Madras HC Holds Civil Dispute Over Wharfage Refund Cannot Be Tried As Criminal Offence, Quashes CBI Case

The Madras High Court on 8 June quashed a CBI charge sheet, holding that authorities cannot convert a civil dispute relating to refund of wharfage charges into criminal proceedings alleging cheating, forgery, or corruption. A Single-Judge Bench of Justice G.K. Ilanthiraiyan allowed the petition and quashed the criminal proceedings against all accused. He held: “...it was found that there was no excess wharfage charges amount and as such requested the importer to return the same, on the said...

Diluting RBI's NBFC Capital Requirements Could Have Impact On India's Financial System: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court recently observed that permitting dilution of the Reserve Bank of India's directions on the minimum Net Owned Fund (NOF) requirement in favour of a Non-Banking Financial Company with weak financial standing and low NOF could have repercussions on the country's financial system. It upheld the Reserve Bank of India's decision cancelling the company's Certificate of Registration after it failed to achieve the prescribed NOF by the stipulated deadline. A division bench of...

Burden Shifts To Complainant Once Accused Proves Discharge In Cheque Bounce Case: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court on 30 June held that in a prosecution under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, once the accused proves discharge of the underlying debt, and the complainant asserts that such repayments relate to a different transaction, the burden shifts to the complainant to establish that assertion. Justice A. Badharudeen dismissed an appeal filed by the complainant and upheld the acquittal of the accused passed by the Trial Court. He held: “Once plea of discharge is proved...

Kerala High Court Sets Aside KFC Auction Sale, Says Purchaser Cannot Be Financed Against Same Property

The Kerala High Court on 29 June held that the Kerala Financial Corporation (KFC) cannot finance the purchase of an auctioned property by advancing a loan against the security of the very same property, as such a course violates its statutory duty to secure the best possible price for the mortgaged asset. A Division Bench of Justices A.K. Jayasankaran Nambiar and Preeta A.K. set aside the auction sale conducted by KFC after finding material irregularities in the sale process, and directed it to...

Delhi High Court Sets Aside Refund Order For Non-Refundable Processing Fee In Undisbursed Loan Case

The Delhi High Court has held that a borrower who has accepted a facility letter expressly stipulating that the processing fee is non-refundable cannot subsequently seek its refund merely because the loan was never disbursed, particularly where the disbursal failed due to the borrower's inability to satisfy the conditions precedent.Justice Neena Bansal Krishna allowed an appeal filed by Standard Chartered Bank and set aside the trial court's decree directing the bank to refund the processing fee...

Madras High Court Grants Pre-Release Anti-Piracy Injunctions For 'Welcome to the Jungle,' 'Balaramana Dinagalu'

The Madras High Court has granted ad-interim injunctions restraining internet service providers and cable TV operators from infringing the copyright of two films ahead of their theatrical release. The films are the Kannada movie "Balaramana Dinagalu," starring Vinod Prabhakar and Priya Anand, and the Hindi comedy "Welcome to the Jungle," headlined by Akshay Kumar. Justice K. Kumaresh Babu passed separate common orders in each case on June 25, 2026, a day before both films were scheduled to...

Bombay High Court Sets Aside ITAT Order For Failing To Decide Challenge To Faceless Assessment Procedure

The Bombay High Court has recently set aside an order of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), holding that the tribunal failed to adjudicate a taxpayer's jurisdictional objection alleging non-compliance with the mandatory assessment procedure. The court ruled that the issue went to the root of the matter and required adjudication by the tribunal. A division bench of Justice G.S. Kulkarni and Justice Aarti Sathe observed,"Even otherwise, on merits, the ITAT was required to consider and...

GST Notice To Amalgamated Company That Ceased To Exist Without Jurisdiction: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court has recently quashed a GST order against a real estate company. It held that a show cause notice issued after the company had ceased to exist pursuant to its amalgamation was without jurisdiction, making the proceedings that followed legally unsustainable. A division bench of Justice Suman Shyam and Justice Advait M. Sethna allowed the writ petition filed by Kanakia Spaces Realty Private Limited and set aside the Order-in-Original passed by the GST authorities. The bench...

Gujarat High Court Says It Cannot Tinker With CBDT's Informant Reward Calculation Unless Patently Arbitrary

The Gujarat High Court has recently refused to interfere with the Central Board of Direct Taxes' (CBDT) decision fixing the reward payable to an informant under the 2007 Reward Guidelines. It held that the reward is an ex gratia payment and that the court cannot re-evaluate the methodology adopted by the Full Board unless its determination suffers from manifest illegality or patent arbitrariness. A Division Bench of Justice A.S. Supehia and Justice Vaibhavi D. Nanavati dismissed the writ...

Gujarat High Court Quashes Reassessment Over AO Treating Warranty Provision As Unascertained Liability

The Gujarat High Court has quashed reassessment proceedings initiated against road construction equipment maker Ammann India Private Limited.It held that the Revenue reopened the assessment by treating the company's scientifically determined warranty provision as an unascertained liability without considering the principles laid down by the Supreme Court, the Income Computation and Disclosure Standards (ICDS), or the material already available with the Assessing Officer. A division bench of...

Gujarat High Court Denies SVLDRS Benefit For Unquantified Tax Liability Before 30 June 2019 Cut-Off

The Gujarat High Court on 18 June 2026 held that a taxpayer cannot claim benefit under the Sabka Vishwas (Legacy Dispute Resolution) Scheme, 2019 (SVLDRS) merely on the basis of admitting part of its tax liability during investigation, and that the entire tax liability must be quantified on or before the statutory cut-off date of 30 June 2019 for eligibility under the Scheme. A Division Bench comprising Justices A.S. Supehia and Vaibhavi D. Nanavati dismissed the writ petition filed by Planet...

Gujarat High Court Restricts Excise Rebate In Coke Exports, Rejects Moisture Loss Claim

The Gujarat High Court on 19 June held that Rule 18 of the Central Excise Rules, 2002 allows rebate only on the quantity of goods actually exported and not on the higher quantity cleared from the factory on payment of excise duty. A Division Bench of Justices A.S. Supehia and Vaibhavi D. Nanavati dismissed a batch of petitions filed by Mahashakti Coke, which challenged the denial of rebate on the differential quantity of metallurgical coke. The Court held: “The expression 'duty paid on such...