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Issues Involved:
1. Whether the plaint discloses any cause of action. 2. Whether the suit is barred by law. 3. Whether the court has jurisdiction to try and entertain the suit. 4. Whether the order of the learned District Judge was vitiated by illegality. Detailed Analysis: 1. Whether the plaint discloses any cause of action: The core issue was whether the plaint disclosed a cause of action. The plaintiffs alleged deceit, passing off, unfair trade practice, violation of government guidelines, public nuisance, and wrongful acts. The court scrutinized these allegations in detail. - Deceit: The court noted that for an action of deceit, the plaintiff must allege and prove false representation, fraudulent intent, inducement, reliance, and damage. The court found the allegations in the plaint to be inferential and contradicted by the inscriptions on the cigarette packets, which clearly indicated that the products were made in India by ITC. The court concluded that the plaint did not disclose a cause of action for deceit as the plaintiffs failed to show they acted on the alleged misrepresentation and suffered damage. - Passing Off: The court explained that passing off protects a trader's proprietary right in his goodwill or business from being misled by another's goods. It emphasized that this remedy is not available to consumers. The court concluded that the plaintiffs had no cause for a passing off action as they were consumers, not traders. - Unfair Trade Practice: The court noted that the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Act, 1969, provides a specific remedy for unfair trade practices, which must be pursued through the appropriate commission, not a civil court. Thus, the court held that the civil court lacked jurisdiction to entertain this claim. - Violation of Government Guidelines: The court found that the guidelines cited by the plaintiffs did not create any legal rights or obligations and thus did not constitute a cause of action. - Public Nuisance and Wrongful Acts: The court held that the allegations did not constitute public nuisance or wrongful acts as defined under the law. Smoking, though injurious to health, is not prohibited, and thus the use of the brand name did not amount to a public nuisance or wrongful act. 2. Whether the suit is barred by law: The court did not need to address this issue in detail as it had already concluded that the plaint did not disclose any cause of action. However, it noted that the suit was not maintainable under the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Act and the guidelines for industrial policy. 3. Whether the court has jurisdiction to try and entertain the suit: The court noted that the issue of territorial jurisdiction was a mixed question of fact and law, which could only be decided after evidence. However, since the plaint did not disclose any cause of action, this issue became moot. 4. Whether the order of the learned District Judge was vitiated by illegality: The court found that the learned District Judge had not considered the relevant law and arguments advanced by ITC. The judgment did not specify how the plaint disclosed a cause of action and relied on material outside the plaint. The court concluded that the learned District Judge acted illegally in rejecting the application under Order VII Rule 11. Conclusion: The court allowed the revision, set aside the impugned order, and rejected the plaint under Order VII Rule 11 of the Code of Civil Procedure. It made no order as to costs, considering the potential burden of recovery expenses on the winning party.
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