Case filed against Anand Mahindra, two others in Rajasthan's Jaipur for alleged copyright violation

The case has been registered by Neeraj Kumar Bunkar, proprietor of 'SAND2SNOW', a Jaipur-based motorcyle and other adventure company against Anand Mahindra, the company's managing director Anish Shah and Evo India magazine editor Sirish Chandran.

Jaipur: A case has been registered against Mahindra and Mahindra Chairman Anand Mahindra and two others in Rajasthan capital Jaipur over cheating charges including alleged violation of the Trademark and Copyright Act, officials said. It is learnt that the FIR has been registered against Anand Mahindra, the chairperson of Mahindra & Mahindra, at the Gandhi Nagar police station in the capital Jaipur on Thursday night.

Along with Anand Mahindra, the company's managing director Anish Shah and Evo India magazine editor Sirish Chandran are also named in this FIR, officials said. The case has been registered against all three for alleged violation of the Trademark and Copyright Act and under other sections of the IPC. The case has been registered following a complaint by Neeraj Kumar Bunkar, proprietor of 'SAND2SNOW', a Jaipur-based motorcyle and other adventure company.

In his complaint, Bunkar said he has been using this trademark for his business since 2015. The trademark of his firm SAND2SNOW is quite popular among people who like adventure tourism in India and abroad and many videos and photos related to adventure tourism organized by the firm are shared through social media accounts, he said.

The complainant alleges that Mahindra And Mahindra Company is promoting its product Mahindra Thar with sand2snow content. Since it is a registered trade mark of the complainant, his permission or consent was necessary for this, which was not taken, he alleged. The complainant alleged that by using its trademark, the public is being misled that the complainant is sharing its material property rights with Mahindra & Mahindra.

This is infringing upon the rights of the complainant and is in direct violation of the protection available to the complainant under the Trademark and Copyright Act, Bunkar alleged. He further said that Mahindra & Mahindra Group's magazine engaged4 and automobile sector's leading magazine EVO India are being promoted with misleading content.

The complainant alleged that Anand Mahindra, Anish Shah and Sirish Chandran have uploaded promotional material on internet and social media platforms using its trademark for their own business, which is a violation of his rights. A case has been registered under 107 and sections 63 and 69 of the Copyright Act.

The investigation of the case has been handed over to ASI Naresh Kumar.