The judgment upholds the right of Bisleri and other water brands such as Narang Group\'s Qua and DS Foods\' Catch to say \'bottled or sourced from the Himalayas\' on their packs.

An email sent to Vaishnavi Communications , the public relations company managing Tata Group\'s communications, remained unanswered.

An official involved with the development said the Tata Group may approach higher courts for a review.

Bisleri chairman Ramesh Chauhan, however, said, \"This is a meaningless battle. They (Mount Everest) know they cannot be the exclusive users of the term \'Himalayas\'.\"

The packaged water market in the country is estimated at 1,500 crore, with Bisleri being he largest player, followed by Coca-Coca\'s Kinley and PepsiCo\'s Aquafina.

The category is teeming with tens of regional and smaller players who together make up for 70% of the overall market.

The development comes at a time when the Tata Group has been making ambitious growth plans for its beverage firm Tata Global Beverages.

The group has already announced that Tata Tea, which has a joint venture with PepsiCo for functional beverages, will distribute the Himalayan brand in addition to launching healthier beverages.

Existing brands in Tata Global Beverages\' portfolio include Tata Tea, Tetley, herbal tea Good Earth, Tata Coffee, and Himalaya Water which is under Mount Everest Mineral water.

The group had indicated last year that in future, it may merge Tata Coffee and Mount Everest Mineral Water into Tata Global Beverages to optimise its operations and consolidate similar businesses.

Last year, Tata Tea had increased its stake in Mount Everest Mineral Water to 50.24%. Tata Tea had acquired 26% in Mount Everest in 2007.