A three judge bench of the Supreme Court headed by the Chief Justice of India served notice to international luxury brand Mont Blanc, on a Public Interest Litigation protesting the launch of its limited edition Mahatma Gandhi pens.

The PIL has been filed by two Delhi-based lawyers, Harsh Vardhan Surana and Sandeep Singh, and have sought the court to restrain marketing and selling the pens on the ground that they are an affront to national honour and a misuse of the Mahatma's name for commercial marketing. The Petitioners argued that introducing the pen was in violation of the Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950 which prohibits the use of any emblem specified in the Act for a commercial or trade purpose.

Despite expressing reservations, the Apex Court Bench issued notice to Mont Blanc. Earlier, a PIL was filed in the Kerala High Court regarding the same matter, and was settled out of court. Mont Blanc released the luxury limited edition pens on September 29. The Mahatma Gandhi-241 retails at Rs. 11.39 lakhs ($23,854), and commemorates the 241-kilometre Dandi salt march, while the Mahatma Gandhi Limited Edition-3000 retails at Rs. 1.47 lakhs ($3,000).

Previously a petition has been filed before the Kerala High Court on the same issue. The Government has taken a stand that the picture of Mahatma Gandhi on the nib of the pens violates the Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950. This issue has been raked up in the Lok Sabha too with the Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, K.V. Thomas asked to clarify the Government's stand on the issue.

Mont Blanc's favorites DSK Legal may represent them in the present case. DSK Legal has represented Mont Blanc in a variety of IP disputes and previous advisory work of Month Blanc. In an ongoing dispute between Add Gel and Month Blanc, DSK's litigation partner Gopika Pant is leading the litigation team.

It's to be seen whether the emblem misuse will be taken seriously in India. Yesterday, the United Arab Emirates enacted stiff laws against misuse of the national emblems. The offence will carry a year in jail and a fine upto Dirham 100,000 (Rs. 12 lakh), according to a draft law approved by the Federal National Council. However, in India, the Emblems Act imposes a maximum fine of Rs. 5,000 ($104 or 393 Dirhams).