High Court
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...
Delay In Filing Certificate Not Ground To Deny Property Tax Exemption To School: Chhattisgarh High Court
The Chhattisgarh High Court on 31 July held that a municipal authority cannot reject a property tax exemption claim merely because a school did not submit its Section 12AA registration certificate under the Income Tax Act, 1961 (which grants tax exemption to charitable institutions) along with its initial self assessment or representation.Justice Parth Prateem Sahu disposed of the writ petition filed by Riverdale World School, which challenged a demand notice seeking recovery of Rs. 30,808...
Playing IPRS-Owned Music In Hotel Rooms Without Licence Is Copyright Infringement: Calcutta High Court
The Calcutta High Court has restrained Hotel Appolo & Tours Private Limited from communicating literary and musical works owned by members of The Indian Performing Right Society Limited (IPRS) to guests through television sets in its hotel rooms without first obtaining a valid licence from the copyright society. It held that routing cable television connections to hotel rooms amounts to "communication to the public" under the Copyright Act, 1957.A division bench of Justice Debangsu Basak and...
S. 76 CGST Act | Appellate Authority Can Decide Reasonable Period For Issuing Show Cause Notice: Delhi High Court
The Delhi High Court has held that the GST Appellate Authority is competent to decide what constitutes a "reasonable period" for issuance of a show cause notice under Section 76 of the Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) Act, 2017.The Division Bench of Justices Anil Kshetrapal and Shail Jain thus refused to entertain a writ petition in this regard, by bypassing the statutory appellate remedy.The petition was filed by a security services company, challenging a show cause notice dated September...
'Would Send Wrong Signals': Delhi High Court Denies Bail In ₹30 Crore Investment Fraud Case
The Delhi High Court on Tuesday refused regular bail to Ravinder Singh Sidhu, accused of duping investors of over ₹30 crore through fraudulent investment schemes. The prosecution alleges that Sidhu, who served as Managing Director of a company involved in the schemes, induced investors through false claims that the companies were registered with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and as Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).Justice Girish...
Commercial Court Orders Not Amenable To Writ Of Certiorari: Orissa High Court
The Orissa High Court has ruled that Commercial Courts have the "trapping of a Civil Court" and proceedings before them are civil proceedings. As a result, orders passed by Commercial Courts cannot be challenged through a writ of certiorari under Article 226 of the Constitution. A division bench of Chief Justice Harish Tandon and Justice Murahari Sri Raman observed: "Thus, a power is conferred upon the Commercial Courts to try a suit of a specified value, which is in ordinary sense is tried by...
Delhi High Court Closes Long-Pending Challenge To Special Audit Order, Directs Centre To Bear Audit Cost
The Delhi High Court has closed a 19-year-old writ petition challenging an order directing a special audit under Section 142(2A) of the Income Tax Act, holding that the proceedings had become infructuous since the audit had already been completed.Petitioner had challenged an order dated March 30, 2006, by which the assessing officer had directed a special audit. The writ petition was instituted in 2007, and notices were issued on May 30 that year, without any interim stay.The division bench of...
Flat Owners Can't Restrict Common Facility Access When Sale Deed Allows Sharing: Karnataka High Court
The Karnataka High Court on 9 July held that flat owners cannot claim exclusive rights over common amenities where the registered sale deed permits residents of different phases of a housing project to share such facilities. A Division Bench of Justices Jayant Banerji and Tara Vitasta Ganju dismissed the appeal filed by the owners of a flat in the “Arya Hamsa” project and upheld the Karnataka Real Estate Regulatory Authority and Appellate Tribunal orders allowing residents of the neighbouring...