Delhi High Court Stays Order Directing Transfer Of 'Bima Sugam' Domain Names

The Delhi High Court has stayed a Single Judge's order that had directed the transfer of the domain names www.bimasugam.com and www.bimasugam.in to the Bima Sugam India Federation, pending the outcome of a trademark dispute with A. Range Gowda, a private individual and insurance agent.A Division Bench comprising Justice C Hari Shankar and Justice Om Prakash Shukla passed the interim order on October 30, 2025, in an appeal filed by Gowda challenging the Single Judge's order dated October 16, 2025. The dispute concerns the ownership and use of the mark “BIMA SUGAM” and the related domain names. Gowda registered the domains in October 2022, claiming to have used them continuously since then. The Bima Sugam India Federation, an industry body backed by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), asserted that it had proprietary rights over the name “BIMA SUGAM,” which it had publicly announced in August 2022 for a proposed digital insurance marketplace. The federation alleged that Gowda's registration and use of the domains were misleading and amounted to misuse of its brand identity. In May 2025, the Single Judge granted an interim injunction restraining Gowda from using the disputed domains. In October 2025, the injunction was made final during the pendency of the case, with an additional direction that the domains be transferred to the federation. The Division Bench disagreed with the direction to transfer the domains at this stage, noting that the domains were registered in Gowda's name and that such a transfer would effectively allow the federation to commercially exploit them while the case was still undecided. The Bench emphasized that the federation's claim was based on common law rights and passing off, rather than a registered trademark.Referring to the Supreme Court's ruling in Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha v. Prius Auto Industries Ltd., the Court reiterated that to establish passing off, a party must prove prior goodwill, deceptive similarity, and resulting damage.“It is fundamental to passing off law that a finding of goodwill has to be returned, before passing an order of injunction. This is the very first of the three ingredients of passing off, which constitute goodwill, misleading user of the mark by the defendant and damages suffered by the plaintiff as a result thereof.”, the Court said.The Court noted that the federation's use of the name “Bima Sugam” before Gowda's domain registration lasted only from August to October 2022, and the Single Judge's order did not include a finding of established goodwill during that brief period. It ruled that a prima facie case existed in favour of Gowda and that the balance of convenience justified maintaining the status quo. Accordingly, it stayed the operation of the Single Judge's order insofar as it required the transfer of the domain names until the matter is decided. The matter will next be heard on January 12, 2026. Case Title: A Range Gowda v. Bima Sugam India Federation & OrsCitation: 2025 LiveLaw (Del) 1457 Case Number : FAO (OS) (COMM) 179/2025 For the Appellant: Senior Advocate J Sai Deepak with Advocate Paritosh Dhawan. For the Respondents: Senior Advocate Akhil Sibal with Advocates Riddhie Bajaj, Swati Sharma, Rohin Koolwal and Pundreek Dwivedi Click Here To Read/Download The Order

Delhi High Court Stays Order Directing Transfer Of 'Bima Sugam' Domain Names

Ayushi Shukla

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