Pen maker faces heat over Gandhi's image
Court urged to stop Mont Blanc from associating icon with luxury products
New Delhi: Two Delhi-based advocates have urged the Supreme Court to challenge luxury pen manufacturer Mont Blanc's use of Mahatma Gandhi as its poster boy to sell its newly launched "limited edition pens".
The pens are worth Rs1.2 million (Dh95,237) each.
Advocates Harsh Vardhan Surana and Sandeep Singh urged the apex court to restrain Mont Blanc from commercially exploiting "the most respected face of India, that of the father of the nation", for a cause linked to "luxury" — something which he fought against all his life.
The lawsuit objecting to the commercial exploitation of Gandhi's visage will be heard by the Supreme Court on December 7.
The lawsuit was filed on Monday evening.
Mont Blanc has launched two types of fountain pens — Limited Edition 241 and Limited Edition 3,000.
The limited edition pens have 18 carat gold nibs and carry the engravings of Mahatma Gandhi walking.
The pens also have a fine gold wire entwined by hand on the middle of their "white gold barrel bodies", according to a Mont Blanc catalogue annexed to the lawsuit.
Exploit
In their joint lawsuit, Surana and Singh dubbed the move as an "attempt by some money-minded people to misuse the greatness of the father of the nation by using him as a poster boy for commercial gains under the pretext that they are honouring him."
