S.29A | Time Limit Under Arbitration Act Not A Rigid Mechanism To Invalidate Proceedings: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has observed that the time limit for arbitrators to pass awards cannot be treated as a rigid ground to invalidate arbitral proceedings and dismissed a challenge to an arbitral award on the ground that the arbitrator's mandate had expired. “The statutory architecture of Section 29A of the A&C Act must therefore be understood not as a rigid mechanism intended to invalidate arbitral proceedings upon a mere lapse of time, but as a supervisory framework designed to ensure...

Filing Same Defective Petition Repeatedly To Save Limitation Is Abuse Of Process: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has refused to entertain a challenge to an arbitral award, holding that repeatedly re-filing the same defective petition without curing defects, in an attempt to stay within limitations, amounts to a “flagrant misuse and abuse of the process of Court”. A bench of Justice Mini Pushkarna found that Stalagmite Infracon Pvt. Ltd. had filed its Section 34 petition on the last permissible day but continued to re-file the same defective 701-page petition multiple times without...

IBC Moratorium For Guarantors Won't Shield Borrower Without Pending CIRP: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court on Monday held that moratoriums under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) in favour of guarantors cannot be used to block recovery proceedings against a principal borrower. The court allowed IL&FS Financial Services Ltd.'s Rs 203.66 crore suit to proceed against Serveall Constructions Pvt Ltd in a case involving HDIL promoters Rakesh Wadhawan and Sarang Wadhawan. “Therefore, the benefit of the interim moratorium under Section 96 in the IRP proceedings for the...

NBFC Must Meet NOF Before Licence Cancellation To Get Relief, Not After: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has held that relief against cancellation of an NBFC licence is granted only where the Net Owned Fund requirement is fulfilled prior to the cancellation order, and not where compliance is achieved thereafterA Division Bench of Justices Prathiba M. Singh and Madhu Jain was dealing with a petition filed by M K G Financial Services Pvt. Ltd., challenging the RBI's decision to cancel its NBFC registration for failing to meet the minimum NOF requirement of Rs 2 crore.Petitioner...

Preservation Of Arbitration Subject Matter Was More Important: Bombay HC Condones 258-Day Delay In Arbitration Plea

The Bombay High Court has condoned a 258-day delay in filing a plea for appointment of an arbitrator, holding that efforts taken by a developer to prevent acquisition of a redevelopment project by the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) constituted sufficient and exceptional cause. A bench of Justice Sandeep V. Marne allowed INFRA Poonam Developers LLP to initiate arbitration against Jasbir Singh and other partners, observing that the cause to seek arbitration arose only...

Madras High Court Quashes IT Case Against Gautham Vasudev Menon Over Non-Filing Of His Company's Returns

The Madras High Court on Monday quashed an income tax prosecution against filmmaker Gautham Vasudev Menon for failure to file the income tax returns of his company, Photon Kathaas Productions Pvt Ltd, for the assessment year 2013-14.Justice GK Ilanthiraiyan quashed the case pending against Menon before the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate. The case against Menon was initiated under Section 276 CC read with Section 278B of the Income Tax Act for non-filing of the returns of the company...

Writ Appeal Not Entertainable When Arbitration Offers Adequate Remedy: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court on 6 April, declined to entertain a writ appeal arising from termination of a contractual agreement, holding that when efficacious alternative remedies exist under arbitration, the writ court ordinarily refrains from exercising its discretionary jurisdiction. A Division Bench of Chief Justice Soumen Sen and Justice Syam Kumar V.M observed: “…having regard to the fact that there are efficacious alternative remedies available where such issues can be more conveniently dealt...

Delhi High Court Grants Interim Injunction Preventing Bhopal Publisher From Using “The Pioneer” Trademark

The Delhi High Court on 1 April, granted an ex-parte, ad-interim injunction in favour of MS CMYK Printech Limited and restrained Ideal Multi Media Network from unauthorised use of the trademark and copyrighted material of the newspaper “The Pioneer”. Justice Tushar Rao Gedela held that a comparison of the plaintiff's and defendant's publications indicated deliberate copying, imitation, and publication of Pioneer's content by the defendant. He noted: “...the usage of the trademark 'The Pioneer'...

Calcutta High Court Denies Summary Judgment In GST Compliance Dispute, Says Trial Mandatory

The Calcutta High Court on 1 April held that objections relating to GST compliance and supply of goods raise triable issues that require a full trial and refused to grant summary judgment in a commercial dispute. Justice Aniruddha Roy was hearing an application under Order XIII-A of the Code of Civil Procedure seeking dismissal of the suit on the ground that the plaintiff had no real prospect of success. He observed: “Once factual enquiry is required to be made on the basis of the case and...

Delhi High Court Directs Sanjay Dutt-backed Entity To Halt 'Godfather Whisky' Social Media Posts Till Next Hearing

The Delhi High Court has recently directed Sanjay Dutt-backed Cartel Bros Private Limited not to release any fresh social media posts in relation to its “Glenwalk Godfather Whiskey” in a trademark suit filed by Devans Modern Breweries Limited. Justice Tushar Rao Gedela passed the interim direction on April 2, recording a statement made on behalf of Cartel Bros that the product was already in the distribution channel up to the stage of retailers in Mumbai and Thane, Maharashtra. The defendant...

Kerala High Court Quashes 25 kg Gold Confiscation, Holds Denial Of Cross-Examination Vitiates Proceedings

The Kerala High Court on 3 March quashed a customs confiscation order involving 25 kilograms of gold, holding that denying the petitioners an effective opportunity to adduce evidence and cross-examine witnesses caused prejudice and violated principles of natural justice. Justice Ziyad Rahman A A, sitting as a Single-Judge Bench, allowed writ petitions challenging the Order-in-Original passed by the Customs authority, which had confiscated the gold and imposed penalties. He observed: “The...

Delhi High Court Grants Temporary Injunction Against 'Bait-and-Switch' News Site Using TOI Mark

The Delhi High Court has restrained an infringing website (www.timesofindiaa.news & ors.) from using the “TIMES OF INDIA” and “TOI” marks, granting an ex-parte ad-interim injunction in favour of Bennett Coleman and Company Limited.On April 1, 2026, Justice Tushar Rao Gedela held that a prima facie case was made out in favour of the media house and that the balance of convenience lay in its favour. “The balance of convenience also appears to be tilted in favour of the plaintiff at this...