HC protects Haveli’s flavour, bars Ludhiana eatery from using name

Anyone who has driven the highways of Punjab and Haryana knows the sight: looming gateways painted with rural murals, charpoys laid out for weary travellers, brass utensils glinting in the light and the smell of hot buttered parathas wafting through the air. For decades, “Haveli” has been more than a restaurant. It has been a pit stop woven into the road trip experience, a place where nostalgia and North Indian food come together under one roof.

Last week, that carefully built identity travelled from the highways to the courtroom. The Delhi High Court granted interim relief to Haveli Restaurant and Resorts Ltd, restraining a Ludhiana-based eatery that had rebranded itself as “Punjabi Haveli” from using the name or copying the brand’s distinctive rustic theme.

Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora granted the interim relief in favor of “Haveli”, directing the rival outlet, “Punjabi Haveli”, to take down all hoardings, boards, advertisements and social media accounts using the disputed mark.

The judge noted that the similarities between the two establishments, from colour schemes and interior motifs to the broader rustic Punjabi theme, were too precise to be dismissed as coincidence. According to the court, this indicated a deliberate effort by the Ludhiana outlet to profit from the goodwill “Haveli” has built over decades.

The dispute has its origins in 2021, when both sides held talks over a potential partnership. Negotiations collapsed, but shortly afterwards, the Ludhiana outlet rebranded itself as “Punjabi Haveli”. It then undertook renovations that, according to Haveli Restaurants, recreated everything from the visual motifs and decor to the overall atmosphere that makes the chain distinctive. Matters escalated when the rival also applied to register the trademark.

In its lawsuit, “Haveli” accused the Ludhiana company of not only infringing on its name but of “stealing” the very environment that sets its establishments apart. The court found enough merit in this argument to issue an ex parte ad interim order, granted without hearing the other side, prohibiting the use of the “Haveli” brand in any form until the case is decided.

The matter has been listed for September 26 before a joint registrar for the completion of pleading and before the court on February 17, 2026.