Courts Cannot Interfere With NH Act Compensation Award Based On Section 26 RFCTLARR Assessment: Gujarat HC

The Gujarat High Court on 8 June held that an arbitral award determining compensation under the National Highways Act, 1956 cannot be interfered with under Sections 34 and 37 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 where the Arbitrator has assessed market value in accordance with Section 26 of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 based on the evidence on record. A Bench of Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice...

RBI Ombudsman Cannot Reject Complaints Through Unsigned Emails, Must Give Reasons: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court has held that the RBI Ombudsman cannot dismiss complaints through unsigned, system-generated communications that contain no reasons, observing that orders affecting the rights of parties must disclose the basis for the conclusions reached. Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas delivered the judgment while setting aside a communication issued by the RBI Ombudsman rejecting a complaint filed by Unique Enterprises and its partner against Kotak Mahindra Bank. “In the absence of...

Punjab and Haryana High Court Refuses To Interfere With Facebook's Removal Of Song After Copyright Complaint

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has recently declined to intervene in Meta's removal of a song from a Facebook page. The court noted that the song had been uploaded without the copyright owner's consent. It also found that the page owner had not placed any material on record to dispute that position. Justice Jagmohan Bansal observed that the Facebook page owner had been informed that the song was removed because it was uploaded without the copyright owner's consent. The court further found...

Orissa High Court Quashes Criminal Proceedings Against Ferro Alloys Over Pre-CIRP Environmental Law Violations

The Orissa High Court has recently quashed criminal proceedings against Ferro Alloys Corporation Ltd over alleged environmental law violations. It held that continuation of the prosecution was not sustainable as the violations happened before the insolvency resoulution. Justice Dr. Sanjeeb K. Panigrahi also noted that offences under Section 15 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 have since been decriminalised. They have been replaced with a regime of civil penalties. “In the present...

Delhi High Court Dismisses Novamax's Cooler Design Infringement Claim, Keeps Passing Off Suit Alive

The Delhi High court on Friday dismissed Novamax Industries LLP's claim that Prem Appliances infringed its registered cooler design after finding that Novamax's own invoices and website showed the design had been publicly sold and displayed before the design application was filed. Justice Tushar Rao Gedela, however, declined to summarily reject Novamax's passing off claim, holding that the issue would require evidence at trial. "It is well nigh impossible for this Court to conclude that the...

Madras HC Upholds Solatium, Interest But Quashes 12% Additional Compensation In NH-47 Land Acquisition Case

The Madras High Court has recently set aside a Tiruppur district court's direction granting landowners an additional 12% compensation in a batch of land acquisition disputes arising from the six-laning of the Chengapalli-Walayar stretch of National Highway-47. A Division Bench of Justices P. Velmurugan and K. Govindarajan Thilakavadi held that landowners are entitled to solatium and interest in acquisitions under the National Highways Act. However, they cannot claim the additional 12% amount...

Madras High Court Upholds GST Proceedings Over Mismatch Between Seigniorage Fees and Reported Turnover

The Madras High Court has upheld GST proceedings against a quarry operator. It held that a mismatch between seigniorage fees paid for mineral extraction and the value of outward supplies reported in GST returns was sufficient to justify the tax department's prima facie view that turnover had been suppressed. Justice C. Saravanan dismissed writ petitions filed by KPR Enterprises for the 2018-19, 2019-20 and 2020-21 tax periods. "Since the petitioner has paid a huge amount for the seigniorage...

Bombay High Court Says Homebuyers Retain Right To Delay Interest Despite Staying With Project

The Bombay High Court has held that homebuyers who continue with a housing project despite delayed possession do not lose their statutory right to claim interest for the delay. Justice Sharmila U. Deshmukh dismissed an appeal filed by CCI Projects Private Limited and upheld a Maharashtra Real Estate Appellate Tribunal order directing the developer to pay interest to purchasers of an apartment in the Wintergreen building of its Rivali Park project in Mumbai. “The unqualified absolute right of...

Delhi High Court Restrains Sellers For Misusing Flipkart's 'Latching On' Feature In SHAPERMEN Trademark Dispute

The Delhi High Court has granted an interim injunction against several sellers accused of misusing Flipkart's "Latching On" feature to market products under the SHAPERMEN brand. The court observed that their conduct appeared prima facie calculated to "ride upon the goodwill associated with the Subject Marks" and was likely to cause confusion about the origin of the products. Justice Tejas Karia passed the order in a suit filed by Piyush Sapra and another party associated with the SHAPERMEN...

Delhi High Court Cancels 'D-TAN' Trademark, Holds Mark Descriptive And Non-Distinctive

The Delhi High Court has directed cancellation of the registered trademark 'D-TAN' held by Visage Beauty and Health Care Pvt Ltd, ruling that the mark is descriptive of skin tan removal products and lacks the distinctiveness required for trademark protection.Justice Tushar Rao Gedela allowed a rectification petition filed by Honasa Consumer Ltd, the company behind 'AQUALOGICA'. The Court ordered the Registrar of Trademarks to remove the mark from the register within four weeks.The dispute arose...

Karnataka High Court Upholds Decree Directing MVJ College To Pay STP Contractor Dues

The Karnataka High Court has largely upheld a commercial court decree directing MVJ College of Engineering to pay outstanding amounts claimed by a contractor engaged to refurbish and maintain the institution's sewage treatment plant (STP). The court, however, reduced the amount payable towards refurbishment works after accounting for tax deducted at source (TDS). A Division Bench of Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice C.M. Poonacha partly allowed the college's appeal. It reduced the...

Service Tax Cannot Be Levied By Treating Maintenance Of Minimum Balance As Consideration For Banking Services: Karnataka HC

The Karnataka High court has held that maintenance of a Minimum Average Balance (MAB) in a bank account is merely a contractual condition and cannot be treated as "consideration" for banking services so as to attract service tax. A bench of Justice S.R. Krishna Kumar quashed show-cause notices issued to Canara Bank, Bank of Baroda (formerly Vijaya Bank), Karnataka Bank and another bank over the proposed levy of service tax on facilities extended to customers maintaining minimum balances in...