'Ilaiyaraaja Had No Copyright Over En Iniya Pon Nilave ': Delhi HC Dismisses Appeal Against Single-Bench Order

The Delhi High Court has dismissed music composer Ilaiyaraaja's appeal against a single-judge order that had, at an interim stage, recognised Saregama India Limited's rights over the classic Tamil song En Iniya Pon Nilave from the 1980 film Moodu Pani. A Division Bench of Justice C. Hari Shankar and Justice Om Prakash Shukla pronounced the judgment on Thursday."However, Ilaiyaraaja was not the owner of copyright in the sound recording, or the lyrics underlying the disputed song. His...

'Left No Stone Unturned To Harass': Delhi HC On IT Dept's Delay In Releasing KVPs, IVPs

The Delhi High Court has pulled up the Income Tax Department for delaying the release of seized Kisan Vikas Patras (KVPs) and Indira Vikas Patras (IVPs) even after the assessee deposited the settlement amount, observing that the authorities had “left no stone unturned to harass” the petitioner.A division bench of Justices Dinesh Mehta and Om Prakash Shukla directed the tax authorities to compensate the petitioners for loss of interest caused due to wrongful retention of the instruments.The case...

Company's Car, Telephone Costs Not 'Personal' Despite Being Separate Legal Entity: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has held that telephone and car expenses incurred by a company cannot be disallowed as “personal” expenses merely because a company is treated as a separate legal person.A division bench of Justices Dinesh Mehta and Vinod Kumar allowed the company's appeal and set aside an order of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), which had upheld disallowance of one-sixth of the company's telephone and car expenses on the ground of possible personal use.The company argued that...

Mere Concealment Of Gold Not Enough To Prove Customs Duty Evasion: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has upheld the acquittal of a man accused of smuggling gold into India, holding that mere concealment of gold was insufficient to establish fraudulent evasion of customs duty when the passenger was intercepted before he could proceed through customs clearance.Justice Neena Bansal Krishna dismissed an appeal filed by the Union of India challenging the acquittal of a Mumbai-based passenger who was found carrying 30 gold biscuits weighing 3496.400 grams concealed in a waist...

IOCL's Terminal Facilities For Crude Oil Storage At Barauni Attract Service Tax: Patna High Court

The Patna High Court has held that terminal facilities used by IOCL's Barauni Refinery for storing crude oil before onward transportation constituted an independent taxable service liable to service tax, and were not merely incidental to pipeline transportation. The court ruled, “If MOU creates a provision of a separate charge for 'discharge facility' or 'terminal facilities' or 'storing of crude oil' before entering into next phase of transportation for Bongaigaon Refinery then, it cannot be...

Delhi High Court Restrains Two Rivals From Using Marks Similar To 'Schezwan Chutney'

The Delhi High Court has restrained Fivestar Dehydration Pvt Ltd and another from using the mark 'Schezwan Chutney' or deceptively similar variants. It held that merely inserting the word 'Hot' between 'Schezwan' and 'Chutney' would not distinguish the rival products for an average consumer. Justice Tushar Rao Gedela passed the ex-parte ad-interim order on May 14 in a suit filed by Capital Foods Private Limited, an associate of the Tata Group. The suit seeks permanent injunction against...

Borrower Consent Mandatory For SARFAESI Sale At Reserve Price: Andhra Pradesh High Court

The Andhra Pradesh High Court has recently held that a bank cannot confirm the sale of a secured asset in a SARFAESI auction when the highest bid matches the reserve price unless the borrower consents. “The sale of the secured asset in the auction exactly at the reserve price cannot be confirmed by the Authorised Officer without the consent of the borrower,” the Court held. A Division Bench of Justice Cheekati Manavendranath Roy and Justice V. Gopala Krishna Rao dismissed writ petitions filed...

Huge Turnover Difference Between Taxpayer, Comparable Warrants Exclusion In Transfer Pricing Analysis: Delhi HC

The Delhi High Court has held that a company with a vastly different turnover and scale of operations may not be a proper comparable for transfer pricing analysis.A division bench of Justices V. Kameswar Rao and Vinod Kumar observed that huge differences between the tested entity and the comparable would necessarily require the exclusion of the comparable.The court made the observation while dealing with an appeal filed by the Income Tax Department against an order of the Income Tax Appellate...

Delhi High Court Permits Trademark Renewal After Six Years, Faults Registry Over Defective Renewal Notice

The Delhi High Court has allowed trademark proprietor Rajinder Singh to file a fresh renewal application for his “B.P.R.” mark despite a delay of over six years. It held that the Trade Marks Registry could not rely on technical procedural non-compliance after having consistently sent communications to his updated address. Justice Tushar Rao Gedela ruled the Registry could not take such a stand after its own conduct showed it had recognised the changed address. “Once the Trade Marks...

Delhi High Court Grants Temporary Relief To Hugo Boss Against Delhi Trader Over Sale Of Alleged Fake Bedding

The Delhi High Court has recently granted temporary relief to Hugo Boss AG in a trademark infringement suit against a Delhi trader operating as Panipat Handlooms. The court restrained him from manufacturing and selling products such as luxury bedding, linen, and bath towels bearing allegedly infringing BOSS and HUGO BOSS marks. Justice Jyoti Singh passed the order on May 14 in the suit against Shubham Jain, who operates from Ashok Vihar in Delhi. Hugo Boss told the court that Jain was...

Calcutta High Court Denies Urgent Relief To Dabur In Suit Against Influencer Over 'Real Fruit Power' Videos

The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday issued notice to Avanish Agarwal and other respondents on a suit filed by Dabur India Ltd alleging that videos posted by Agarwal about its REAL Fruit Power brand were misleading, malicious, disparaging, and defamatory, while declining immediate interim relief. Justice Sugato Majumdar, hearing the matter on May 19, observed that while Dabur's right to seek legal recourse could not be denied, consumer interest and the dissemination of information relevant to...

ECIR Cannot Be Quashed At Threshold As It Is An Internal ED Document: Patna High Court

The Patna High Court on 18 May held that an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) is an internal document of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and cannot ordinarily be subjected to quashing, observing that such a plea is premature unless it translates into a prosecution complaint or other actionable proceedings. Justice Arun Kumar Jha dismissed a writ petition filed by Rishu Shree seeking to quash ECIR-13 and ECIR-14 and restrain the...