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...

Bill Of Entry Amendment After Search Permissible Under Customs Act: Rajasthan High Court Upholds Relief To Ceramic Tableware

The Rajasthan High Court has recently observed that amendments in the Bill of Entry can be made even after a search is conducted, and such amendments cannot be refused merely because the error was detected by the department and not disclosed suo motu by the importer. A division bench of Acting Chief Justice Sanjeev Prakash Sharma and Justice Sangeeta Sharma said that the purpose of Section 149 of the Customs Act, 1962 is to ensure proper assessment and that the power to allow amendment must be...

Civil Court Jurisdiction Not Ousted By Foreign-Seated Arbitration, Courts May Act To Prevent Abuse: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court recently reiterated that the jurisdiction of civil courts is not barred merely because arbitration is seated outside India but said that the power to restrain such proceedings must be exercised only in exceptional circumstances, refusing to stop arbitration initiated in London by Argo Coral Maritime Ltd. against SARR Freights Corporation and SARR Freights Limited. Relying on the top court's ruling in Engineering Projects (India) Limited Versus MSA Global LLC (Oman), Justice...

Arbitration Act Allows Interim Relief Even After Arbitral Award Before Enforcement: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court recently held that courts possess wide powers under Section 9 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act to grant interim measures, even after the arbitral award is passed but before its enforcement.A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Soumen Sen and Justice Syam Kumar V.M. partly allowed an appeal filed by three foreign companies against Emil Traders Private Limited. The appellants, foreign companies, had obtained an arbitral award against Emil Traders Private Limited...