[Cites 5, Cited by 0]
Delhi High Court
Millennium Education Management ... vs Sharda Foundation on 13 April, 2026
$~29
* IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI
Date of Decision : 13.04.2026
+ O.M.P.(I) (COMM.) 154/2026 & I.A. 9974/2026 (Ex.)
MILLENNIUM EDUCATION MANAGEMENT PRIVATE
LIMITED .....Petitioner
Through: Mr. Sumeet Pushkarna, Senior
Advocate along with Ms.
Shagun Shahi Chugh, Mr.
Yudhveer Singh, Ms. Bhavna
Gandhi and Mr. Aman Singh,
Advocates.
versus
SHARDA FOUNDATION .....Respondent
Through: Mr. Apoorv Kurup, Senior
Advocate along with Ms.
Chetanya puri, Mr. Ayush
Mishra and Ms. Vidhi Gupta,
Advocates.
CORAM:
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE HARISH VAIDYANATHAN
SHANKAR
% JUDGEMENT (ORAL)
HARISH VAIDYANATHAN SHANKAR, J.
1. The present Petition has been filed under Section 9 of the
Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 19961 seeking the following
reliefs:
"a) pass an interim order of injunction restraining the Respondent,
its trustees, officers, employees, agents, representatives,
affiliates and all persons acting for and on its behalf from, in
any manner whatsoever, using the Brand Name "The
Act
O.M.P.(I) (COMM.) 154/2026
15:53:24
Millennium School / registered
trademarks, logos, trade dress, domain names, content,
curriculum, pedagogy, training material and any other
intellectual property associated under the terms of the
Collaboration Agreement, or any word, name, mark, symbol,
design, emblem or logo or device bearing close similarity in
sound, appearance or meaning to the Brand Name which may
cause confusion or mistake or may diminish or affect
Petitioner's right in the Brand Name.
b) restrain the Respondent, its trustees, officers, employees,
agents, representatives, affiliates and all persons acting for and
on its behalf from, running, operating, advertising, marketing
or promoting the School at Plot No. 58/1, Knowledge Park-5,
Greater Noida West, Uttar Pradesh, or any other educational
institution, under the name and style of "The Millennium
School" or any deceptively similar name;
c) direct the Respondent, its trustees, officers, employees, agents,
representatives, affiliates and all persons acting for and on its
behalf, to immediately take down and deactivate the website
www.tmsnoidaextension.com and any other website, social
media page or online platform using or displaying the
Petitioner's Brand Name, trademarks, logos or proprietary
material;
d) restrain the Respondent, its trustees, officers, employees,
agents, representatives, affiliates and all persons acting for and
on its behalf from admitting students or soliciting admissions
for the academic year 2026-2027 or any subsequent academic
year under the Brand Name or using the s proprietary Content
and curriculum;
e) restraining the Respondent, its trustees, officers, employees,
agents and all persons acting for and on its behalf from,
directly or indirectly, using, copying, accessing, retaining,
disclosing or exploiting the proprietary and confidential
information and database of the Petitioner, including but not
limited to its curriculum, coursework, study material,
pedagogical content, training modules, know-how, students'
lists and records, reports, manuals, documents and data relating
to teaching methods and academic operations.
f) direct the Respondent, its trustees, officers, employees, agents,
representatives, affiliates and all persons acting for and on its
behalf to forthwith return and/or destroy, as may be directed by
O.M.P.(I) (COMM.) 154/2026
15:53:24
this Hon'ble Court, all physical and electronic copies of the
Petitioner's content, curriculum, training modules, manuals,
data, records and all other material relating to or derived from
the Petitioner's intellectual property and to file a written
affidavit confirming compliance thereof;
g) direct the Respondent to render true and complete accounts of
all fees collected by the School from the academic year 2021-
22 till date and to produce all relevant books of account,
statements, ledgers, balance sheets and profit and loss
statements before this Hon'ble Court or before such authority
as this Hon'ble Court may deem fit;
h) Pass an order appointing a Local Commissioner to visit the
premises of the Respondent and to inspect, verify and make
copies of the relevant records, documents and books of
account of the Respondent relating to the School, and to
identify, secure and take custody (including by way of imaging
and sealing, wherever appropriate) of all data, books,
brochures, booklets, agreements, forms, students lists and
records, statements, files, teaching and training material,
curriculum and content, publicity and promotional material,
digital data, storage devices and any other documents or
materials belonging to or derived from the Petitioner's
proprietary and confidential information and intellectual
property, in view of the real and imminent apprehension that
the Respondent may manipulate, conceal, or destroy such
records, thereby necessitating preservation of evidence to
prevent frustration of the future arbitration proceedings
i) grant ad-interim reliefs in terms of prayer clauses (a), (b), (c),
(d), (e), and (g) hereinabove, pending disposal of the present
petition.
j) pass such further and other orders as this Hon'ble Court may
deem fit and proper in the facts and circumstances of the
present case, in favour of the Petitioner And against the
Respondent."
2. The present disputes are stated to have arisen out of a
Collaboration Agreement dated 07.06.20162, which contains a
dispute resolution mechanism under Clauses 19 and 20 thereof. The
said clauses are reproduced hereinbelow for ready reference:
"19. ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION
Agreement
O.M.P.(I) (COMM.) 154/2026
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All disputes arising in connection with or arising out this
Agreement will be referred to a sole arbitrator under the provisions
of Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, duly appointed by
MEM. Only if the arbitrator appointed by MEM is not acceptable
to the Organization, will be appointed by mutual consent of both
the parties to the agreement. The place of arbitration shall be at
New Delhi and the language of the. arbitration proceedings shall be
English. The arbitration award shall be final and binding upon the
Parties.
20. JURISDICTION
The obligations of the Parties under this Agreement shall be
interpreted and construed according to the laws of India. Subject to
Clause 19 herein above, the courts at Noida shall have the
exclusive jurisdiction to entertain and try any and all disputes
arising between the Parties under this Agreement."
3. The material on record indicates that the Notice under Section
21 of the Act dated 23.12.2025 ["Section 21 Notice'], invoking
arbitration, was filed by the Petitioner. The same is annexed to the
present petition as Document D-14.
4. After advancing some arguments, learned senior counsel
appearing for the parties submit that they are ad idem that the disputes
between them be referred to arbitration by a Sole Arbitrator.
5. Since the parties have mutually consented to adjudication of
their disputes by way of Arbitration and to the appointment of a Sole
Arbitrator, this Court is of the view that the commencement of arbitral
proceedings should not be unduly delayed.
6. Accordingly, in the peculiar facts of the present case, the
requirement of initiation of separate proceedings under Section 11 of
the Act is dispensed with.
7. Learned counsel for the Respondent, on instructions,
undertakes that all application forms for admissions, henceforth, shall
carry an appropriate disclaimer as prescribed vide Order dated
O.M.P.(I) (COMM.) 154/2026
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25.03.2022, regarding the pendency of the present proceedings
concerning the brand name. The relevant disclaimer as set out in the
said Order reads as under:
"ALL PARENTS/WARDS ARE INFORMED THAT THE
CONTINUED USE BY THIS SCHOOL OF THE NAME
MILLENNIUM WORLD SCHOOL' AT KOTKAPURA,
PUNJAB, IS SUBJECT TO A DISPUTE PENDING BEFORE
THE DELHI HIGH COURT IN O.M.P.(I) (COMM.) 96/2022
TITLED 'MILLENNIUM EDUCATION MANAGEMENT
PRIVATE LIMITED VS. RAJENDERA EDUCATIONAL
SOCIETY."
8. The subject matter of the dispute is stated to be approximately
3.5 crores.
9. In view thereof, this Court is of the view that the matter may be
referred to arbitration by a Sole Arbitrator for the purpose of the
resolution of disputes between the parties.
10. Accordingly, this Court hereby requests Hon'ble Mr. Justice
(Retd.) Arun Kumar Mishra (Former Supreme Court Judge)
(Mobile No. 7042963344), to enter upon the reference and adjudicate
the disputes inter se the parties.
11. The learned Sole Arbitrator may proceed with the arbitration
proceedings, subject to furnishing to the parties the requisite
disclosures as required under Section 12(2) of the Act within a week
of entering into the reference.
12. The respective costs of arbitration shall be borne equally by the
parties.
13. All rights and contentions of the parties are kept open, to be
decided by the learned Sole Arbitrator on their merits, in accordance
with law.
14. Learned Senior Counsel appearing on behalf of the parties also
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submit that they are ad idem in their intent to explore the possibility of
an amicable settlement through mediation. Accordingly, in the
meanwhile, the parties shall be at liberty to explore the route of
mediation.
15. Needless to state, nothing in this order shall be construed as an
expression of opinion of this Court on the merits of the controversy.
16. The Registry is directed to send a receipt of this order to the
learned Arbitrator through all permissible modes, including through e-
mail.
17. The present Petition, along with pending Application(s), if any,
stands disposed of in the aforesaid terms.
HARISH VAIDYANATHAN SHANKAR, J.
APRIL 13, 2026/nd/kr
O.M.P.(I) (COMM.) 154/2026
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