Case 1: Promise made by travel agent binding on the airline

In a recent matter — Rajasthan Art Emporium vs Kuwait Airways & ANR — the Apex Court reiterated the salutary principle of law that a travel agent’s commitment or promise is binding on the principal.

The National Consumer Redressal Forum had ordered payment of ₹20 lakh as compensation for the huge delay in delivering the goods when the importer had knowingly and willingly paid ten times the sea freight in order to ensure timely arrival.

In this case, the agent had promised delivery within a week whereas by sea it would have taken 25 to 30 days. But the goods were delivered by the airlines after 45 days. The Supreme Court found nothing wrong with the consumer court order as agent has the inherent power to promise on behalf of the principal.

The Court, however didn’t find merit in the importer’s afterthought to press for actual damages which were more than ₹20 lakh the amount he had prayed for. Both the NCRF and the Apex Court found no merit in claim for higher compensation than what was prayed for.

Legal digest: exempt byproducts also eligible for input credit under GST

The Supreme Court, in Modi Naturals Ltd vs The Commissioner of Commercial Tax UP case, allowed full input credit despite the fact that only 14% of the inputs resulted in goods taxable under the UP GST Act for rice bran oil and 86% resulted in by product namely de-oiled rice bran.

While this was only a reiteration of what the UP GST Act itself provides for, this would have been presumably the position in equity and fairness. It is also the cornerstones of any law. If in the course of manufacture some wastes or byproducts emerge, it would be unfair to deny input credit to the extent of waste or byproduct as they are integral and unavoidable in the course of manufacture of the taxable product.

Case 3: Mere acceptance of guilt by driver doesn’t bound the transporter

In a recent insurance claim related case between one Ganesh Achar and United India Insurance Co Ltd, the Karnataka High Court absolved the insurer of compensation liability under section 166 of the Motor Vehicles Act for two reasons.

First, the motor cycle rider had filed complaint after 30 days of the alleged rash driving by the truck driver. Second, he was merely relying on the mea culpa made by the truck driver instead of adducing other solid proofs.

These two factors gave rise to the suspicion that the motor cycle driver was trying to squeeze compensation from the truck owner as afterthought when he himself was responsible for the fall and injury and hospitalisation due to his own reckless driving. Implicit in the judgement is a bigger vehicle cannot be made the fall guy.

Case 4: Test of deceptive similarity of trademarks boils down to class of consumers

In Pernod Ricard India Private Limited & Anr vs Karanveer Singh Chhabra Trading As J.K. Enterprises, the MP High Court refused to believe that London Pride premium whisky interferes with the trademark of Blender’s pride premium whisky so as to warrant an order of halting the alleged impostor in his tracks.

The High Court held that premium whisky imbibers were elitist and more educated and were therefore more discerning. They are not likely to be swayed by the mere commonness of the word ‘pride’ in both the brands as the overall name was not deceptively similar to the name of the petitioner.

As an aside it may be pointed out that the Court has been alive to the fact that fastidious and refined drinkers choose their drink carefully before they get inebriated!

Case 5: Color of wrapper is material in judging deceptive similarity of trademarks

In a recent trademark case involving ITC Ltd and Britannia Industries Ltd, the Madras High Court was seized of the issue of color of wrappers of biscuits being similar.

The Court refused to interfere with an order of a single judge injuncting ITC Limited from selling their “Sunfeast Mom’s Magic Butter Cookies” in a blue wrapper similar to that of Britannia Good day biscuits.

The Court while agreeing that there was no trademark right that could be claimed on any color, found that ITC was hitherto using red color wrapper and changed to blue in South India only to outdo Britannia in a highly competitive market where the consumers are bound to be swept off their feet and mistake both the brands as the same. It was not amused by the argument put forth by ITC that it was common for dairy and milk products to be wrapped in blue.

—This column, Legal Digest, interprets various case verdicts or procedures and their implications in the current social and business scenario. The author, S Murlidharan, is a CA by qualification and writes on economic issues, fiscal and commercial laws. The views expressed are personal.

Read previous Legal Digest columns here

(Edited by : C H Unnikrishnan)

First Published:Nov 21, 2023 2:28 PM IST