The Delhi High Court has directed the Controller of Patents and Designs to pay ₹20,000 to the Army Central Welfare Fund as a penalty for repeatedly seeking adjournments in an intellectual property rights (IPR) case.
Justice Saurabh Banerjee passed the order on May 8, observing that the request to defer the proceedings had been made on the last three consecutive dates as well. “Since the learned counsel for the respondent sought adjournment on the last three dates as well, in the interest of justice, renotify on 06.08.2025, albeit, subject to costs of Rs 20,000 to be paid by the respondent to the Army Central Welfare Fund within a period of four weeks,” the Court stated in its order.
The counsel representing the Controller of Patents and Designs submitted that while written submissions had been filed in the matter, he did not yet have any “specific instructions” from the authority.
The case, filed in 2023, concerns a patent registration dispute, where the petitioner is seeking the grant of a patent under Indian law.
The court has listed the matter next for August 6, 2025, making it conditional upon the payment of the imposed cost.
