Madras High Court Upholds Notification Applying Excise Act Recovery Provision To Clean Environment Cess

The Madras High Court has upheld a Central Government notification applying provisions of the Central Excise Act, including those governing recovery of duties not levied or short-paid, to Clean Environment Cess. A Division Bench of Justice G. R. Swaminathan and Justice R. Kalaimathi held that the expression “levy” in the Finance Act, 2010 includes the processes of assessment and collection, allowing the government to extend recovery provisions of the Central Excise Act to the cess through...

Affiliation Fees Collected By Universities From Colleges Liable To GST: Madras High Court

The Madras High Court has held that affiliation fees collected by universities from colleges are liable to Goods and Services Tax (GST). The Court ruled that such services do not fall within the GST exemption for services relating to the admission of students or the conduct of examinations.The Division Bench comprising Justice G. Jayachandran and Justice K. K. Ramakrishnan answered a reference arising from writ petitions filed by Bharathidasan University challenging GST notices issued by the...

Delhi High Court Bars Ex-Franchisee From Using 'Moti Mahal' Trademark After Franchise Termination

The Delhi High Court has granted an ex-parte ad interim injunction in favour of Moti Mahal Legendary Hospitality, restraining Sant Foods, a former franchisee, from using the “MOTI MAHAL” trademark after the termination of their commercial agreement. The Court observed that once a franchise agreement is terminated, the former franchisee retains no legal right to operate a restaurant using the trademarked name.On February 25, 2026, Justice Jyoti Singh observed that the company had established...

Madras High Court Protects '777 Oil' Trademark, Sets Aside Order Dismissing Infringement Suit

The Madras High Court on Friday protected the trademark “777 Oil” used for a Siddha medicinal oil to treat psoriasis, setting aside a single judge's decision that had dismissed an infringement suit filed by J.R.K's Research and Pharmaceuticals against Sanjeevi Pharma. In a judgment pronounced on March 6, 2026, Justice C.V. Karthikeyan and Justice K. Kumaresh Babu allowed the company's appeal, holding that the earlier judgment suffered from “perversity,” and decreed the suit with a permanent...

Limitation For TDS Default Orders Runs Quarter-Wise, Not Annually: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court has recently held that limitation for passing an order treating a person responsible for deducting tax at source as an “assessee in default” under Section 201 of the Income Tax Act must be computed quarter-wise based on the filing of each TDS statement, and not on an annual or cumulative basis. A Division Bench of Justice M.S. Karnik and Justice Gautam A. Ankhad on March 5, 2026 dismissed the Income Tax Department's appeal against Vodafone Cellular Ltd., Pune. In doing...

Madras High Court Rejects Lahari Recording's Claim Over Satellite Telecast of Telugu-Dubbed 'Roja'

The Madras High Court has dismissed appeals filed by Lahari Recording Co. Pvt. Ltd. over the satellite telecast of the Telugu-dubbed version of Roja, the Mani Ratnam-directed Tamil film that became one of Indian cinema's most recognisable titles of the 1990s. The company had sought to block the broadcast and claim Rs 1 crore in damages, arguing that the telecast infringed its rights in the dubbed version. A division bench of Justice C.V. Karthikeyan and Justice K. Kumaresh Babu, in a judgment...

Assignment Of Leasehold Rights Is Transfer of Immovable Property, Not Taxable as GST Supply: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court at Nagpur, recently following a Gujarat High Court ruling, has held that assignment of leasehold rights in an industrial plot amounts to transfer of benefits arising out of immovable property and does not constitute “supply of services” under the GST law, and therefore GST cannot be levied on such transactions. A division bench of Justices Anil L. Pansare and Nivedita P. Mehta passed the ruling while allowing a writ petition filed by Vidarbha Beverages and its partners...

Bombay High Court Sets Aside Customs Orders On IGST Refund Interest To Jindal Drugs, Directs Fresh Determination

The Bombay High Court has recently set aside orders passed by customs authorities determining the interest payable on an IGST refund to Jindal Drugs Pvt. Ltd., holding that the authorities failed to explain how the interest had been calculated under Section 56 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. A division bench of Justice G. S. Kulkarni and Justice Aarti Sathe found that the impugned orders contained no reasoning showing that the statutory provision governing interest on delayed...

Participation Cannot Cure Ineligibility: Bombay High Court Sets Aside Awards By Unilaterally Appointed Arbitrator

The Bombay High Court has recently reiterated that arbitral awards passed by an arbitrator unilaterally appointed by one party are liable to be set aside and that such illegality cannot be cured merely because the opposing party participated in the arbitration proceedings without raising an objection. Applying the Supreme Court's recent ruling in Bhadra International (India) Pvt. Ltd. v. Airports Authority of India, the court further reiterated that waiver of an arbitrator's ineligibility under...

Groundless Threat Suit Over Trademark Infringement Cannot Continue Once Infringement Case Is Filed: Calcutta High Court

The Calcutta High Court has recently observed that once the proprietor of a trademark or copyright institutes an infringement suit with due diligence, the cause of action in a suit alleging groundless threats automatically extinguishes.On January 30, 2026, Justice Ravi Krishan Kapur dismissed a 'threat suit' filed by Neelam Gupta against Esme Consumer Private Limited because the company had, subsequent to the filing of the suit, commenced a formal infringement action in a Delhi court. Under...

Arbitral Award Declared Unenforceable During Execution Proceedings Is Akin To Being Set Aside: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court has recently held that when an arbitral award is declared unenforceable during execution proceedings, the legal effect is akin to the award being set aside, and fresh arbitral proceedings can be initiated only after issuing a fresh notice invoking arbitration under Section 21 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. Closing a batch of arbitration requests as premature, a single bench of Justice S. Manu said that once an award is declared a nullity by a competent...

Value Of Materials Supplied Free Of Cost By Service Recipient For Manufacturing Not Taxable Under GST: Andhra Pradesh HC

The Andhra Pradesh High Court has recently reiterated that the value of materials supplied free of cost by a service recipient for manufacture of a product cannot be included in the taxable value under GST, setting aside a tax demand raised on a ready mix concrete supplier. A bench of Justice Cheekati Manavendranath Roy and Justice Tuhin Kumar Gedela observed that when components required for manufacturing a product are supplied free of cost, their value is not liable to tax. The Court...