D.K.Kapur - (1.) This judgment in F.A.O. No. 75 of 1968 will also dispose of the two connected appeals, F.A.O. Nos. 76 and 77 of 1968.
(2.) The appellant in this case is M/s. Hemla Embroidery Mills (P) Ltd., whereas the respondent is Hindustan Embroidery Mills (P) Ltd., The respondent in this case has filed three applications for the registration of three trade marks each of which employs the words HEMLA in different forms, before the Registrar of Trade Marks. It is not necessary for the purpose of this appeal to give the exact descriptions of the Trade Marks involved. The appellant opposed the registration under Section 31 (1) of the Trade and Merchandise Act, 1958 (hereinafter referred to as the Act). Counter statements were thereafter filed by the respondent under Section 21 (2). The procedure prescribed by the Act requires that at this stage evidence has to be filed by the appellant. However, before this could be done the present appellant moved stNay applicatns in this said three cases before the Registrar which have been rejected and three appeals have been brought against the three orders passed by the Registrar to this Court. All three orders are in practically identical terms.
(3.) There were two applications in each of the cases. One application was a request for extention of time in Form No. T.M. 56 and the other was a petition for stay. The ground of which stay was sought was that certain disputes between the parties had been referred to arbitration as a result of a consent order passed in the Bombay High Court by Kantawala J. The said reference to arbitration was to two well known selecitors of Bombay and included disputes concerning the ownership of the trade marks involved in the applications for registration. It was submitted that the Award of the Arbitrators which would be given as a result of the agreed reference ordered by the Bombay High Court would be binding on both the parties and conclusively decide the disputes concerning the ownership of the trade marks in question. It was further submitted that there would be great prejudice if the proceedings continued to go on before the Registrar. The application for extention of time on form TM 56 was in the form of a prayer for time being extended till after the hearing and final disposal of F.A.O. No. 223 and F.A.O. No. 224 of 1967, pending in this court.;