Extraordinary Writ Jurisdiction Cannot Be Invoked In Factual Disputes: Orissa High Court

The Orissa High Court on 18 February, held that questions involving disputed facts, including the existence and relevance of incriminating material, cannot be examined in writ proceedings under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution. A Division Bench of Chief Justice Harish Tandon and Justice Murahari Sri Raman, while dismissing a writ petition filed by Saroj Kumar Sahoo, emphasised that extraordinary writ jurisdiction is not available where an effective alternative remedy exists under the...

Delhi High Court Temporarily Restrains 'Singh and Singh Chartered Accountants' In Trademark Suit Filed By Law Firm

The Delhi High Court on Thursday granted an ad-interim injunction restraining a chartered accountancy firm from using the name “Singh and Singh Chartered Accountants” in a trademark infringement suit filed by Singh and Singh Law Firm LLP.The order was passed by Justice Jyoti Singh after hearing the submissions of the law firm at the ad-interim stage. During the hearing, the court sought clarification on the nature of the defendants' business, asking, “These are what, chartered accountants?”...

Expired E-Way Bill Does Not Justify Harsh Penalty Under GST Law: Gujarat High Court Orders ₹18 Lakh Refund

The Gujarat High Court has ordered refund of Rs. 18,00,140 collected as penalty from Balkrishna Industries Limited, holding that imposition of penalty merely because an e-way bill expired during transit was unsustainable in the facts of the case. A Division Bench of Justice A.S. Supehia and Justice Pranav Trivedi held that “In wake of such undisputed fact, the imposition of harsh penalty under Section 129(3) of the CGST Act was uncalled for and is also beyond the scope of Section 129(1)(a) of...

Calcutta High Court Finds 'Spic' Bottle 'Virtually Identical' To Harpic, Restrains Godrej

The Calcutta High Court has granted an ad-interim injunction against Godrej Consumer Products Limited, restraining the company from selling its 'Godrej Spic' toilet cleaner in bottles that allegedly infringe upon the registered trademark shape of Reckitt Benckiser's 'HARPIC'.Justice Ravi Krishan Kapur, on February 25, 2026, explained that the cancellation or expiry of a design monopoly does not prevent a party from claiming trademark protection over a registered shape. "Nevertheless, the...

Missing Export Form Not Fatal If Duty-Paid Export Proven: Gujarat High Court Restores Rs 1.29 Crore Excise Rebate

The Gujarat High Court has restored over Rs.1.29 Crore rebate claim of a merchant exporter, holding that the absence of original ARE-1 forms cannot defeat a rebate claim when export and duty payment are otherwise verifiable. ARE-1 stands for Application for Removal of Excisable Goods for Export. It was a statutory export document under the Central Excise Rules, 2002. It recorded details of manufacture, duty payment, and export. Under Rule 18, the original copy was ordinarily required to be...

ITAT Cannot Grant Tax Exemption Or Donor Tax Benefit To Charitable Trust Without Proper Inquiry: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has held that the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) cannot direct the grant of registration under Sections 12AB (which grants income tax exemption to charitable trusts) and 80G (which allows donors to claim tax deductions on donations) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 without a proper inquiry into the genuineness of the charitable activities of the applicant trust.A Division Bench of Justices Dinesh Mehta and Vinod Kumar thus set aside an ITAT order which had directed the...

One-Month Notice Before Suo Motu Trademark Cancellation Is Mandatory: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday made it clear that if the Registrar decides to cancel or rectify a trademark registration on his own initiative, the registered owner must first be given at least one month's notice under Rule 100(1) of the Trade Marks Rules, 2017. The Court emphasised that this is not a mere formality. The one-month notice requirement is mandatory and cannot be brushed aside by invoking principles such as estoppel. A Division Bench of Justice C. Hari Shankar and Justice Om...

Bombay High Court Quashes ₹1 Crore Stamp Duty Demand On Romell Real Estate's Slum Redevelopment Agreement

The Bombay High Court on Tuesday set aside a stamp duty demand of over Rs. 1 crore raised against Romell Real Estate Pvt. Ltd., holding that the authorities erred by adding the cost of constructing a Permanent Transit Camp (PTC) while recalculating the market value in a slum redevelopment project. A Single Judge Bench of Justice Somasekhar Sundaresan found that the Chief Controlling Revenue Authority (CCRA) acted arbitrarily in enhancing the market value by including the PTC construction cost...

Delhi High Court Grants Levi Strauss Temporary Injunction Against Use of Its Iconic Pocket Tab Mark

The Delhi High Court has recently granted an ex-parte ad-interim injunction in favour of US denim and apparel company Levi Strauss and Company, holding that it had made out a strong prima facie case for protection of its registered “Tab Device Mark” and that the balance of convenience lay in its favour.Justice Tushar Rao Gedela, in its order dated February 23, 2026, observed that the “cumulative effect” of the pleadings, trademark registrations and sales figures tilted the balance of convenience...

Delhi High Court Dismisses IRCON Appeal Against Railway Construction Arbitral Award

The Delhi High Court has recently dismissed an intra court appeal filed by IRCON International Limited, reiterating that appellate courts have very limited room to interfere in arbitration matters. The court held that the arbitral tribunal's findings on how the excavation was classified and whether payment was due for tie bolts were purely factual determinations, which cannot be reopened under Sections 34 and 37 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. A Division Bench of Justice C....

Importer Who Voluntarily Pays Differential Customs Duty, Seeks DRI Probe Closure Cannot Claim Refund: Madras High Court

The Madras High Court on Wednesday held that differential customs duty voluntarily paid during a Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) investigation cannot be claimed as a refund. The Court further held that Notification No. 25/2019-Customs amended the applicable customs duty rate by treating shrimp larvae feed in both pellet and non-pellet form as attracting 5% basic customs duty. The notification cannot be applied retrospectively to imports made prior to its issuance.The judgment was...

Bombay High Court Dismisses Nusli Wadia, Raheja Challenge to Deemed Conveyance of Malad Land to IJMIMA Society

The Bombay High Court has dismissed three writ petitions filed by industrialist Nusli Neville Wadia, in his capacity as Administrator of the Estate of Late E.F. Dinshaw, along with Radhakrishna Properties Pvt. Ltd. and Ivory Properties and Hotels Pvt. Ltd. The petitions challenged an order dated August 29, 2022 granting unilateral deemed conveyance in favour of the Ijimima Imitation Jewellery Market Co-operative Society.Justice Amit Borkar upheld the order passed by the District Deputy Registrar...