“Not Worth Paper It Was Written On”: Madras High Court Upholds Setting Aside Of ₹24-Crore Arbitral Award

Calling a Rs 24-crore arbitral award a “fraud” and “not worth the paper it had been written in”, the Madras High Court has upheld a 2019 order setting aside the award in a land dispute, holding that the Memorandum of Understanding on which the claim was based was an unlawful agreement opposed to public policy. A Division Bench of Justice C.V. Karthikeyan and Justice K. Kumaresh Babu upheld a Single Judge's order dated 25 June 2019 which had set aside the arbitral award dated 23 March 2015. ...

Search Year Must Be Included While Computing 10-Year Block For Reassessment: Gujarat High Court

The Gujarat High Court on 9 March, held that while computing the extended ten-year block period for reassessment in search cases, the assessment year relevant to the previous year in which the search is conducted (search assessment year) must be included in the computation. The Division Bench comprising Justice A. S. Supehia and Justice Pranav Trivedi quashed the notice issued to Dilipbhai Prabhudas Patel (petitioner) under Section 148 of the Income Tax Act. The Bench held: "The statutory...

Madras High Court Restrains “Sri Aachi Mess” From Using Registered AACHI Trademark

The Madras High Court on 9 March 2026, held that a restaurant in Ulundurpet cannot use the name “SRI AACHI MESS”, permanently restraining it in favour of Mr. A.D. Padmasingh Isaac and his firms, Aachi Masala Foods and Flora Foods. Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy observed: “The nature of food served in the defendant's restaurant is insufficient to conclude that services are not similar. Thus, the defendant is the later user of a deceptively similar mark in respect of similar services.” The...

No GST On Tariff, Licence Fees Collected By Haryana Electricity Commission: Punjab Haryana High Court

The Punjab and Haryana High Court on 26 February set aside a show cause notice seeking GST on tariff petition and licence fees collected by the Haryana State Electricity Regulatory Commission, holding that these fees arise from statutory regulatory functions and are not in the course of business. A Division Bench of Justice Lisa Gill and Justice Ramesh Chander Dimri allowed the writ petition and quashed the notice, observing:“Learned counsel for respondents points out that review has been...

Judgment On Admission Under CPC Requires Clear Admission Of Transaction And Amount Of Liability: Calcutta High Court

The Calcutta High Court has recently held that a court can grant a decree on admission under Order XII Rule 6 CPC only when the defendant clearly admits both the transaction and the amount due, observing that the rule must be applied strictly. Holding that mere acknowledgement of transactions is insufficient unless the specific amount payable is admitted, the court granted a Rs 12 lakh decree on admission to Skipper Limited in its commercial dispute with Prabha Infrastructure Private Limited,...

Madras High Court Disposes Sun TV Interim Plea After CSK Undertakes Not To Use Its Film Songs For Promotion Without Licence

The Madras High Court on Monday (March 16) disposed of Sun TV's applications after Chennai Super Kings undertook not to use songs from Sun TV-owned films, including Coolie and Jailer, in promotional content without obtaining prior licence.Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy closed the interim pleas after taking note of the affidavit filed by KS Viswanathan, Managing Director of CSK, undertaking not to use the songs without obtaining a license.The court has asked Senior Advocate J Ravindran,...

Madras High Court Dismisses Taxpayer Appeal, Says Books Were Rejected Before DVO Reference

The Madras High Court has held that the Assessing Officer was justified in referring the matter to the District Valuation Officer after examining the books of accounts and finding inconsistencies in them, and that the taxpayer could not rely on the Supreme Court's ruling in Sargam Cinema to argue that the reference to the Valuation Officer was invalid. The Division Bench of Justice G. Jayachandran and Justice Shamim Ahmed dismissed the tax appeal filed by taxpayer M. Ravindran and affirmed the...

Gujarat High Court Upholds DRI Seizure Of Imported Industrial Oil, Says Product Most Akin To Restricted Diesel Fuel

The Gujarat High Court has upheld the seizure of imported consignments declared as “industrial oil," holding that the product was most akin to Automotive Diesel Fuel (ADF) / High Flash High Speed Diesel (HFHSD), which are restricted commodities importable only through State Trading Enterprises under the import policy.The Division Bench comprising Justice A. S. Supehia and Justice Pranav Trivedi dismissed multiple writ petitions filed by importers, including Deep International (petitioner),...

Madras High Court Directs Chennai Port Trust To Pay ₹1.21 Crore To X-Press Container Lines In Arbitration Dispute

The Madras High Court recently restored an arbitral award directing the Board of Trustees of the Port of Chennai to refund Rs.1,21,91,869 to X-Press Container Lines (UK) Ltd. in a dispute arising out of a berth reservation agreement and recovery of berth hire charges and penal levy, holding that the claim was within limitation in view of repeated acknowledgments of liability by the Port authorities. A Division Bench comprising Justices C.V. Karthikeyan and K. Kumaresh Babu allowed an appeal...

Bombay High Court Upholds Arbitral Award In Mandovi Bridge Dispute, Says Former Employee Arbitrator Not Proof Of Bias

The Goa Bench of the Bombay High Court has dismissed an appeal filed by the State of Goa challenging an arbitral award passed in favor of U.P. State Bridge Corporation Ltd., holding that an arbitral award could not be set aside merely on the ground that one of the arbitrators nominated by the contractor had served as the Managing Director and consultant of the corporation. Justice Suman Shyam further observed that in the absence of material demonstrating actual bias or likelihood of...

Delhi High Court Upholds Setting Aside Of Arbitral Award, Says Tribunal Rewrote Contract In JSW-GAIL Dispute

The Delhi High Court has dismissed an appeal filed by JSW Steel, formerly known as JSW Ispat Steel, and upheld the setting aside of an arbitral award passed in its favour, holding that the arbitral tribunal had rewritten the contract by applying the doctrine of business efficacy to convert fixed transportation charges into variable charges. A Division Bench of Justices C. Hari Shankar and Om Prakash Shukla observed, "Upon careful examination of the arbitral award, it is evident that the...

Bombay High Court Grants Interim Injunction To Asian Paints Against Use Of “ASIA TUFF” For Paint And Wall Putty

The Bombay High Court has granted an interim injunction in favour of Asian Paints Limited, restraining a rival firm from using the mark “ASIA TUFF” for cement paint and wall putty. In an order dated March 13, 2026, Justice Sharmila U. Deshmukh observed that the rival marks show deceptive visual as well as phonetic similarity, giving rise to a strong likelihood of consumer confusion. The litigation had initially covered several product labels. During the proceedings, the defendants Tarun Paints...