• Source:JND
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The Delhi High Court on Monday ordered the suspension of a website named Khadi Organic, which was falsely claiming to be the official website for distributing Ayodhya Ram temple prasad on social media platforms. The website was found to be cheating the public by exploiting their religious sentiments and the goodwill of the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC). 

The court also directed the owners of the website to remove any social media pages using the “KHADI” mark or any similar mark. Justice Sanjeev Narula restrained them from selling or offering any goods or services under the 'KHADI ORGANIC' mark or any other mark that could infringe on KVIC’s trademark.

The lawsuit alleged that the website misled Indian and foreign customers into believing they could obtain Ayodhya Ram temple prasad for free by filling out a form and paying Rs 51 and USD 11 respectively, reported news agency IANS. 

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The KVIC had filed a trademark infringement suit against Ashish Singh, the individual behind the website, and the company M/s DrillMaps India Private Limited. The court observed that the website deceived customers into paying money for free prasad from the Ram Temple consecration ceremony, without providing any confirmation or proof of delivery.

The court also stated that the website owners had wrongly used the ''KHADI'' trademark to create a false impression of association with the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, which is organising the ceremony. The court granted the order in favour of the KVIC, saying that it had established a prima facie case and would suffer irreparable loss if the injunction was not granted.