The Delhi High Court has imposed costs of ₹20 lakh on Instant Bollywood founder Mandeep Singh for concealing material facts regarding his prior knowledge of four trademark registrations that were initially secured in the name of Shabir Momin and later assigned to Times Internet. The Court also directed the parties to maintain status quo with respect to the impugned assignment.

The Court found that Singh had failed to disclose crucial documents demonstrating that he was aware, at least since 2022, that the Instant Bollywood trademarks were registered exclusively in Momin’s name. These documents included the June 2019 agreement governing the brand as well as correspondence and legal notices exchanged with Times Internet Inc., including a notice dated November 24, 2025.

The order was passed by Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora on December 11, 2025, while hearing a batch of rectification petitions filed by Singh seeking cancellation of four registrations of the Instant Bollywood (device) trademark.

While holding that the non-disclosure amounted to suppression of material facts, the Court declined to dismiss Singh’s interim applications. It observed that, on a prima facie assessment of the record, Singh did have a 50% intellectual property right in the trademark.

As a consequence of the suppression, the Court imposed costs of ₹5 lakh in each of the four petitions, totalling ₹20 lakh, to be deposited with the Delhi High Court Legal Services Committee within a period of two weeks.

Instant Bollywood is a digital entertainment and news platform focused on Bollywood, publishing celebrity-related and industry content. Singh informed the Court that he had launched the brand in 2012 and entered into an agreement in June 2019 with One Digital Entertainment Pte. Ltd. (ODE) for the management and development of the platform.

Under the 2019 agreement, the intellectual property rights in the Instant Bollywood brand were to be jointly owned by the parties in a 50:50 ratio. Singh terminated the agreement in August 2025 and subsequently challenged the trademark registrations obtained in the name of Shabir Momin, the managing director of ODE.

During the proceedings, Times Internet Inc. sought to be impleaded, asserting that Momin had assigned the disputed trademarks to it under an agreement dated October 24, 2025. The Court held that Times Internet was both a proper and necessary party and allowed the impleadment application.

While considering interim relief, the Court noted that the 2019 agreement expressly recognised joint ownership of intellectual property rights in the brand. It further observed that this position was echoed in a legal notice issued by Times Internet itself to Singh.

The Court also took note of the fact that Singh was neither a party to the assignment documents nor had he received any consideration under the transaction. “The Respondent Nos. 1 and 3 would have to explain the legal basis of exclusion of the Petitioner from the registration before the registry as well as the Transaction Documents,” the Court observed.

To safeguard Singh’s admitted rights, the Court directed Shabir Momin and Times Internet to maintain status quo with respect to the assignment and restrained them from creating any third-party rights or interests in the trademarks.

The matter is next listed for hearing on May 6, 2026.

Case Title: Mandeep Singh v. Shabir Momin & Anr.
Case Number: C.O. (COMM.IPD-TM) 275/2025