Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi produced whiskey bottles in the court as evidence in a case.
Credit: X/@LiveLawIndia
"Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." American astronomer Carl Sagan's famous quote hilariously came to life in the Supreme Court when senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi produced whiskey bottles in the court as evidence in a case.
The court was hearing a trademark dispute between two whiskey-selling brands when Rohatgi decided to let the facts speak for themselves.
The act turned serious courtroom discussion light as Justice Surya Kant said he hopes inside material of the bottle is not similar like outside.
Rohatgi then produced tetra packs in which whiskey is being sold. To this, Justice Kant asked, "What is this? Juice?"
Surprised to see whiskey being sold in tetra packs, he said, "I have seen this for the first time. This can easily be taken inside school."
"We were concerned about your timing. We thought it might be too early for you to comment on (the bottles)," he jokingly told senior advocate Harish Salve.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi was dealing with John Distilleries' plea against the Madras High Court order which ruled in favour of Allied Blenders and Distillers, the maker of Officer's Choice whisky, and ordered the removal of John Distilleries' 'Original Choice' trademark from the register of trademarks.
The court also expressed concerns over liquor being sold in tera packs and slammed state governments for prioritising revenue over public health.