"Production Of Documents For Additional Evidence Allowed If Shown That The Same Could Not Be Produced Despite Exercise Of Due Diligence"

When an Appeal is preferred before the Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB) from a decision of the Registrar of Trade Marks, the law does not allow the Appellant to produce any evidence that was not placed on record before the Registrar while passing the original order. However, in cases where the evidence is crucial for the adjudication of the matter and if it was not possible for the Appellant to produce the same earlier, it becomes difficult for the Board to ignore the same. It is for this reason that the Bombay High Court in Sudhir Bhatia Trading as M/s. V. Bhatia International v. Central Government of India, Through Ministry & Ors, held that additional evidence could be produced even at the appellate stage if the parties were able to establish that they were not in a position to produce the same earlier despite the exercise of due diligence.