Delhi High Court restrains ‘Charcha Aaj Ki’ from using Aaj Tak-style logo

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has granted an ex parte ad-interim injunction in favour of Aaj Tak, restraining digital news channel ‘Charcha Aaj Ki’ from using a logo and trade dress that the court found to be identical or deceptively similar to Aaj Tak’s registered marks.

Justice Jyoti Singh held that the plaintiffs, Living Media India and its subsidiary that operates the ‘AAJ TAK’ news channel, had made out a prima facie case, with the balance of convenience in their favour. The court said denial of interim relief would cause irreparable loss and injury.

In its order dated January 9, 2026, the court directed that till the next hearing, the defendant and all persons acting on its behalf shall not use the impugned mark, including the distinctive red-white-black colour combination and outline borders associated with Aaj Tak, across its channel, website and social media platforms in a manner that amounts to infringement.

Living Media told the court it adopted the ‘AAJ TAK’ mark in 1995, when it launched a 30-minute news programme, and subsequently launched the 24-hour Hindi news channel on December 31, 2000. The plaintiffs also cited statutory registrations for the word marks and device marks, including the channel’s distinctive logo styling and colour scheme, and said the ‘AAJ TAK’ mark has been declared a “well-known mark” under the Trade Marks Act and included in the Trade Marks Registry’s list of well-known trademarks.

According to the pleadings recorded in the order, the plaintiffs said they learnt in December 2025 that ‘Charcha Aaj Ki’ was offering news services on the JioTV platform while using a device mark alleged to be deceptively similar to Aaj Tak’s registered device marks. The plaintiffs also pointed to use of the mark on the website www.charchaaajki.in and on social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

The plaintiffs said promotional expenses between 2020 and 2025 were to the tune of Rs 7.22 crore, and revenue in the period was stated to have risen to Rs 516.38 crore in 2024-25 from Rs 474.53 crore in 2020-21.

The court clarified that the defendant will be at liberty to use the words or expression ‘चर्चाआजकी’ in a manner that does not infringe Aaj Tak’s marks. Notice has been issued to the defendant, returnable on February 26, 2026.