Bombay High Court Cancels C21 Trademarks Registered by Century 21 Town Planners, Cites Dishonest Adoption

The Bombay High Court has allowed rectification petitions filed by Century 21 Real Estate LLC and ordered cancellation of four trademark registrations for the mark “C21” obtained by Century 21 Town Planners Pvt Ltd, holding that the respondent's adoption of the mark was dishonest and intended to ride on the petitioner's goodwill.“The contention that the marks are dissimilar needs only to be stated to be rejected. This contention once again brings to the fore the dishonesty and inconsistency in...

Reverse Passing Off Foreign To Indian Trademark Jurisprudence, Not Enforceable: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court on Monday ruled that the tort of “reverse passing off” is foreign to Indian trademark jurisprudence and does not create an enforceable cause of action under the Trade Marks Act. The court dismissed appeals filed by Western Digital and Seagate against refurbishers who remove original brand labels from used hard disk drives and sell them under new brands. A Division Bench of Justice C. Hari Shankar and Justice Om Prakash Shukla held that Indian trademark jurisprudence...

GST Summary Notice Cannot Replace Statutory Show Cause Notice: Gauhati High Court

The Gauhati High Court has held that a summary of a show cause notice issued in Form GST DRC-01 cannot substitute the requirement of a proper show cause notice under the GST law.Justice Soumitra Saikia quashed the order dated August 29, 2024, issued against the taxpayer, Md. Shoriful Islam, under the GST regime after observing that the tax authorities had only issued a summary of the show cause notice along with an attachment containing the determination of tax.The petitioner was issued a...

Service Tax Cannot Be Demanded Solely Based On Form 26AS Data Without Inquiry: Gauhati High Court

The Gauhati High Court on 20 February, held that the Revenue Department cannot demand Service Tax from a taxpayer, solely on the basis of information provided in Form 26AS. The Division Bench of Justice Michael Zothankhuma and Justice Shamima Jahan heard an appeal filed by the Principal Commissioner of CGST, Dibrugarh, against a CESTAT Kolkata order that had set aside a service tax demand of Rs. 6,39,09,190 imposed on a contractor. The Bench held: “The show cause notice dated 21.10.2019 and...

Gauhati High Court Allows Writ Despite Arbitration Clause After Finding ESIC's Action In GeM Contract Arbitrary

The Gauhati High Court has recently allowed a writ petition against ESIC authorities over non-payment of dues under a government procurement contract, despite the existence of an arbitration clause, after finding the state authority's conduct arbitrary.The observation came in a case arising out of a Government e-Marketplace procurement in which an ESIC hospital withheld payment even after issuing an acceptance certificate for medical equipment supplied under the contract. The court directed the...

Madras High Court Upholds Same-Month ISD Credit Rule Under CGST, Dismisses Reliance Jio's Challenge

The Madras High Court on 5 March upheld the validity of Rule 39(1)(a) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017, which mandates that an Input Service Distributor (ISD) must allocate tax credits within the same month in which an invoice is received. A Bench comprising Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava and Justice G. Arul Murugan was hearing a batch of writ petitions filed by Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd, challenging the provision governing the timing of distribution of Input Service...

Bombay High Court Protects Shilpa Shetty's Personality Rights, Orders Removal of AI Deepfakes

The Bombay High Court has recently granted protection to the personality rights of the renowned actress Shilpa Shetty Kundra, ordering the removal of AI-generated deepfakes and restraining commercial entities from the unauthorized use of her likeness.On March 4, 2026, Justice Sharmila U. Deshmukh stated that the actress's personality attributes are protectable elements that cannot be commercially exploited without her express consent. The Court observed that the creation of pornographic and...

Gujarat High Court Grants Bail To Lawyer Accused Of Filing GST Return For 'Non-Existent, Fake Entities'

The Gujarat High Court recently granted bail to an advocate who was arrested for allegedly filing GST returns for firms that are claimed to be non-existent, fake entities.Sanghani has been booked under Sections 132 (1)(b) (whoever issues any invoice or bill without supply of goods or services or both in violation of the provisions of the Act, or the rules made thereunder leading to wrongful availment or utilisation of input tax credit or refund of tax), and 132 (1) (c) (whoever avails input tax...

DTVSV Scheme 2024 Inapplicable To Reassessments Arising From Search Proceedings: Gujarat High Court

The Gujarat High Court on 18 February held that taxpayers whose reassessment proceedings arise from incriminating material discovered during search operations under Sections 132 or 132A of the Income Tax Act are not eligible to avail the benefit of the Direct Tax Vivad Se Vishwas (DTVSV) Scheme, 2024. A Division Bench of Justice A.S. Supehia and Justice Pranav Trivedi dismissed a batch of writ petitions led by Radha Madhav Eco-Industrial Park, which challenged the rejection of their...

Companies Too Can Claim 'Own Name' Defence Against Trademark Infringement: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court has held that the defence available under Section 35 of the Trade Marks Act, 1999, which protects the bona fide use of one's own name, is not confined only to natural persons and can also be invoked by a corporate entity where the name used reflects the surname of its promoters. A division bench of Justices Bharati Dangre and R. N. Laddha made the observation while allowing an appeal filed by Kataria Insurance Brokers Pvt. Ltd. against an interim injunction granted in...

Hinglish Word Blend Not Inherently Distinctive: Bombay High Court Refuses Injunction Against Tata Play's Astro Duniya Mark

Observing that the blending of Hindi and English is common in India's linguistic landscape, the Bombay High Court has held that a combination of a clipped English word with a Hindi word does not, prima facie, make a trademark inherently distinctive. “The combination of the clipped version of the English word with the Hindi word prima facie does not make it inherently distinctive in our country where there is tendency of blending Hindi and English and spoken as such,” Justice Sharmila U....

Bombay High Court Sets Aside Interim 'ELDER' Trademark Injunction Granted To Elder Projects Against Elder Nutraceuticals

The Bombay High Court on Monday vacated an ex-parte ad-interim injunction granted to Elder Projects Ltd in a trademark infringement suit against its group company, Elder Nutraceuticals Pvt. Ltd., holding that the plaintiff had suppressed material facts while seeking injunction without notice to the opposing party. Justice Sandeep V. Marne noted that the injunction, granted on September 26, 2025, restrained Elder Nutraceuticals Pvt Ltd from using the mark “ELDER” or any deceptively similar mark...