The Bombay High Court has granted interim protection to the Mumbai branch of the Vadilal ice cream business in an ongoing dispute over brand usage rights, allowing it to continue manufacturing and selling products under the Vadilal name until arbitration proceedings conclude.
In an order passed by Justice Amit Borkar, the court restrained Vadilal Industries Ltd, Vadilal International Pvt Ltd and members of the Ahmedabad faction from interfering with the Mumbai branch’s manufacturing, distribution, sales and marketing activities relating to ice creams and juices in territories claimed under a family settlement agreement.
The court observed that the Mumbai faction had established a prima facie case that its rights over the Vadilal brand in western and southern India originated from a 1993 family settlement arrangement rather than a revocable commercial licence.
The dispute centres on a family agreement signed in 1993 that divided business operations between two branches of the Vadilal family following internal differences over management and expansion plans. The arrangement reportedly included multiple linked agreements covering brand usage rights, registered user provisions and related operational responsibilities.
The legal conflict intensified after Vadilal International, associated with the Ahmedabad faction, issued a notice in May seeking termination of the Registered User Agreement governing the use of the Vadilal brand.
The Mumbai branch approached the court under provisions of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act seeking interim relief, arguing that the brand-use agreements formed an inseparable part of the original family settlement and therefore could not be unilaterally terminated outside the agreed dispute-resolution mechanism.
The Ahmedabad faction opposed the plea, stating that repeated quality-related concerns and alleged food safety issues justified termination of the arrangement. Vadilal Industries Ltd also argued before the court that it was not a direct signatory to the family agreements and highlighted the interests of its public shareholders.
In its observations, the court noted that discontinuing the use of the Vadilal brand after more than three decades could potentially cause significant operational disruption. At the same time, it acknowledged concerns raised regarding trademark goodwill and potential impact on consumer confidence arising from alleged quality issues.
The court stated that its role at the interim stage was not to determine commercial superiority between the parties but to preserve the subject matter of the dispute while minimising the risk of irreversible prejudice.
The Ahmedabad faction retains the option of challenging the order before a division bench of the High Court.