Gujarat High Court Rejects Plea Against Tribunal Order Granting VAT Exemption For Seeds Used For Sowing

The Gujarat High Court has dismissed the State's plea against Western Agri Seeds Ltd., ruling that the state failed to prove the company's seeds were not used for sowing and were therefore outside the scope of the Value Added Tax exemption notification. "The petitioner Department has miserably failed to prove before us that the seeds which are procured by the respondents are not used for sowing purposes," the court observed while upholding the Gujarat VAT tribunal's decision to quash...

Bombay High Court Pulls Up Masala Maker For Only Paying 'Lip Service' To Trademark Injunction

The Bombay High Court has ruled that cosmetic changes to a trademark cannot be used to sidestep an injunction. Observing that merely paying "lip service" to a court order would undermine its purpose, Justice Somasekhar Sundaresan ruled that Abaad Masala & Co.'s revised branding failed to maintain the required "safe distance" from Sky Enterprise Private Limited's registered marks. The court observed, "Interim orders can be rendered ineffective if there is lip service to the prohibitions...

Describing ECIR An Administrative Document Cannot Shield It From Judicial Review: Karnataka High Court

The Karnataka High Court on Wednesday ruled that merely describing an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) as an internal or administrative document does not place it beyond judicial scrutiny. It held that an administrative label cannot shield it from review where its continuance causes injustice or frustrates the efficacy of an order passed under the Code of Criminal Procedure."Therefore, the description of an ECIR as an internal or administrative document does not, by itself, erect an...

Delhi High Court Temporarily Restrains Ahmedabad Project From Using 'ANANTARA' Mark In Minor Hotels Suit

The Delhi High Court on 3 August, restrained the Ahmedabad-based real estate project “Anantara Galleria” and its operators from using the mark “ANANTARA” in a trademark infringement suit filed by MHG IP Holding Singapore Pte Ltd, which is part of Minor Hotel Group. Justice Jyoti Singh granted an ex parte ad interim injunction against the defendants operating under the names “Anantara Galleria” and “Anantara” and using the domain name “www.anantara.life”, noting that the marks were similar to...

Word 'Demand' Not Mandatory In Cheque Dishonour Notice, 'Advice' Can Suffice: Gauhati High Court

The Gauhati High Court has held that a statutory notice under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 (which deals with cheque dishonour) need not expressly use the word “demand” if the notice, read as a whole, clearly communicates the requirement to pay the dishonoured cheque amount. Justice Sanjeev Kumar Sharma dismissed the criminal revision petition filed by Protima Dutta Kalita and upheld her conviction, holding that a notice using the word “advice” instead of “demand” can...

Banks Must Share Forensic Audit Reports Before Declaring Accounts Fraudulent: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court on 31 July held that banks cannot classify a borrower's account as fraudulent without supplying the investigation and forensic audit reports relied upon for such classification, ruling that withholding these documents violates the borrower's right to a fair opportunity of hearing. The Division Bench of Justices B. P. Colabawalla and Somasekhar Sundaresan quashed Canara Bank's order dated 25 February 2026 declaring businessman Jayesh V Valia's account as “fraudulent”...

Madras High Court Says Tax Authorities Must Consider Demerger Impact, Remands Grace Infrastructure Case

The Madras High Court on 20 July held that tax authorities must consider the impact of a court-approved demerger before revising an assessment and set aside a revision order passed without examining the effect of the restructuring on Grace Infrastructure Private Limited's financial statements. Justice C. Saravanan remitted the matter to the Principal Commissioner of Income Tax for fresh adjudication, directing it to reconsider the assessment after allowing the company to file a revised return...

Income Tax Findings Have Evidentiary Value In Benami Proceedings: Rajasthan High Court

On 3 August, the Rajasthan High Court held that findings under the Income Tax Act, though not conclusive in proceedings under the Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions (PBPT) Act, have evidentiary value and must be considered by authorities deciding benami proceedings. A Division Bench of Justices Arun Monga and Sandeep Shah allowed an appeal filed by Alishan Complex Private Limited against orders passed by the Appellate Tribunal, Adjudicating Authority and Initiating Officer, which had...

Gameskraft Case | Search And Seizure Under PMLA Is Not An Independent Civil Exercise, Consequence Of ECIR: Karnataka High Court

Observing this, the court rejected the Enforcement Directorate's preliminary objection and held that Gameskraft's writ petition challenging the ECIR and consequential freezing orders is maintainable.

CJM Can Entertain Fresh SARFAESI Plea For Possession If Borrower Re-Enters Secured Asset: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court has ruled that a Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) exercising powers under Section 14 of the SARFAESI Act does not become functus officio after handing over possession of a secured asset to a secured creditor. The court held that the Magistrate can entertain a fresh request for assistance if the secured creditor is later unlawfully dispossessed of the secured asset.For context, Section 14 empowers a Chief Judicial Magistrate to assist a secured creditor in taking possession...

J&K And Ladakh HC Holds Past Arbitration No Bar In Refund Claim, Directs SKUAST-J To Release Deposit

On 3 August, the Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court held that a contractor's claim for refund of earnest money and performance security cannot be rejected merely because it was not raised in earlier arbitration proceedings over delayed payments. A Bench of Justice Sanjay Parihar directed Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Jammu to refund Rs. 29 lakh deposited by Construction Engineer for a boys' hostel project and held that the refund claim was not barred...

Passenger Carrying Undeclared Gold Has No Entitlement to Seek Its Re-Export: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has held that passengers who cross the Green Channel without declaring dutiable or prohibited goods cannot later seek re-export of the confiscated goods under Section 125 of the Customs Act.For context, Section 125 empowers the adjudicating authority to grant an option to redeem confiscated goods upon payment of a redemption fine.The Division Bench of Justices Anil Kshetarpal and Shail Jain observed that the provision is not an “entitlement” to re-export the goods. After...