Butter Chicken dispute: Daryaganj says Moti Mahal defamed it by terming them 'cheats'

The dispute over the invention of iconic Indian dishes like Butter Chicken and Dal Makhani took a fresh turn with the proprietors of Daryaganj restaurants approaching the Delhi High Court alleging that the owners of Moti Mahal restaurant chain made defamatory and libelous statements against them [Rupa Gujral & Ors v Daryaganj Hospitality Private Limited & Ors]. .Daryaganj has raised objections to the use of remarks, “They [Daryaganj] are piggybacking off my legacy. What big cheats they are”.The remarks were allegedly made by the Moti Mahal owner and were reported in US based newspaper The Wall Street Journal. This article was later published on several other platforms..After considering Daryaganj's objections, Justice Sanjeev Narula asked Moti Mahal to file an affidavit in two weeks elaborating their assertions that they never made such an allegation and their efforts to distance themselves from the disputed statement.“Ms. Sethi’s [Moti Mahal’s lawyer] submission aims to clarify the source and nature of the statement in question. She seeks to differentiate the Plaintiffs’ [Moti Mahal] position from the editorial choices made in the course of reporting. By doing so, the Plaintiffs are effectively seeking to dissociate themselves from the remarks attributed to them, suggesting that the expressions found in the article—and identified as defamatory by the Defendants—were not reflective of their direct communications or intentions. Therefore, Plaintiffs are directed to submit an affidavit, elaborating on the assertions made by Ms. Sethi and affirming their effort to distance themselves from the disputed statement in the published articles. Let the same be filed within two weeks from today,” the Court ordered. .As reported first by Bar & Bench, Moti Mahal had sued Daryaganj over claims regarding invention of dishes like Butter Chicken and Dal Makhani. Moti Mahal proprietors argued that their forefathers came up with these recipes and therefore, Daryaganj cannot use the tagline “Inventors of Butter Chicken and Dal Makhani”.The High Court had issued summons in that suit..However, Daryaganj has now filed an application in the suit raising concerns that after the proceedings were reported in the media, Moti Mahal’s owners gave libelous and defamatory statements which were reported not only in Indian but even international press.It was argued that remarks, “they [Daryaganj] are piggybacking off my legacy. What big cheats they are” were made by Moti Mahal owners and were reported in global media including the US based newspaper The Wall Street Journal.Daryaganj said that the remark labels them as cheats and constitutes libel and The Wall Street Journal article has been circulated and reproduced by other websites as well.It said that such statements, particularly in the context of Moti Mahal’s suit, not only disparage Daryaganj’s business but also prejudice fair adjudication and, therefore, Moti Mahal and its owners should take immediate corrective action to retract the defamatory statements and remove them from the news platforms..Moti Mahal’s lawyers told the Court that soon after the statement was reported, its public relations agent (PR agent) wrote an email to The Wall Street Journal stating that the team ‘cheat’ was never used by Monish Gujral (owner of Moti Mahal). The email asked The Wall Street Journal to retract the statement.It was contended that even though Moti Mahal reached out to another co-editor of the article, the paper’s response was to uphold the integrity of the story.The counsel argued that the disputed comment, deemed offensive by Daryaganj, should be interpreted within the journalistic framework of the article, reflecting the editorial perspective rather than attributing it to Moti Mahal’s owners as a definitive stance.They further told the Court that Moti Mahal will issue an appropriate communication to the editors of the news platforms to ensure that information disclosed in the articles are appropriately dealt with..Advocates Shreya Sethi and Anirudh Bhatia appeared for Moti Mahal and its proprietors.Senior Advocate Amit Sibal along with advocates Pravin Anand, Dhruv Anand, Udita Patro, Sampurnaa Sanyal, Nimrat Singh and Dhananjay Khanna represented Daryaganj..[Read Order]