Delhi High Court Upholds Transfer of Domain Name from "Kashmir Harvard" to Harvard College in Arbitration Ruling

Delhi High Court Upholds Transfer of Domain Name from "Kashmir Harvard" to Harvard College in Arbitration Ruling

The Delhi High Court has affirmed an arbitral award issued in favour of the President and Fellows of Harvard College, located in the United States of America. This award requires the transfer of a domain name currently registered by the Kashmir Harvard Educational Institute, based in Srinagar, to the US college.

Justice Prateek Jalan dismissed the plea filed by the Kashmir-based educational institution against the arbitral award issued on March 4, 2023, under the ".IN Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy" (IDNDRP), imposing ₹50,000 in costs.

Kashmir Harvard Educational Institute registered the domain name "kashmirharvard.edu.in." A complaint was filed with NIXI by the President and Fellows of Harvard College, requesting the transfer or cancellation of the mentioned domain name.

The complaint asserted that Harvard has instituted a trademark# programme, through which it manages and licenses its trademarks known as the "HARVARD Marks." It was noted that Harvard maintains a website, “www.harvard.edu”, and social media accounts that prominently feature the name "Harvard."

Justice Jalan dismissed the plea, stating that there were no valid reasons to conclude that the challenged arbitral award conflicted with Section 34(2) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act.

“The arguments advanced by the petitioner show a scant regard for the limited scope of intervention with an award in an international commercial arbitration, or for the process of the Court. Pleas have been advanced which are contrary to the record, and attempt after attempt has been made to mislead the Court. I, therefore, consider this to be a fit case for imposition of costs against the petitioner,” Justice Jalan said.

He decreed that the petition, along with pending applications, be dismissed, and imposed costs amounting to ₹50,000, payable to the respondent within four weeks.

The Court noted that the Kashmir-based institute did not substantiate a case of violating the principles of natural justice. It highlighted that the institute explicitly acknowledged receiving the award via speed post in the application for condonation of delay.

Additionally, it pointed out that the institute was duly served with communications and the award through the email address specified in the domain registration information.

“For the aforesaid reasons, I do not find any grounds to hold that the impugned award is contrary to Section 34(2) of the Act,” the Court stated.