Delhi HC Restrains Varun Beverages From Using ‘SMOOTH’ Over Parle Agro’s ‘SMOODH’

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has granted an ex-parte ad interim injunction restraining Varun Beverages Limited from using the trademark SMOOTH for its proposed dairy-based yoghurt drink, holding that Parle Agro Private Limited had made out a prima facie case that the mark was deceptively similar to its registered trademark SMOODH and had been adopted through what amounted to "smart copying."

Justice Jyoti Singh passed the order in a commercial suit filed by Parle Agro against Varun Beverages Limited and another, seeking to restrain the defendants from using the mark SMOOTH or any deceptively similar mark for their upcoming dairy-based beverage. Along with the suit, the Court also allowed Parle Agro's application for exemption from pre-institution mediation under Section 12-A of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015, having regard to the urgency of the relief sought and relying on the Supreme Court's ruling in Yamini Manohar v. T.K.D. Keerthi and a Division Bench ruling of the High Court in Chandra Kishore Chaurasia v. RA Perfumery Works Private Ltd.

According to the plaint, Parle Agro was incorporated in 1985 and is among India's largest beverage companies, manufacturing and exporting products under trademarks including FROOTI, APPY FIZZ, APPY, BAILLEY and SMOODH, with a presence in over 50 countries and a cumulative sales turnover of approximately Rs.35,950.62 crores between 2001-02 and 2025-26. It was pleaded that Parle Agro adopted the trademark SMOODH in 2020 and launched dairy-based flavoured drinks under the mark in 2021, later expanding the range in 2022, and holds registrations for SMOODH and several formative marks in Classes 29, 32 and 35. Sales under the SMOODH marks alone were stated to total approximately Rs.1,648.2 crores between 2021-22 and 2025-26, with promotional and advertising expenditure of about Rs.201.22 crores over the same period, including endorsements by celebrities.

Parle Agro's case was that on 24.07.2026, it came across an article referring to an intended launch by Varun Beverages, in partnership with Japan's Asahi Group under the CALPIS brand, of a ready-to-drink dairy-based yoghurt in India under the mark SMOOTH, announced on 18.06.2026 though no product had yet reached the Indian market. It was pleaded that the mark SMOOTH was phonetically, visually and structurally deceptively similar to SMOODH, was intended for identical goods, and had been adopted dishonestly and mala fide, with the product packaging designed so that the defendants' own brand name CALPIS appeared in a smaller font than the impugned mark SMOOTH.

Counsel for the plaintiff submitted that Parle Agro, as registered proprietor of the SMOODH marks, was entitled to their exclusive use and to restrain infringement under Section 29(1) and (2) of the Trade Marks Act, 1999. It was argued that the defendants had merely replaced the letter 'D' with 'T', that the trade channels and consumer base for the rival dairy-based yoghurt drinks were identical, and that this created every likelihood of confusion, amounting to both infringement and passing off, and causing irreparable harm to the goodwill Parle Agro had built in the SMOODH marks.

Having heard Senior Counsel for the plaintiff and examined the rival marks and the defendants' packaging, the Court held that Parle Agro had made out a prima facie case for an ex-parte ad interim injunction, with the balance of convenience in its favour and a likelihood of irreparable harm if the injunction were refused. It observed that the defendants had carefully and cautiously substituted the letter 'D' with 'T', which was “nothing but smart copying,” and that the design of the packaging, with the CALPIS brand name in a smaller font than SMOOTH, was intended to misrepresent an association or commercial nexus with the plaintiff.

The Court further held that the sales turnover, promotional expenditure, social media presence, brand endorsements and wide publicity attached to the SMOODH marks reflected the goodwill and reputation earned by Parle Agro in a short span of time, and that adoption of a near-identical mark for an identical product would result in dilution of the SMOODH marks, amounting prima facie to infringement under Section 29(1) and (2) of the Trade Marks Act, 1999.

Accordingly, till the next date of hearing, the Court restrained the defendants, their proprietors, partners, directors, principal officers, servants, distributors, dealers and agents from using the marks SMOOTH, or any other mark identical or deceptively similar to Parle Agro's registered SMOODH trademark and its formative marks, and from using the impugned product packaging in which the mark is displayed more prominently than the defendants' own brand name, in any manner amounting to infringement or passing off. Parle Agro was directed to comply with Order XXXIX Rule 3 of the Code of Civil Procedure within two weeks.

The Court also allowed applications for exemption, for filing additional documents, and for extension of time to pay court fee, directed registration of the plaint as a suit and issuance of summons returnable before the Joint Registrar on 24.09.2026, and listed the injunction application for further hearing on 17.12.2026.

Appearances:

For the Plaintiff: Mr. Chander M. Lall, Senior Advocate, with Ms. Aastha Kakkar, Mr. Ankit Arvind, Ms. Saumya Bajpai and Ms. Annanya Mehan, Advocates.

Case Title: Parle Agro Private Limited vs. Varun Beverages Limited and Another, CS(COMM) 897/2026