Disclaimer: This has been reported after the availability of the order of the Court and not on media reports so as to give an accurate report to our readers.
Delhi High Court: In a suit instituted by SNV Aviation Private Limited (plaintiff), a well-known airline company operating under the brand AKASA AIR, for permanent injunction restraining the infringing defendants from infringement of trademark, passing off, unfair competition, rendition of accounts, damages, etc., a Single-Judge Bench of Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora, J., issued directions and restrained the infringing defendants from AKASA AIR trademark infringement, passing off, unfair competition, rendition of accounts, damages, etc.,
The plaintiff is a reputed airline company and has been continuously and extensively using its renowned trademarks, in all its forms and variations, since at least 2021. The plaintiff holds several registrations for its marks “AKASA AIR” and other formatives in India and internationally. The plaintiff operates its official website at https://www.akasaair.com since 2021 and has built substantial goodwill. For the financial year 2024—25 (till date), the plaintiff’s total external turnover was Rs. 4582.7 crores.
The plaintiff discovered that Defendant 1 to 18 were colluding and perpetuating job scams by impersonating the Plaintiff and unauthorisedly using the Plaintiff’s trademarks “AKASA”, “AKASA AIR”, “SNV Aviation” as well as the impugned marks “AKASHA” and “AKAASA”, with the intention of cheating unsuspecting job seekers.
The plaintiff received several complaints and emails stating that the defendants had contacted members of the public through telephone calls and emails, falsely representing themselves as agents or employees of the plaintiff and offering employment opportunities. In the course of such communications, the defendants demanded payment of “process fees”. Hence, causing serious reputational harm, loss of goodwill, and erosion of public trust in the Plaintiff’s well-established brand and corporate identity.
It was submitted that the defendants had also registered infringing domain names appropriating the plaintiff’s trademark and misleading the public into believing that the websites and email addresses were associated with the plaintiff company.
The Court found that the acts of the infringing defendants in approaching unwary members of the public, falsely representing that they are offering employment on behalf of the Plaintiff, and demanding ‘process fees’ for such employment, when the Plaintiff admittedly follows no such practice clearly amounts to misrepresentation, deception, and passing off.
On balance of convenience, the Court stated that the balance of convenience lies in favour of the Plaintiff, and “if the Defendants are not restrained, the Plaintiff would suffer irreparable injury which cannot be adequately compensated in terms of money.” The Court further noted that injunction was necessary not only to protect the plaintiff but also “to protect the interests of the general public who are being ensnared by the infringing Defendants.”
The Court opined that a prima facie case is made out in favour of the plaintiff. The Court granted interim protection to the plaintiff and passed the following directions —
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Defendant 1 to 18 were restrained from infringing the plaintiff’s trademarks and from passing off their business as that of the plaintiff on any email address, domain name, letter heads, offer letters, etc.
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Domain name registrars were directed to suspend and lock infringing domain names including https://hrakasaair.com, http://akaasaservices.com and http://akasaairltd.com
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MeitY and DoT were directed to instruct telecom service providers to disclose KYC details and block mobile numbers used by the infringing defendants.
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NPCI and concerned banks were directed to disclose KYC details and block UPI IDs and bank accounts used for collecting money from victims.
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HDFC Bank and Canara Bank were directed to block specified accounts and furnish KYC details.
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All service providers were directed to comply within one week and ordered issuance of notice to all defendants.
[SNV Aviation (P) Ltd. v. Alaska Aviation Academy (P) Ltd., CS(COMM) 1384/2025 with I.A. 32240—32244/2025, Decided on 22-12-2025]
Advocates who appeared in this case:
Mr. Essenese Obhan, Ms. Ayesha Guhathakurta and Ms. Urvika Aggarwal, Counsel for the Plaintiff