The Bombay High Court on Wednesday dismissed the PIL (PIL) filed against Italian fashion house Prada for alleged unauthorized use of famous Kolhapuri chappals.
A bench of Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice Sandeep Marne questioned the ‘jurisdiction’ and statutory rights of the five lawyers who filed a PIL and said that they are not the victims or registered proprietors or masters of Kolhapuri chappal.
The court asked, “You are not the owner of this Kolhapuri chappal. What is your jurisdiction and what is public interest? Any victim person can file a case. What is public interest in this? ”
The petition stated that Kolhapuri chappal has been preserved as a geographical signal (GI) under the Geographical Indication (Registration and Protection) Act of goods.
After this, the bench said that the registered masters of GI tag can come to court and tell about their action.
The court dismissed the petition and said it would later pass a detailed order.
In her spring/summer collection, Prada displayed her ‘to-ring sandals’, which in the petition stated that they are similar to Kolhapuri slippers. The price of these sandals is one lakh rupees per pair.
