Secured Creditors Must Act Speedily After SARFAESI Notice; Delay Defeats Law's Purpose: MP High Court

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has held that once a secured creditor initiates recovery proceedings under the SARFAESI Act, it must act without delay, failing which the very purpose of the law stands defeated. A division bench of Justice Vivek Rusia and Justice Pradeep Mittal, while dismissing a review petition filed by Cent Bank Home Finance Ltd, observed that lenders cannot remain inactive after issuing a demand notice under Section 13(2) of the SARFAESI Act. “After initiating the proceedings...

Court Intervention In Arbitrator Appointment Required Only If Institution Fails: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court has held that court intervention for the appointment of arbitrators is required only when an arbitral institution fails to discharge its designated functions in appointing an arbitrator. A single-judge bench of Justice Sandeep V Marne held that once parties agree to resolve disputes through an arbitral institution, the appointment procedure prescribed by that institution must be followed.“In case of an institutional arbitration, application for appointment of...

Delhi High Court Declines To Cancel 'Patanjali Gonyle' Trademark On Plea By Holy Cow Foundation

The Delhi High Court on Friday declined to cancel the trademark registration of “Patanjali Gonyle Floor Cleaner,” holding that the mark lawfully belongs to Patanjali Gramodyog Nyas and does not infringe the rights claimed by Holy Cow Foundation. A Single-Judge Bench of Justice Tejas Karia, in a judgment delivered on January 9, 2026, dismissed a trademark rectification plea filed by Holy Cow Foundation, which also sells a cow-urine-based cleaner product under thr same name, seeking removal...

Telangana High Court Strikes Down GST Rule Mandating Monthly ITC Distribution By Input Service Distributor

The Telangana High Court has struck down a GST rule that required an Input Service Distributor, typically the head office of a company with multiple branches, to pass on the input tax credit of a month to its branch units in the same month. A division bench of Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice G. M. Mohiuddin ruled that Rule 39(1)(a) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017, was ultra vires Section 20 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. The bench said, “Rule...

Delhi High Court Declares “SOCIAL” A Well-Known Trademark, Bars Rival Café From Using “The Shake Social”

The Delhi High Court has declared Impresario Entertainment's “SOCIAL” mark a well-known trademark in India and barred a Gujarat-based café from using the name “The Shake Social.” Justice Tejas Karia passed the order on January 9, 2026, in a trademark infringement and passing-off suit against a café operating in Valsad and Navsari, Gujarat.Granting permanent injunctive relief in favour of Impresario, the Court observed, “A clear case of infringement of the Plaintiff's Marks is made out. The...

Delhi High Court Pulls Up Income Tax CPC For Tax Recovery Despite Stay, Issues Directions For Coordination

The Delhi High Court has pulled up the Income Tax Department's Centralised Processing Centre for recovering tax dues from a taxpayer even though a stay on recovery was already in place, saying such lapses are unacceptable in a fully digitized system. A division bench of Justices Dinesh Mehta and Vinod Kumar said the department cannot plead ignorance once a stay order is passed. “In the era of computerization, where even assessments are made online, Income Tax returns are filed online, appeals...

Uttarakhand High Court Says Taxpayer Seeking GST Installment Over Poor Finances Can Approach Commissioner

The Uttarakhand High Court has declined to entertain a writ petition filed by a GST-registered taxpayer seeking permission to pay tax dues in installments, citing the availability of a statutory remedy under the GST law. A division bench of Justice Manoj Kumar Tiwari and Justice Subhash Upadhyay was hearing a challenge to an order dated January 22, 2025, passed by the Assistant Commissioner, State Tax, Gopeshwar, Chamoli, by which a GST liability of over Rs 7.5 lakhs was fastened on the...

Calcutta High Court Halts GST Recovery From Trader's Electronic Credit Ledger Pending Rectification Plea

The Calcutta High Court has stepped in to stop GST recovery from a trader's electronic credit ledger, saying the department must first decide a pending rectification plea that could wipe out the entire demand. Justice Om Narayan Rai passed the order on December 22, 2025, while hearing a writ petition filed by Tirupati Traders. In a brief but clear order, the court said that if the rectification application is allowed, “the demand raised by the order in original may not survive,” and...

Delhi High Court Rejects Former Cineyug Employee's Claim Over 'IPL Awards' Copyright, Moral Rights

The Delhi High Court on Friday dismissed a long-running copyright dispute over the “IPL Awards”, holding that Gaurav Garg, a former employee of Cineyug Films Pvt. Ltd., cannot claim authorship or moral rights over the event's concept and presentations. The court ruled that the copyright vested in the company, not in Garg. A single-judge bench of Justice Tejas Karia delivered made the ruling while deciding a suit filed by Garg against filmmaker Aly Morani, Mohomed Morani, and Cineyug Films,...

Court Cannot Use Attachment In Arbitration To Turn Unsecured Damages Claim Into Secured Debt: AP High Court

The Andhra Pradesh High Court has said that a claim for demurrage, which is essentially a charge demanded for delay in loading or unloading a ship, cannot be treated as an actual money debt until an arbitral tribunal finally decides who is at fault. Because of this, the court held that such a claim cannot be secured by attaching goods under Section 9 of the Arbitration Act while arbitration is still pending. A division bench of Justice Ravi Nath Tilhari and Justice Maheswara Rao Kuncheam, in...

Delhi High Court Gives Customs One Last Chance Over ₹5,000 Costs In Touch Screen Tariff Case

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday (January 6) gave the Customs Department one last chance to clear objections to its plea seeking recall of Rs 5 thousand in costs imposed for not filing replies in a batch of petitions challenging a customs duty hike on Interactive Flat Panel Displays.The court warned that if the objections are not removed within a week, the recall application will stand rejected automatically.A division bench of Justice Nitin Wasudeo Sambre and Justice Ajay Digpaul noted that the...

'Land or Water' Excludes Railways: Chhattisgarh High Court Strikes Down Transit Fee On Iron Ore Moved By Rail

The Chhattisgarh High Court has held that the state government has no authority to levy transit fees on iron ore transported through railways. The court ruled that such a levy is beyond the scope of the Indian Forest Act, 1927, and violates Article 265 of the Constitution. A division bench of Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice Naresh Kumar Chandravanshi held that Section 41 of the Act permits the State to regulate transit of forest produce only “by land or water.” It does not extend to...