Bombay High Court Temporarily Bars Salon From Using 'Jawed Habib' Marks After Franchise Expiry
The Bombay High Court has temporarily restrained a local salon operator from using the “Jawed Habib”, “Jawed Habib Hair & Beauty” and “JH” names and logos, holding that their use after the end of a franchise agreement amounts to prima facie trademark and copyright infringement.A single-judge Bench of Justice Sharmila U Deshmukh passed the ad-interim order on January 6, 2026, ...
The Bombay High Court has temporarily restrained a local salon operator from using the “Jawed Habib”, “Jawed Habib Hair & Beauty” and “JH” names and logos, holding that their use after the end of a franchise agreement amounts to prima facie trademark and copyright infringement.
A single-judge Bench of Justice Sharmila U Deshmukh passed the ad-interim order on January 6, 2026, in favour of the popular hair salon franschise Jawed Habib Hair & Beauty Limited. The restraint will continue until February 3, 2026.
The court observed, “There is no probable defense as the franchise agreement demonstrates that the Defendant cannot claim any independent right in use of the registered trademarks upon expiry of the franchise agreement.”
The company told the court that it has been running salon services since 2006 and owns the “Jawed Habib” brand, the “JH” logo and the composite “Jawed Habib Hair & Beauty” trademark. It said the marks enjoy wide recognition and goodwill.
It was submitted that the salon operator was allowed to use these marks only under a franchise agreement that ran from May 2014 to May 2017. Even after the agreement ended, and despite a cease-and-desist notice, the salon allegedly continued to use the brand for the same services.
The court noted that the agreement clearly acknowledged Jawed Habib's ownership of the trademarks and limited their use strictly to the franchise period.
Finding that the company had made out a strong prima facie case and that the salon operator had offered no defence, the Court granted ad-interim relief.
The salon has been restrained, until the next hearing, from using the “Jawed Habib”, “Jawed Habib Hair & Beauty” and “JH” marks, or any deceptively similar names, for hair salon services.
Case Title: Jawed Habib Hair & Beauty Limited v. Kavita Janki Services Private Limited
Citation: 2026 LLBiz HC (BOM) 8
Case Number: IA No.4660/2025 in Commercial IP Suit No.179/2025
For Applicant: Advocates Nidhi Bangera, B.N. Poojari, Suresh Poojary instructed by Legal House