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Bharat Matrimony.com Pvt. Ltd. v. People Interactive (I) Pvt. Ltd.

Civil Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Civil Appeal No. 2142 of 2007)Decided 7 Jan 2016
Civil Appeal No. 2142 of 2007
Justice Kurian Joseph · Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman

Background

This appeal arose out of a dispute over advertising claims: People Interactive (operator of a rival matrimonial website) had filed a complaint against Bharat Matrimony.com before the erstwhile MRTP Commission (later the Competition Commission of India) over statements Bharat Matrimony made about a "Limca Book of Records" certification for the highest number of documented online marriages. While the civil appeal was pending before the Supreme Court, the two companies amicably resolved their dispute and filed a Joint Memo of Settlement in 2014.

Decision Breakdown

Under the settlement, Bharat Matrimony.com agreed to use only the specific language actually certified by Limca Records (and not make any contrary claim), and to use an agreed form of words, "Featured in the Limca Book of Records, for record number of documented marriages online", in its marketing. In exchange, People Interactive agreed to withdraw its complaint before the Competition Commission, and both parties agreed to give up all further claims against each other on this subject and to bear their own costs. The Supreme Court simply recorded the settlement and disposed of the appeal in its terms, with no order as to costs. Because this is a consent disposal, the Court did not render any independent finding or reasoning on the underlying merits of the advertising dispute.

Lesson Learnt

Parties to a commercial dispute pending even at the Supreme Court can settle on their own terms, and courts will readily dispose of the case by recording and giving effect to that settlement rather than adjudicating the underlying merits: a useful, faster route than fighting a case to a final judgment.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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