Prior GST Payments To Authorities Can Be Adjusted Against Pre-Deposit For Filing Appeal: Allahabad High Court

The Allahabad High Court has recently held that any money deposited by a taxpayer with the GST authorities, in the facts of the case, prior to filing an appeal under Section 107 of the Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, must be adjusted towards the mandatory pre-deposit required for filing the appeal.In the present case, an interest liability of Rs 1.43 Crore was raised against Excel Vehicles, a unit of My Auto World Kanpur Private Limited, against which the taxpayer preferred an appeal under...

Calcutta High Court Appoints Former Chief Justice As Arbitrator In Turner Morrison–Berger Paints Tax Dispute

The Calcutta High Court has appointed Justice T.S. Sivagnanam, former Chief Justice of the Court, as the sole arbitrator to decide a tax liability holdback dispute between Turner Morrison Limited and Berger Paints India Limited. A Single Bench of Justice Shampa Sarkar held that objections based on limitation and contractual interpretation cannot be decided at the stage of appointing an arbitrator. The Court said such issues must be left to the arbitral tribunal, which is the “master of facts”. ...

Fraud Allegations Against CA Not Exceptional Ground To Invoke Writ Jurisdiction Against GST Demands: Punjab & Haryana High Court

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has declined to entertain a writ petition challenging GST demand orders raised against a manpower services firm, holding that its allegation that a Chartered Accountant misappropriated tax payments raised disputed questions of fact and did not constitute an extraordinary circumstance to bypass the statutory appellate remedy available under the GST law. A Division Bench of Justice Lisa Gill and Justice Ramesh Chander Dimri noted that the petitioner had itself...

Delhi High Court Upholds Arbitral Award Directing Zreyah To Supply Switches, Refund ₹2.84 Crore To OYO

The Delhi High Court has ruled in favour of OYO Hotels and Homes Pvt. Ltd. in a dispute over the supply of electronic switches. The Court upheld an arbitral award directing Zreyah Semiconductors Private Limited to deliver 11,000 switches to OYO and refund Rs 2.84 crore with interest. It said the arbitrator's conclusions were plausible and did not call for interference. The case was heard by Justice Avneesh Jhingan. The court agreed with the arbitrator's reading of the contract. It refused to...

SARFAESI Act | Correcting Wrong Date In District Magistrate's Section 14 Order Is Not Review: Allahabad High Court

The Allahabad High Court has upheld a District Magistrate's decision to correct a wrong date in a SARFAESI order passed to assist a bank in taking possession of mortgaged property, holding that fixing a typographical error does not amount to an impermissible review. Justice Subhash Vidyarthi held that the District Magistrate under Section 14 of the Act performs an administrative role while passing such orders and does not exercise judicial power. Because of this, the magistrate is permitted to...

Calcutta High Court Sets Aside Patent Office Order Rejecting TopoTarget's Cancer Drug Patent Application

The Calcutta High Court has set aside a Patent Office order rejecting a cancer drug patent filed by TopoTarget UK Limited, observing that the decision was taken without a proper and independent assessment of the invention.A Single Judge Bench of Justice Ravi Krishan Kapur, in a judgment dated January 30, 2026, allowed TopoTarget's appeal and quashed an order dated November 29, 2019, passed by the Deputy Controller of Patents and Designs, Kolkata.The impugned order had rejected the patent...

Delhi High Court Temporarily Bars Dabur's Cool King Thanda Tael Over Navratna-Like Trade Dress

The Delhi High Court has temporarily restrained Dabur India Limited from selling its cooling oil product, “Cool King Thanda Tael,” after finding, at the interim stage, that its packaging is deceptively similar to the trade dress of Emami Limited's “Navratna” cooling oil.A Single-Judge Bench of Justice Tejas Karia, in an order dated January 31, 2026, allowed Emami's application for interim injunction in a passing off action against Dabur India. The Court held that Dabur's impugned packaging...

Delhi High Court Sets Aside Part Of Arbitral Award Over 'Cryptic Observations'

The Delhi High Court recently held that an arbitral tribunal cannot reject a claim through "cryptic" reasoning and that such an award is open to interference even within the limited scope of review under arbitration law. The matter was decided by Justice Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar, who emphasised that giving reasons is a core requirement of arbitral decision-making. “The insistence on reasons is not a mere empty formality,” the Court said, adding that reasons must show how the decision-maker...

IT Reassessment Notices Issued After Limitation Period Invalid Despite Ashish Agarwal Ruling: Karnataka High Court

The Karnataka High Court has recently held that reassessment proceedings initiated after the expiry of the statutorily surviving period of limitation under the Income Tax Act are invalid. This remains so even where the revenue seeks to sustain the reassessment notice on the basis of the Supreme Court's directions in Union of India v. Ashish Agarwal. In Ashish Agarwal, the Supreme Court protected reassessment notices issued under the old law during the transition to the new reassessment regime...

Customs Tribunal Must First Verify Cross-Examination Request Before Setting Aside Adjudication: Allahabad High Court

The Allahabad High Court at Lucknow has recently set aside a Customs tribunal order after finding that the tribunal failed to first examine whether the noticees (taxpayers) had actually sought cross-examination before holding that the adjudication proceedings stood vitiated for breach of natural justice.A bench of Justices Shekhar B. Saraf and Manjive Shukla ruled that the procedure under Section 138-B of the Customs Act, 1962, can be said to have been breached only if a specific request for...

Bombay High Court Says Award-Holder Has No Right to Retain Deposit After Arbitral Award Is Set Aside

The Bombay High Court recently held that Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers Limited has no right to retain Rs 218.45 crore deposited by Thermax after the arbitral award in its favour was set aside, making it clear that the pendency of an appeal cannot be used to hold on to the money. A Division Bench of Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Gautam A. Ankhad said the legal position was straightforward once the award no longer existed. The court noted, “There is no arbitral award in...

Madras High Court Turns To AI Assistance For First Time In Arbitration Proceedings

The Madras High Court recently recorded that it will, for the first time, take the assistance of artificial intelligence in a case before it. The hearing was before Justice N. Anand Venkatesh in a batch of arbitration-related matters between Gammon-OJSC Mosmetrostroy JV and Chennai Metro Rail Limited When the matters were taken up, an algorithm named “Superlaw Courts” was demonstrated before the Court. The demonstration took place with the participation of counsel appearing for both sides,...