Patent Revocation in India: The Grounds and Who Can Use Them

A patent is presumed valid once granted, but it is never beyond challenge. At any time during its twenty years, a person with a genuine interest can ask the High Court to revoke it, and a defendant sued for infringement almost always does.

This guide sets out the grounds, the two ways of raising them, the rule that stops a challenger using more than one, and the separate powers the government holds.

Quick reference

Who can apply

A person interested — the same test as for post-grant opposition. The Act includes anyone engaged in or promoting research in the field, and the courts have extended it to anyone with a direct, present commercial interest in the kind of product the patent covers: manufacturers, sellers, importers, exporters, and those funding research in the area.

The Central Government can also petition, and has separate powers of its own, described below.

Where it goes

Since the Intellectual Property Appellate Board was abolished in 2021, revocation lies with the High Courts. A revocation petition is an original proceeding — filed in the High Court with jurisdiction, most often the one covering the Patent Office branch that granted the patent — and the Delhi High Court in particular has a dedicated Intellectual Property Division for them.

The grounds

There are seventeen, and a petition must fit within them. In plain terms, a patent may be revoked if:

• the invention was claimed in an earlier Indian patent with an earlier priority date
• the patent was granted to someone not entitled to apply
• it was wrongfully obtained from the petitioner
• the subject matter is not an invention at all
• it was already known or published, in India or elsewhere, before the priority date
• it is obvious — no inventive step
• it has no use
• the specification does not describe the invention sufficiently, does not disclose the best method known to the applicant, or does not enable a skilled person to work it
• a claim is not clearly defined, or is not fairly based on what the specification discloses
• the patent was obtained by false suggestion or misrepresentation
• the subject matter is excluded from patenting by the Act
• the invention was secretly used in India before the priority date
• the applicant failed to disclose its foreign applications, or gave false information about them
• the applicant broke a secrecy direction or filed abroad without permission
• an amendment to the specification was obtained by fraud
• the source or geographical origin of biological material was not disclosed, or wrongly disclosed
• the invention was anticipated by traditional knowledge

Several of these are formal rather than technical — the foreign-applications disclosure, the foreign-filing permission, the biological-material disclosure. They matter because they can succeed without any argument about whether the invention is actually new or clever, and a patentee’s file is where a challenger looks first.

Two ways to raise them

A revocation petition. The petitioner starts the case. It is the route for a competitor who wants the patent gone before launching, or who has been threatened but not yet sued.

A counter-claim. If the patentee sues for infringement, the defendant can counter-claim for revocation in the same suit, and the court decides validity and infringement together. This is how most revocation grounds are actually argued in India, because most challengers wait to be sued.

Either way the case is in the High Court, and the patent’s validity is decided by a judge rather than the Patent Office.

One route only

A challenger cannot run several attacks at once. The Supreme Court has held that a person who has filed a post-grant opposition cannot also petition for revocation on the same grounds, and that a party who has petitioned for revocation cannot then counter-claim on the same grounds — whichever was started first excludes the other.

The practical consequence is that the choice between the Patent Office and the court has to be made deliberately, at the outset, and cannot be hedged.

The government’s own powers

Three provisions let the state act without a private challenger.

Nuclear energy. Until December 2025 no patent could be granted for an invention relating to atomic energy, and the government could direct the Controller to revoke one that slipped through. The SHANTI Act 2025 reversed the starting point: patents for the peaceful uses of nuclear energy are now permitted, but inventions in the activities the Act reserves — enrichment, reprocessing of spent fuel, heavy water — and anything the government considers sensitive or a matter of national security remain outside the system. The revocation power now attaches to those, after hearing the patentee.

Public interest. Where the government considers that a patent, or the way it is being exercised, is mischievous to the State or prejudicial to the public, it can declare the patent revoked by notification, again after hearing the patentee. It is rarely used.

After a compulsory licence. Where a compulsory licence has been granted and, two years on, the invention is still not being worked in India, or the public’s reasonable requirements are still unmet, or the invention is still not reasonably priced, the government or any person interested can apply to the Controller to revoke the patent. The Controller must decide within a year.

Surrender

A patentee can also give the patent up. An offer to surrender is advertised, anyone interested can oppose it — usually a licensee who wants the patent kept alive — and if there is no objection the Controller accepts the surrender and revokes the patent. It comes up where a patent has become a liability, or as part of settling a dispute.

Frequently asked questions

Who can apply to revoke a patent in India? A person interested — someone with a research or direct commercial interest in the field of the invention — or the Central Government. The application goes to the High Court, either as a petition or as a counter-claim in an infringement suit.

When can a patent be revoked? At any time during its life. Post-grant opposition is limited to the first twelve months after grant; revocation is not.

What are the grounds for revoking a patent? Seventeen, listed in the Act: including that the invention was already known, is obvious, is not an invention or is excluded, is insufficiently described, was wrongfully obtained, or that the applicant failed to disclose foreign applications, filed abroad without permission, or did not disclose the source of biological material.

Can I oppose a patent at the Patent Office and also petition for revocation? Not on the same grounds. The Supreme Court has held that a party who takes one route — post-grant opposition, revocation petition or counter-claim — is shut out of the others on those grounds.

Which court hears revocation petitions? The High Court. The Intellectual Property Appellate Board, which used to hear them, was abolished in 2021 and its jurisdiction transferred to the High Courts; the Delhi High Court has a dedicated Intellectual Property Division.

Can the government revoke a patent on its own? Yes, in three situations: where the patent relates to nuclear activities the SHANTI Act 2025 keeps out of the patent system, or that the government considers sensitive; where it is prejudicial to the public or mischievous to the State; and where, two years after a compulsory licence, the invention is still not being worked or made available.

Useful official resources

• IP India — patents — the Act, Rules and the patent office journal
• Delhi High Court — Intellectual Property Division — rules and cause lists

See our related notes on opposing a patent in its first year and compulsory licensing.

Threatened with infringement and considering a counter-claim, or facing a revocation petition against your own patent? Talk to us.