The court had earlier granted time to the petitioner to provide evidence in support of his allegation that the prefix Padma Bhushan was being used and shown on products manufactured and marketed by the company, Mahashian Di Hatti (MDH).
In response, the petitioner presented an affidavit that included a picture of the founder of the company along with a former President of India.
Justice Yashwant Varma said that the provided record cannot possibly constitute a violation of the codes and regulations that apply to the grant of national honours. Therefore, the court finds no ground to continue this writ petition which shall stand dismissed.
The petitioner had sought direction to surrender the award and eliminate all the prefix names starting with ‘Padma Bhushan Mahashay Dharampal ji’ on various mediums, including the company’s stores, media, and social media.
The plea had also urged to direct the company to donate 50% of its total benefits to the Prime Minister Relief Fund starting from the time of receiving the award.
MDH Masala owner Dharampal Gulati, who died at the age of 97 on 3 December 2020 was awarded the Padma Bhushan, India’s third highest civilian award, in 2019. He was referred to as ‘Spice King’ with regard to his popular ready-to-use ground spices.
(With inputs from PTI)
For more stories that cover the ongoings of Delhi NCR, follow us on:
Instagram: instagram.com/thepatriot_in/
Twitter: twitter.com/Patriot_Delhi
Facebook: facebook.com/Thepatriotnewsindia
