Arbitral Award Not Decree At Challenge Stage, No Need For Separate Plea On Claims and Counterclaims: Delhi HC

The Delhi High Court has recently held that parties can challenge arbitral awards covering both claims and counterclaims through a composite petition under Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, rejecting an objection that separate petitions were required as they amounted to distinct “decrees”. Emphasising that Section 36(1), which states that an arbitral award “shall be enforced as if it were a decree of the court,” is confined to the stage of enforcement, the Court observed: "In...

Calcutta High Court Quashes ROC-Initiated Criminal Proceedings Against Binani Cements Officials Over Filing Error

The Calcutta High Court on Thursday quashed criminal proceedings initiated by the Registrar of Companies against the Company Secretary and a Director of Binani Cements Ltd. over an error in XBRL filings made with the Registrar, holding that the absence of mens rea and non-compliance with the mandatory procedure under Section 202 CrPC rendered the prosecution unsustainable.Justice Uday Kumar, while dealing with criminal revisional applications filed by Atul Pukhraj Falgunia and Ramkrishna...

Bombay High Court Protects Kartik Aaryan's Personality Rights, Orders Removal Of Infringing Content

The Bombay High Court has granted temporary relief to actor Kartik Aaryan, restraining identified and unidentified defendants from unauthorised use of his name, image, voice and likeness across websites, social media platforms, AI-generated content and chatbots, holding that such use prima facie violates his personality/publicity rights and right to privacy. In an order dated April 15, 2026, Justice Sharmila U. Deshmukh found a prima facie case of violation of personality and publicity rights,...

No Bad Debt Deduction From Taxable Income Without Actual Write-Off: Madras High Court

The Madras High Court has held that a taxpayer cannot claim a bad debt deduction merely by declaring a debt as irrecoverable and must comply with statutory conditions requiring an actual write-off in its books. A Division Bench of Justice G. Jayachandran and Justice Shamim Ahmed observed, “Merely stating that a bad and doubtful debt is an irrecoverable is not sufficient to claim deduction. Appropriate treatment in the accounts, together with compliance of the conditions in sections 36(1)(vii),...

Delhi High Court Corrects Error In Acharya Balkrishna's Personality Rights Order, Removes Bar On Meta, Google

The Delhi High Court on Friday corrected a procedural oversight in the personality rights suit filed by Patanjali's Acharya Balkrishna, clarifying that a restraint on content creation had been inadvertently extended to digital intermediaries, including Meta and Google Justice Tushar Rao Gedela noted that directions in the Court's March 24 order, which were intended primarily for the main content creators, had mistakenly been applied to all defendants, including intermediaries. The earlier...

Summary Processing Cannot Decide Debatable ESI, EPF Claims: Chhattisgarh High Court

The Chhattisgarh High Court on 16 April held that the Income Tax Department cannot invoke summary processing powers under Section 143(1)(a) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 to disallow claims involving debatable legal issues, including employee contributions towards ESI and EPF, as such adjustments fall outside the limited scope of prima facie scrutiny.A Division Bench of Justices Sanjay K. Agrawal and Sachin Singh Rajput allowed the appeal filed by Maa Harsiddhi Infra Developers Pvt Ltd...

Delhi High Court Grants Importers Interest On Customs Duty Refunds After Delay In Re-Assessment By Department

The Delhi High Court has recently held that importers are entitled to interest on refunds of excess customs duty in cases where prolonged delay in reassessment is attributable to the Department. A Division Bench of Justice Prathiba M. Singh and Justice Shail Jain observed, "For the delay in Department's passing of the re-assessment orders, the Petitioners cannot be blamed or expected to unduly suffer. Accordingly, the Court is of the view that in the said four writ petitions, the interest...

Arbitrator Must Follow Fair, Evidence-Based Process Even In Ex-Parte Proceedings: Bombay High Court

On 15 April, the Bombay High Court held that even in ex-parte proceedings, an arbitrator must ensure a fair, evidence-based and unbiased process in terms of Section 25 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, and cannot treat claims as established merely because the other side remains absent. A Division Bench of Justices Arun R. Pedneker and Vaishali Patil Jadhav dismissed the appeal filed by Shinde & Sons and upheld the order of the District Judge at Beed setting aside the...

Bombay High Court Grants Relief To NSE, Orders Suspension Of Domains, Takedown of Trademark-Infringing Accounts

The Bombay High Court has recently granted ad interim relief to the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd, restraining unknown persons from infringing its “NSE” trademark and directing social media intermediaries and domain name registrars to remove or disable infringing accounts, channels, and domain names. Justice Sharmila U. Deshmukh, in an order dated April 10, 2026, held that such a measure was necessary in public interest. “Considering the fact that an unsuspecting investor can be drawn...

No Penalty Where Claim Is Based On Binding High Court Law Later Reversed By Top Court: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court on 30 March held that if a taxpayer made a deduction claim based on a binding High Court judgment, penalty under Section 270A of the Income Tax Act cannot be imposed subsequently, merely because the claim was later disallowed following a Supreme Court ruling.A Division Bench of Justices B. P. Colabawalla and Firdosh P. Pooniwalla held that penalty is not automatic and does not arise where a taxpayer makes a bona fide claim based on the prevailing legal position. It noted: ...

No TDS Payable On Pfizer Products' Cost-Sharing Payments To Pfizer Ltd. Without Profit Element: Bombay HC

Holding that reimbursements without any profit element do not attract TDS, the Bombay High Court has dismissed an income tax appeal filed by the Revenue against Pfizer Products India Pvt. Ltd. over cross-charges of Rs.14,51,77,000 paid to its sister concern-Pfizer Ltd.A Division Bench of Justice M. S. Karnik and Justice S. M. Modak held, "The cross-charge paid by the Assessee-Respondent in terms of the cost-sharing agreement between the Assessee and M/s. Pfizer Ltd, did not have any...

Suspicion, Human Probabilities Insufficient For Tax Additions Without Evidence: Telangana High Court

The Telangana High Court on 6 March held that additions under Section 68 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 cannot be sustained merely on suspicion or the test of human probabilities and must rest on concrete evidence. A Division Bench of Justices Sam Koshy and Suddala Chalapathi Rao dismissed the Revenue's appeals and upheld the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT)'s decision to remand the issue of Rs. 182 crore share premium received by Bharathi Cement Corporation Pvt. Ltd. for fresh examination. It...