A raid was carried out at the Mahalaxmi Food Products factory at Madri Industrial Area in Udaipur in the afternoon on Friday, 22 September. The raid was conducted under the supervision of Local Commissioner Ankur Sharma appointed by the Delhi Commercial Court, along with police personnel from Pratap Nagar Police Station and a team from Navkar Associates, Udaipur.

The case goes back to  2016, when the renowned bakery product brand from Udaipur, Star Bread, owned by M/s Star Food Products had raised an objection on their name being misused by Mahalaxmi Food Products, who were selling a similar product/products under the name Royal Star, and the look of the packaging was similar to the  ones used by Star Bread. While the courts had ordered  the  company not  to market any products under that name, the sales were continuing.

Navkar Associates, the Legal Advisors of M/s Star Food Products, had filed  a suit was with the Delhi Commercial Court. They were represented  by Advocate Namrata Jain, Advocate Vijay Soni, Advocate Krishnamani Tiwari and Advocate Narayan Chandwani. Local Commissioner Ankur Sharma, appointed by the Delhi Commercial Court, reached the premises of Mahalaxmi Food Products at Madri and with the help of the local police, conducted a raid.

In the proceedings that followed, it was found  that bread was being packaged and sold in the name of Royal Star in violation of the registered trade mark and registered copyright of Star Food Products. The factory was searched and seized by the local commissioner and the premises were sealed. Advocate Namrata Jain, Vijay Soni, and Krishnamani Tiwari and Narayan Chandwani spearheaded the action on Friday September 22, 2023 against Mahalakmi Food Products.

Past Case

In the past, based on the complaint by the petitioner at the Udaipur Commercial Court, a case of contempt of court was acknowledged involving Star Bread and Mahalaxmi Food Products. The court issued directives to the Food Safety Officer, instructing them to comply with its orders. The Food Safety Officer was instructed that if any packaging materials or marketing materials were found bearing the name "Royal Star" and appeared similar to the name and trademark logo of "Star Bread", the  same was to be seized and disposed off on the spot. The order was issued by the Commercial Court on November 11, 2021. This order mandated that the defendant, M/s Mahalaxmi Food Products, cease marketing and selling their products under the brand name "Royal Star." The petitioner contended that this use of "Royal Star" was a forgery of their original trademark, "Star Bread." 

Despite the court's November 2021 order, M/s Mahalaxmi Food Products persisted in manufacturing and promoting their products under the "Royal Star" brand. Taking notice of this, M/s Star Foods filed an interim Contempt of Court request in the Udaipur Commercial Court. After a thorough hearing from both sides, Judge Shivani Johri Bhatnagar acknowledged the contempt of court by Mahalaxmi Food Products and directed the Food Safety Officer to conduct an inspection of their premises, following which the  above order was passed.