Quest for speedy justice should not result in hasty decisions: Delhi HC

The division bench of Delhi High Court, headed by Justices B D Ahmed and Ashutosh Kumar, while hearing an appeal from the single bench stated that, “ the courts that quest for speedy justice should not result in hasty decisions.& quot The court's observations came after it found that the single judge rejected the trademark infringement suit at the entry-level threshold, relying largely on his own & quot recollections& quot and conclusions about the merit of the claim instead of first hearing arguments followed by rebuttal by plaintiff and defendant The petitioner is a hotel chain who wanted to seek permanent injunction against another hotel on the ground that the latter were using the trademark 'Privee' that was identical to or deceptively similar to the trade mark of the plaintiffs: MBD Prive and Prive. In its suit, the company alleged trademark infringement, dilution of goodwill, unfair competition and sought an order in its favor. However, the single judge, without issuing any summons to the defendants, dismissed the suit after going into the merits of the claims raised by the plaintiffs. The single judge observed that suits that are doomed to fail and of which there is no chance of success should be dismissed at whatever stage the court finds it to be so. The divisional bench did realize that the judiciary is going through a lot of work pressure and explosion, but making some hasting decisions and dismissing the suit of the appellants/plaintiffs at the admission stage itself without issuance of summons also is not just terrifying but is also contrary to the provisions of the statute.

OUR TAKE

There is no denial that the work pressure what the judiciary is facing, is far beyond comprehension and satisfaction, but this should not affect and impact the individual litigants who comes to court seeking justice. The general public looks up to judiciary for a fair trial of their case. Events like this, where the opposite party is not even summoned, are not only disheartening but also discouraging for the public. The courts should engage is speedy decisions but not at the cost of justice.