Gujarat High Court Temporarily Halts Arbitration Over Vapi Lakes Lease Agreements

The Gujarat High Court on Monday directed that no further proceedings be conducted in arbitration proceedings between Vapi Municipal Corporation and Shashijit Infra Projects Limited arising from lease agreements relating to Lakhamdev Lake, Dungra Lake, and Chala Lake in Vapi. The direction will remain in force until the next hearing before the Court on June 18. Justice L.S. Pirzada passed the order while issuing notice in petitions filed by the Municipal Corporation challenging the continuation...

Mere Status As Ultimate Beneficiary Does Not Warrant Impleadment Of Non-Signatory In Arbitration: Delhi HC

The Delhi High Court has reiterated that arbitration is founded on consent and party autonomy, holding that an entity cannot be impleaded in arbitral proceedings merely because it is the ultimate beneficiary of a project. The Court set aside orders that had added IIM Jammu as a party to arbitration-related proceedings arising from disputes between Ramacivil India Construction Pvt. Ltd. and the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) over construction of the permanent campus of IIM Jammu at Jagti,...

Delhi High Court Orders Takedown of Pornographic Content, AI Deepfakes Using Actor Naga Chaitanya's Persona

The Delhi High Court has directed multiple pornographic websites, Google LLC, IndiaMart and a merchandise seller to take down specified content and listings using Telugu actor Akkineni Naga Chaitanya's name, image and likeness. The court passed the directions after finding a prima facie case for granting interim protection in a personality rights suit filed by the actor. The defendants concerned have been directed to comply with the order within 24 hours of receiving it. Justice Jyoti Singh...

Technical Glitch Could Have Misled Bidder; Kerala High Court Directs Central Bank To Refund Auction Deposit

The Kerala High Court has upheld a direction requiring the Central Bank of India to refund money deposited by an auction participant after finding that an admitted technical glitch could have led her to believe that her bid had not been accepted. A Division Bench of Chief Justice Soumen Sen and Justice Syam Kumar V.M. passed the order while partly allowing an appeal filed by the Bank against a Single Judge's decision directing a refund of the amount deposited by the auction participant and...

Delhi High Court Revokes Gujarat Pesticides' ZOOOK Copyright Registration Over Flawed Search Certificate

The Delhi High Court has recently revoked a copyright registration granted to Gujarat Pesticides for an artistic work titled "ZOOOK", after finding procedural flaws in the process that led to its grant. The court noted that the registration was founded on a Trade Marks Search Certificate that was contrary to the Trade Marks Register. It also found that the registered proprietor of the ZOOOK mark was not notified despite having an interest in the subject matter. Justice Jyoti Singh, in a...

Disputes On Corporate Restructuring Must Be Decided by NCLT, Not Arbitrator: Kerala High Court

On 1 June 2026, the Kerala High Court held that disputes involving corporate restructuring and division of company assets fall within the exclusive jurisdiction of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) and are non-arbitrable. A Single Judge Bench of Justice Easwaran S allowed the petition challenging an arbitral ruling that had rejected a jurisdictional objection under Section 16 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. He observed: “Albeit, this Courts finds that the dispute before...

Madras High Court Says 2003 MoU Did Not Permit Additional Beardsell Companies To Use Corporate Name

The Madras High Court has upheld a permanent injunction restraining two companies incorporated as sister concerns of Beardsell Eastern Pvt Ltd from using the corporate name "Beardsell". The court held that a 2003 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) permitted the establishment of only "a new company" and did not authorise the incorporation of additional entities using the name. A Division Bench of Justice P. Velmurugan and Justice K. Govindarajan Thilakavadi dismissed an intra-court appeal filed...

Partner Cannot Claim Deduction On Interest Paid For Capital Invested In Firm: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court on 20 May held that a partner cannot claim deduction under Section 36(1)(iii) of the Income Tax Act for interest paid on funds borrowed and contributed as capital to a partnership firm, since the borrowed capital was not used for the partner's own business. A Division Bench of Justices Devan Ramachandran and Basant Balaji dismissed the appeal filed by Alice Arun Thomas and upheld the order of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), Cochin Bench. It held: "The provisions...

Delhi High Court Restrains Surat-Based Sellers From Using 'BOMBAY MUSK' Mark On Counterfeit Perfumes

The Delhi High Court on 7 May restrained sellers from manufacturing, marketing, advertising, or selling counterfeit perfumes and personal care products under the “BOMBAY MUSK” mark and deceptively similar variants, holding that such activities were likely to deceive consumers and damage the plaintiff's goodwill. Justice Tejas Karia granted an ex-parte ad-interim injunction in favour of BG Innovators LLP against Wellness Club and Krishiv Enterprise, both based in Surat, Gujarat, after finding...

No Patent Illegality In Award Granting Security Forfeiture And Differential Cost Recovery: Telangana HC

The Telangana High Court on 4 May held that where a contract expressly provides for forfeiture of security and recovery of differential costs, the aggrieved party may invoke both remedies upon breach. A Division Bench of Justices Moushumi Bhattacharya and Gadi Praveen Kumar dismissed the appeal filed by Ashok Rakesh Kumar and upheld an arbitral award in favour of the A.P. Nutrition Council (APNC), finding no patent illegality in the Tribunal granting both forms of relief. The judges...

Delhi High Court Restrains Unauthorized Use Of Varun Dhawan's Persona, Orders Takedown Of Deepfake Content

The Delhi High Court has recently restrained multiple entities from using actor Varun Dhawan's persona for commercial gain after finding a prima facie case that they were offering unauthorized bookings for his appearances, selling merchandise bearing his name and likeness, and publishing abusive, derogatory, and AI-generated content involving him. Justice Jyoti Singh passed the order on May 29 while hearing Dhawan's suit against 18 defendants, including artist-booking platforms, e-commerce...

Delhi High Court Rejects Oracle's Challenge To Award Refusing Transfer Of 'Exadata.in' Domain

The Delhi High Court has refused to interfere with an arbitral award rejecting Oracle International Corporation's bid to secure the transfer of the domain name “www.exadata.in”. The court held that the arbitrator had arrived at a plausible factual conclusion that the threshold necessary for establishing bad-faith registration or use under the .IN Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (INDRP) had not been met. Justice Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar held that similarity between Oracle's registered...