Article 227 Petition Not Maintainable When Similar Relief Sought Before Supreme Court: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court on 30 July held that parties cannot invoke its supervisory jurisdiction under Article 227 of the Constitution to seek interim relief in execution proceedings when connected appeals involving the same dispute are already pending before the Supreme Court. Justice T.R. Ravi refused to stay the execution proceedings pending before the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Kochi in a family dispute over management of companies, holding that the petitioners must seek such relief...

Bombay High Court Upholds Asset Disclosure Order Against Rolta Founder In ₹2300 Cr Foreign Judgment Case

The Bombay High Court on 30 July upheld an order directing Rolta India founder and former Chairman and Managing Director Kamal Singh to disclose his assets and restraining him from creating third-party rights over them in proceedings seeking enforcement of New York State Supreme Court judgments involving claims of about Rs. 2,300 crore. A Division Bench of Justices A.S. Gadkari and Kamal Khata noted that a party cannot avoid enforcement of foreign judgments by questioning their enforceability...

Actor Shruti Haasan Moves Bombay High Court Over AI Deepfakes, Personality Rights Violations

Actress Shruti Haasan has moved the Bombay High Court with a commercial suit seeking ₹15 crore in damages, alleging that unauthorised merchandise sellers, online platforms, and unidentified parties have violated her personality and publicity rights by using her name, image, likeness and voice without her consent. She has also alleged the creation and circulation of AI-generated deepfake content, including sexually explicit videos and images featuring her.Justice Abhay Ahuja has granted Haasan...

Works Contractors Liable To Pay Purchase Tax On Unregistered Dealer Purchases: Madras High Court

The Madras High Court on 9 July held that works contractors are liable to pay purchase tax on materials purchased from unregistered dealers, even when such materials are used in the execution of works contracts involving deemed sales. A Division Bench of Justices N. Anand Venkatesh and K.K. Ramakrishnan allowed the revision petitions filed by the State of Tamil Nadu, set aside the orders passed by the appellate authority and the Tamil Nadu Sales Tax Appellate Tribunal, and restored the...

SARFAESI Rights Cannot Override Lessor's Right To Re-Enter Leased Land For Breach: Madras High Court

The Madras High Court on 29 July held that enforcement powers available to a secured creditor under the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest (SARFAESI) Act cannot override a lessor's contractual right to cancel a lease and resume possession of industrial land for breach of lease conditions. A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice G. Arul Murugan dismissed Karur Vysya Bank's petition challenging the State...

Appeals Against Award Satisfaction Orders Limited To Grounds U/S 37 Of Arbitration Act: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court on 20 July held that orders recording satisfaction of arbitral awards can be challenged only if they fall within the categories specifically provided under Section 37 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. A Division Bench of Justices Bharati Dangre and Manjusha Deshpande dismissed the commercial appeals filed by Reliance Asset Reconstruction Co. Ltd. against Hiroo Hotchand Advani, holding that the Arbitration and Conciliation Act provides a complete appellate...

Foreign Seat Of Arbitration Alone Doesn't Oust Indian Courts' Jurisdiction To Grant Interim Relief: Karnataka High Court

The Karnataka High Court has ruled that merely choosing a foreign seat of arbitration does not, by itself, prevent Indian courts from granting interim relief under Section 9 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. It observed that excluding the jurisdiction of Indian courts requires an express agreement between the parties.Justice M.G.S. Kamal observed, "Therefore, mere existence of an arbitration clause providing place of arbitration outside India itself cannot be construed as ''an...

ITC Cannot Be Denied For Bona Fide GSTIN Reporting Mistake: Tripura High Court

The Tripura High Court on 27 July held that a taxpayer cannot be denied Input Tax Credit (ITC) due to a genuine mistake in reporting invoices under the wrong Goods and Services Tax Identification Number (GSTIN), when the error does not result in any loss of revenue to the Government. A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice M.S. Ramachandra Rao and Justice Biswajit Palit allowed the writ petition filed by Ashutosh Bandyopadhay and directed the GST authorities to permit rectification of Forms...

Refund Of Service Tax Cannot Be Decided Before Determining Nature Of Contract: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court on 27 July held that the question of refund or adjustment of Service Tax cannot be decided before the Assessing Authority determines whether the underlying contract is a works contract or a service contract, as the nature of the contract determines the applicable tax liability. A Division Bench of Justices Devan Ramachandran and Basant Balaji partly allowed the appeals filed by Gaiagen Technologies Private Limited (formerly Pest Control India Private Limited) and set aside...

Patna High Court Upholds CENVAT Credit On Captive Power Plant Despite Surplus Power Supply

The Patna High Court on 24 July dismissed the Central Excise Department's appeal against Harinagar Sugar Mills Ltd. and upheld the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal's (CESTAT) order allowing the company to claim CENVAT credit on capital goods, input services and iron and steel items used in its manufacturing operations. A Division Bench of Justices Bibek Chaudhuri and Rana Vikram Singh held that the benefit cannot be denied merely because part of the electricity generated in...

Housing Finance Companies Can't Invoke SARFAESI For Secured Debt Below ₹20 Lakh: Calcutta High Court

The Calcutta High Court has recently held that Tata Capital Housing Finance Ltd. as a housing finance company could not invoke the SARFAESI Act, as the secured debt was below the ₹20 lakh threshold prescribed under a Central Government notification. It accordingly set aside the enforcement measures initiated by the lender.Justice Smita Das De ruled that Tata Capital Housing Finance lacked jurisdiction to invoke the SARFAESI Act in the present case. The court observed, "In view of the above, this...

Gujarat High Court Sets Aside Order Restraining Trademark Owners From Using Own Mark, Calls It 'Grave Error'

The Gujarat High court has set aside a temporary injunction restraining the registered proprietors of the trademark "Aditya Jewellers" from using their own registered mark, ruling that the Commercial court in Rajkot committed "a grave error of law" by granting the relief. The court observed that the trial court had assessed the reliability of the appellants' evidence at the interim stage, even though "no mini trial can be conducted" while deciding an application for temporary injunction.A...