The Delhi High Court has restrained three cement companies based in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab from producing or selling their product under the trade mark of leading cement manufacturer Associated Cement Companies (ACC) Ltd.

The court also appointed a three-member team including a lawyer as court commissioner to inspect their stores in Gorakhpur, Sirhind and Kapurthala.

Justice Kailash Gambhir passed the interim order accepting the argument of ACC's counsel Purushottam Mishra that Ajay Kumar Jaiswal, proprietor of Jaiswal Cement Store of Gorakhpur in UP, Harpreet Singh of Sirhind and Daler Singh of Kapurthala in Punjab have been manufacturing spurious ACC cement and selling them under its trade mark, violating the Intellectual Properties Act.

"The plaintiff has made out a prima facie case in their favour and refusal to grant ex-parte and interim injunction will cause prejudice to the rights of the plaintiff. The balance of convenience also lies in favour of the plaintiff and if an ex-parte ad interim injunction is not granted in favour of the plaintiff, irreparable loss and injury would be caused to the plaintiff.

"Accordingly the defendants, its partners or proprietors, its officers, servants and agent are restrained from selling advertising, directly or indirectly dealing in the business of manufacturing /distributing and selling cement under the trade mark ACC or any other trade mark which is deceptively similar to the plaintiff's trade mark," the court said in its order while issuing summons to all of them.