The dispute over the invention of Butter Chicken and Dal Makhani escalated on Monday as Moti Mahal restaurant filed a plea with the Delhi High Court to cancel Daryaganj restaurant chain’s trademark.

Justice Anish Dayal heard the matter and issued a notice regarding Moti Mahal's applications.

The court stated that Justice Sanjeev Narula would hear the case in July, given his prior involvement with Moti Mahal’s lawsuit aiming to prevent Daryaganj from claiming it invented Butter Chicken and Dal Makhani. Moti Mahal has contested the trademark “DARYAGANJ: BY THE INVENTORS OF BUTTER CHICKEN & DAL MAKHANI” registered by Daryaganj on March 14, 2018, on a ‘proposed to be used’ basis.

Moti Mahal argues that they have been using the tagline “Inventors of Original Dal Makhani, Tandoori Chicken & Butter Chicken” since 2005, asserting that Daryaganj’s trademark is a false claim. In April 2023, Moti Mahal applied for a device mark registration, claiming to be the original inventors of Dal Makhani, Butter Chicken, and Tandoori Chicken. This application is currently pending with the trademark registry.

The lawsuit was filed through advocates Shreya Sethi and Anirudh Bhatia, with Senior Advocate Chander M Lall representing Moti Mahal. Advocate Pravin Anand represented Daryaganj.

Moti Mahal also filed a separate civil suit in January 2024 against Daryaganj over the tagline “Inventors of Butter Chicken and Dal Makhani,” accusing Daryaganj of misleading people into believing there is a connection between the two restaurant chains. Moti Mahal’s first branch was opened in the Daryaganj neighborhood of Delhi.

Daryaganj has opposed the plea, arguing they have not made any false representations and asserting that the allegations are unfounded. They noted that the first Moti Mahal restaurant was jointly established by the predecessors of both parties (Gujral of Moti Mahal and Jaggi of Daryaganj restaurants) in Peshawar.

This case is scheduled for a hearing before Justice Narula on May 29.