant in that case had obtained

registration of its shape under the Designs Act, 2000. The

contention of the plaintiff was that registration under

Designs Act was no defence to an action for passing off

since there was no procedure in the Act for advertising and

for receipt of oppositions. Granting injunction to the

plaintiff, the Court, inter alia, observed as under:-

“The action before the Court is a quia timet
action which seeks to injunct the defendant
from launching its product in India. The basis
and foundation of the action is that the
defendant has adopted a bottle for the sales of
its product which in its shape bears a striking
resemblance to the bottle of the plaintiff.
Under the Trade Marks Act, 1999, the shape of
goods is now statutorily recognized as being
constituent element of a trade mark.

Section2(zb) of the Trade Marks Act, 1999
defines the expression „trade mark‟ to mean “a
mark capable of being represented graphically
and which is capable of distinguishing the
goods or services of one person from those of
others” and to include the “shape of goods,
their packaging and combination of colours”.

Parliament has, therefore, statutorily
recognized that the shape in which goods are
marketed, their packaging and combination of
colours for part of what is described as the

CS(OS)No. 1355/2006 Page 14 of 23
trade dress. A manufacturer who markets a
product may assert the distinctive nature of
the goods sold in terms of the unique shape
through which the goods are offered for sale.”

“The shape of the bottle which the plaintiff has
adopted has no functional relationship with
the nature of the product or the quality
required of the container in which Vodka has
to be sold. The shape, to use the language of a
leading authority on the subject, is capricious.
It is capricious in the sense that it is novel and
originated in the ingenuity and imagination of
the plaintiff. Prima facie, a comparison of the
shape of the bottle which has been adopted by
the defendant with the bottle of the plaintiff
would show a striking similarity. As a matter
of fact, counsel appearing on behalf of the
defendant did, during the course of the
submission, concede that there are
similarities.”

In Reckitt & Colman Products Limited versus

Bordeen Inc. and Others [1990] RPC 341, [1988] FSR

601, the plaintiff was selling the lemon juice since

1956 in a plastic container under the name JIF. The

defendants who also were selling lemon juice, in bottle

sought to introduce lemon shape container, which was

challenged by the plaintiff alleging passing off. The

trial Judge held that passing off had been established.

The defendants filed an appeal against the order of the

trial Judge. While dismissing the appeal, the Court of

Appeal observed that even assuming that the colour

CS(OS)No. 1355/2006 Page 15 of 23
and shape of the container were to be regarded as

having a function to perform (by indicating its

contents) that does not preclude the plaintiff from

having acquired the exclusive right to the particular

get up of their JIF lemons, including their colour and

shape.

In Yale & Towne Mfg. Co. vs. Alder, 1907 US

Appeals Lexies 4499, it was found that the defendant

had copied, manufactured and sold a padlock

marketed by the plaintiff. Though many features of

plaintiff‟s padlock were not original and subject to

appropriation, the defendant was the first to assemble

them in a form in which its padlock was substantially

identical with that of the plaintiff. The Court felt that

this would lead customers into believing that they were

buying plaintiff‟s padlock and, therefore, defendant‟s

apparent purpose was to intentionally and deliberately

extend his trade with retail dealers at the expense of

plaintiff‟s trade by furnishing them with a padlock at

a lower price which could be sold to the customers as

plaintiff‟s padlock. In the case before this Court, the

lighter which defendant No.4 sold to the investigator

CS(OS)No. 1355/2006 Page 16 of 23
appointed by the plaintiff company appears to be

identical to that of the plaintiff having no visible

distinguishing feature in its shape or design.

Therefore, the case of the plaintiff company stands on

a stronger footing.

In George G. Fox Company versus Charles F.

Hathaway & Another, 1908 Mass Lexis 791, the

plaintiff‟s loaves of bread were of a size, shape, colour

and condition of surface that gave them a peculiar

visible appearance which had come to be recognized by

customers in connection with the name, as indicating

the place of manufacturing and the quality of the

bread. The defendant began to manufacture and sell

bread in loaves of the same size, shape, colour and

general visual appearance as of the plaintiff. It was

held that the defendant intended to take advantage of

the reputation which the plaintiff had built up, by

selling an imitation of its loaves.

10. It has come in evidence that the plaintiff-company

has been selling lighters bearing the trademark ZIPPO and

having a unique 3-dimensional shape in India through

various channels. The plaintiff-company has been selling

CS(OS)No. 1355/2006 Page 17 of 23
this lighter in India through various authorized retailers.

The plaintiff-company has also been advertizing its lighters

in India in various magazines and has been incurring

substantial expenditure on advertising its product in India.

Defendant No. 4, obviously, wants to encash upon the

goodwill which the lighters of the plaintiff-company enjoy in

the market by copying not only the word mark ZIPPO, but

also the shape of the product of the plaintiff-company.

Defendant No. 4 has no right to use the trademark ZIPPO

and/or the 3-dimensional shape of the lighter of the

plaintiff-company. By using the name ZIPPO and/or the 3-

dimensional shape of the lighter of the plaintiff-company,

defendant No.4 is trying to pass off his goods as those of the

plaintiff. If defendant No. 4 is not restrained from using the

word mark ZIPPO and the 3-dimensional shape of the

lighter of the plaintiff-company, the customer may purchase

the product of defendant No. 4 under a mistaken belief that

he was purchasing the reputed product of the plaintiff-

company. On seeing a lighter bearing the trademark ZIPPO

and/or on having a 3-dimensional shape identical to that of

the product of the plaintiff-company, the customer may

form a bona fide impression that either this is the genuine

CS(OS)No. 1355/2006 Page 18 of 23
product of the plaintiff-company or it has been

manufactured in collaboration and/or under licence from it

and, therefore, was likely to be a quality product, for which

he was paying a premium price. If the quality of the

product of defendant No. 4 is not found to be as good as the

quality of the product of the plaintiff-company, the

customer, who purchases the product of defendant No. 4,

may form an impression that the quality of the lighters of

the plaintiff-company has gone down and is no more the

quality for which the lighters of the plaintiff-company is

known. If it so happens, that may not only prejudicially

affect the financial interest of the plaintiff-company, but

may also tarnish the reputation which the brand ZIPPO

enjoys in the market, particularly in respect of cigarettes

lighters. The sale of an inferior product under the brand

name ZIPPO and/or having a 3-dimensional shape identical

to that of the lighter of the plaintiff-company may also harm

the interest of the consumer who may be paying a higher

price for the premium product of the plaintiff-company and

who despite paying that premium price, may be saddled

with an inferior product.

11. The plaintiff has thus been able to make out a case

CS(OS)No. 1355/2006 Page 19 of 23
of infringement as well as passing off. Even if I proceed on

the assumption that registration of the three dimensional

device vide registration No.714368 is not the registration of

the shape of the lighter depicted on the certificate but is

registration only of its pictorial representation, it would still

be a case of infringement on account of use of the word

mark ZIPPO on the lighter which defendant No.4 sold to

Mr.J.P.Sharma and will also be a case of passing off on

account of the shape of the product which defendant No.4

sold to Mr. J.P.Sharma being identical to the unique shape

of the lighters being sold by the plaintiff company almost

throughout the world including India.

12.             For         the    reasons    given      in    the    preceding

paragraphs,           the    plaintiff   is   entitled    to    a    permanent

injunction from selling, distributing or marketing the lighter

under the trademark ZIPPO and/or having a 3-dimensional

shape identical or similar that of the lighter of the plaintiff-

company, as is depicted on the Registration No.

714368, issued by Registrar of Trademarks to the plaintiff-

company.

13. Coming to damages, though plaintiff has not

proved the actual damages suffered by it on account of sale

CS(OS)No. 1355/2006 Page 20 of 23
of lighters by defendant No. 4 under the brand name ZIPPO

and/or having the 3-dimensional shape identical to that of

the product of the plaintiff-company, it is definitely open to

this Court to award punitive damages.

As observed by this Court in Time Incorporated v.

Lokesh Srivastava & Anr., 2005 (30) PTC 3 (Del), punitive

damages are founded on the philosophy of corrective justice

and are meant to send signal to the wrong doers that the

law does not take a breach by them as a matter between

rival parties but is also concerned about those also who are

not party to the lis but suffer on account of the breach of

law on the part of wrong doer. As held by this Court in

Hero Honda Motors Ltd. V. Shree Assuramji Scooters,

2006 (32) PTC 117 (Del), this Court noticing that in a case

where the defendant chooses to stay away from the

proceedings of the Court, punitive damages need to be

awarded, since otherwise the defendant, who appears in the

Court and submits its account books would be liable for

damages whereas a party which chooses to stay away from

the Court proceedings would escape the liability on account

of the failure of the availability of account books. In fact,

punitive damages are appropriate relief where on account of

CS(OS)No. 1355/2006 Page 21 of 23
absence of the defendant exact figure of the sale made and

profit earned by him by infringing the trademark of the

plaintiff and/or passing off his goods as those of the plaintiff

cannot be ascertained. The Courts also take into

consideration the fact that a lot of time and money is spent

by trademark owners in litigation against those who infringe

the trademark and try to encash upon the goodwill and

reputation of other brands by passing off their goods and

services as those of others. Award of punitive damages,

therefore, describes dishonesty and curbs tendency to gain

an unfair advantage by infringement of the legal rights of

others. Failure of the Court to award punitive damages is

likely to encourage unscrupulous persons actuated by

dishonest intention, to use the trademarks of others and

encash upon their goodwill and reputation which they have

built with years of hard work and labour. I, therefore,

award punitive damages amounting to Rs 5 lakh in favour

of the plaintiff-company and against defendant No. 4.

ORDER

A decree for permanent injunction is hereby

passed restraining defendant No.4 – Vinod Sachdeva from

selling, distributing or marketing lighters under the trade

CS(OS)No. 1355/2006 Page 22 of 23
mark “ZIPPO” and/or having a three dimensional shape

identical or similar to that of the lighter of the plaintiff

company as is depicted on the registration certificate

No.486145, issued by Registrar of Trade Mark, to the

plaintiff company. A decree for recovery of Rs.5 lacs is also

passed in favour of the plaintiff and against defendant No.4.

The plaintiff will be entitled to pendente lite and future

interest at the rate of 6% per annum on the amount of

damages. The plaintiff will also be entitled to proportionate

cost of the suit. In the facts and circumstances of the case,

there shall be no order as to costs.

Decree sheet be drawn accordingly.

(V.K. JAIN)
JUDGE
OCTOBER 31, 2011
bg/vn/’sn’

CS(OS)No. 1355/2006 Page 23 of 23

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