Income Declared Under VDIS Can Still Be Scrutinised If Higher Income Is Found: Madhya Pradesh High Court

The High Court of Madhya Pradesh at Jabalpur recently held that declaring income under the Voluntary Disclosure of Income Scheme, 1997 does not stop the income tax department from checking whether the correct income was disclosed, even though the scheme protects the assessee from being questioned about the source of that income. A Division Bench of Justice Vivek Rusia and Justice Pradeep Mittal said that VDIS gives only limited immunity. “The assessee is only protected from disclosing the...

Plea Of Delay U/S 29A A&C Act Cannot Be Used Selectively By NHAI When Extensions Granted In Similar Land Acquisition Cases: HP High Court

The Himachal Pradesh High Court held that the National Highway Authority of India could not be permitted to raise the plea of delay and laches to defeat continuation of arbitral proceedings when extensions had already been granted and proceedings concluded in the cases of other similarly placed landowners. The court remarked that, having participated in the proceedings for almost nine years, NHAI could not invoke delay, particularly when the object of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996...

Reassessment Notice To Non-Existent Firm Invalid: Bombay High Court Reiterates

The Bombay High Court has reiterated that proceedings initiated against a non-existent entity are invalid in law. A Division Bench of Justices B.P. Colabawalla and Amit S. Jamsandekar set aside a reassessment notice and a consequential assessment order issued under the Income Tax Act against a partnership firm that had merged into a private limited company years earlier. The case concerned a notice issued to J M Mhatre Infra Pvt. Ltd., described as an erstwhile partnership firm, seeking to...

Delhi High Court Stays Order Against Indian Firm Making Irrigation Valves In Patent Dispute With Israel Company

The Delhi High Court on Monday stayed an order that had restrained an Indian irrigation equipment maker from selling its “Hydromat Valve”, which was earlier held to prima facie infringe a patent owned by an Israel-based company. A Division Bench of Justice C Hari Shankar and Justice Om Prakash Shukla pronounced the judgment on January 5, 2026, while deciding an appeal filed by Automat Irrigation.Staying the earlier order dated August 1, 2025 on a interim plea filed by Aquestia Limited, the...

Bihar Excise Act | Patna High Court Reduces Penalty From 50% To 30% For Release Of Rental Car Seized With Liquor

The Patna High Court has slashed a 50 percent penalty imposed for releasing a rental car seized with nearly 318 litres of liquor. It ordered that the vehicle be released on payment of 30 percent of its insured value and struck down an additional 3 per cent charge as illegal. A Division Bench of Justice Rajeev Ranjan Prasad and Justice Sourendra Pandey noted that the vehicle owner was not an accused in the case and said the confiscation orders needed correction. The court observed, “This Court...

Delhi High Court Issues Notice In RJ's Copyright Suit Against Riteish Deshmukh-Starrer 'Mastiii 4'

Radio jockey and popular content creator Ashish Sharma has moved the Delhi High Court, accusing the makers of the Hindi film Mastiii 4 of lifting a scene from one of his popular Instagram skits without his permission. Sharma has sought a permanent injunction, damages and rendition of accounts, claiming that a scene in the film closely mirrors his audio-visual skit titled “Shaq Karne Ka Nateeja”, which he posted on Instagram in January 2024.A single-judge Bench of Justice Tushar Rao Gedela,...

Blue Jays' Global Reputation Alone Not Enough To Cancel Indian 'BLUE-JAY' Trademark: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has held that mere global reputation of a trademark, without proof of spillover of goodwill into India, is insufficient to cancel a registered Indian trademark.A Division Bench of Justices C Hari Shankar and Om Prakash Shukla thus set aside a single judge order cancelling the 'BLUE-JAY' mark used by an Indian partnership firm (Appellant-Defendant) on its apparel.The mark was cancelled in a trademark infringement suit filed by the IP holding company (Respondent-Petitioner) of...

Delhi High Court Refuses To Restrain City Ayurvedic Drug Maker From Using “NOKUF” For Cough Syrup

The Delhi High Court has refused to stop Dehlvi Remedies Private Limited, an city based Ayurvedic drug maker, from using the mark “NOKUF” for cough syrups, holding that its use of the mark since 1994 defeats a later claim by Sana Herbals Private Limited, which sells its product as “NOKUFSYRUP.”In a judgment delivered on January 5, 2026, a Division Bench of Justices C Hari Shankar and Om Prakash Shukla dismissed Sana Herbals' appeal against an order of the Commercial Court at Tis Hazari that had...

Delhi High Court Stays Over ₹20 Crore Decrees In Favour Of Philips In DVD Patent Dispute

The Delhi High Court on Monday stayed the execution of money decrees worth over Rs 20 crore passed in favour of Koninklijke Philips N.V., the Netherlands-based electronics company widely known as Philips. The stay is subject to the judgment debtors furnishing unconditional and irrevocable bank guarantees covering the principal amounts of damages. A Division Bench of Justice C Hari Shankar and Justice Om Prakash Shukla said it found no fault with the Single Judge's conclusions on patent...

Madras High Court Sets Aside GST Demand For Not Considering CBIC Circulars Cited By Taxpayer

The Madras High Court has set aside a GST demand on a corporate guarantee after finding that the tax department failed to consider CBIC circulars relied upon by the taxpayer while raising the assessment.Allowing the writ petition, Justice G R Swaminathan held that an assessment order cannot survive if the tax department fails to consider the defence raised by the taxpayer. The court held, “When a defense raised by the noticee is not considered in the final order, the order is vulnerable on...

Madras High Court Upholds Trade Marks Registry Order Rejecting “Fresh Not Frozen” Mark

The Madras High Court has dismissed an appeal filed by Freshtohome Foods Private Limited, a Bangalore-based online grocery delivery platform against a 2019 order of the Trade Marks Registry rejecting its trademark application for the brand “FRESH NOT FROZEN”. Justice N Anand Venkatesh passed the order on December 18, 2025. The court held that the proposed mark was deceptively similar to an existing registered trademark, “FRESH N FROZEN”, which covers similar food-related retail services. The...

Bombay High Court Sets Aside Arbitral Award Passed With “Undue Haste” After Four-Year Delay

The Bombay High Court has set aside an arbitral award, holding that it was passed in undue haste after nearly four years of inaction and without giving the parties any opportunity of hearing.A Single Bench of Justice Sandeep V Marne found that the arbitrator acted with undue haste and in clear breach of natural justice. Rejecting the explanation offered for the long delay, the Court said, “The explanation put forth by the Arbitrator for the delay is factually incorrect. The Arbitrator...