NTA Committee's Approval Not Needed Before SARFAESI Action Against Property Of Person With Disability: Kerala HC

The Kerala High Court has held that a secured creditor proceeding under the SARFAESI Act is not required to obtain prior permission from the Local Level Committee constituted under the National Trust Act before proceeding against property in which a ward (a person with specified disabilities) has an interest. Justice P.V. Balakrishnan made the observation while dismissing a writ petition challenging SARFAESI proceedings initiated by Canara Bank against secured assets in which the second...

Developer Cannot Postpone Conveyance Until Completion Of Entire Layout Development: Bombay High Court

Conveyance of land in favour of a co-operative housing society cannot be postponed until completion of an entire layout development, the Bombay High Court has reiterated while setting aside an order that rejected a society's deemed conveyance application as premature. Justice Sandeep V. Marne observed, “This Court has already held that conveyance cannot be postponed till completion of entire layout development and that land can be conveyed in favour of the Petitioner-Society even before...

Delhi High Court Restrains Okaya Dealers From Circulating Defamatory Ads Against Microtek Trademarks

The Delhi High Court on 10 June granted an interim injunction and restrained several Okaya dealers and employees from circulating disparaging and defamatory advertisements against the registered trademarks of Microtek International Private Limited. Justice Neena Bansal Krishna heard the matter and restrained Defendants 1 to 6, including authorised dealers, distributors and branch personnel of Okaya operating across Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and other States, from displaying or circulating the...

Partial Settlement On Interest In Arbitration Not Binding On All Claims: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court on 26 May held that a partial settlement reached during arbitral proceedings fixing interest for specific claims cannot bind all pending claims and counter-claims, and the Arbitral Tribunal retains full discretion under Section 31(7)(b) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. A Bench of Justice Jasmeet Singh dismissed cross petitions under Section 34 of the Act arising from a dispute between Atlanta Infra Assets Ltd. and the National Highways Authority of India...

Cheque Bounce Cases Cannot Be Allowed To Degenerate Into 'Interminable Litigation': Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court has observed that proceedings in cheque dishonour cases cannot be allowed to "degenerate into interminable litigation", while dealing with a complaint instituted in 2004 that remained pending for more than two decades. Justice C.S. Dias made the observation while dismissing a petition filed by the accused seeking to stay and quash the prosecution and directing the Trial Court to dispose of the complaint within two months. “The object of Chapter XVII of the Negotiable...

Delhi High Court Protects DIZEST Trademark, Bars Use Of “CelsiusDizest” By Celsius Healthcare

The Delhi High Court on 5 June granted an ex parte ad interim injunction in favour of DWD Pharmaceuticals, restraining Celsius Healthcare Pvt. Ltd. from using the trademark “CelsiusDizest” or any other mark deceptively similar to DWD Pharmaceuticals' registered DIZEST mark. A Vacation Bench of Justice Saurabh Banerjee held that the defendant had incorporated the plaintiff's entire mark for identical pharmaceutical products, and that such use was likely to cause confusion. He observed: “The...

Bombay HC Quashes GST Demand Raised Through Single Notice Covering Multiple Financial Years

The Bombay High Court has recently set aside a GST demand of about ₹2.54 crore raised through a single show cause notice spanning more than four years. The Court held that the proceedings were without jurisdiction. A Division Bench of Justice Nitin B. Suryawanshi and Justice Vaishali Patil-Jadhav allowed a petition filed by Rithwik Projects Private Limited. The Bench observed that the controversy was already covered by earlier decisions of the Court, particularly Milroc Good Earth Developers v....

Courts Cannot Grant Unconditional Stay Of Arbitral Money Awards Without Exceptional Case: MP High Court

The Madhya Pradesh High Court on 27 May held that courts cannot grant an unconditional stay on the execution of an arbitral money award unless the award is vitiated by fraud or corruption or the award debtor establishes an “exceptional case”. A Division Bench of Justices Vivek Jain and Ajay Kumar Nirankari allowed the petition filed by Lite Bite Foods Pvt. Ltd., set aside the District Court's order granting an unconditional stay in favour of the Airports Authority of India (AAI), holding that...

Kerala HC Stays NH 66 Compensation Arbitration, Prima Facie Questions District Collector's Eligibility As Arbitrator

The Kerala High Court has recently stayed an order of the Ernakulam District Collector and directed that arbitration proceedings concerning compensation for land acquired for the widening of National Highway 66 remain in abeyance. The court found that the landowner had made out a strong prima facie case in challenging the Collector's continuation as arbitrator in the dispute. Justice C. Jayachandran passed the interim order while considering a writ petition filed by a landowner whose...

Madras High Court Temporarily Restrains CADD Centre Software Systems From Using 'CADD Centre' Name and Logo

The Madras High Court has granted an interim injunction restraining CADD Centre Software Systems Private Limited from using the trademark/logo "CADD CENTRE" and the word "CADD Centre". The court held that the use of the same name by businesses engaged in software-related activities would create confusion in the minds of the public. Justice K Kumaresh Babu passed the order on June 1 while considering applications moved by CADD Centre Training Services Private Limited. The company has been...

“Banks Are Dealing With Public Money”: Karnataka High Court Calls for Strict Adherence To RBI Guidelines

The Karnataka High Court recently observed that banks dealing with public money must exercise utmost caution while conducting their business and strictly follow RBI guidelines and internal circulars. The court warned that departures from prescribed procedures can adversely affect a bank's financial operations, create chaos in the banking system, and ultimately impact the country's economy. A Division Bench of Justice D.K. Singh and Justice T.M. Nadaf made the observation while setting aside...

Gujarat High Court Revives YMCA's ₹9.39 Crore Service Tax Refund Claim Rejected As Time-Barred

The Gujarat High Court has recently set aside an order rejecting the Young Men's Christian Association's refund claim for financial years 2009-10 to 2012-13 as time-barred and directed the authorities to reconsider the claim on merits. A division bench of Justice A.S. Supehia and Justice Vaibhavi D. Nanavati was hearing a petition challenging an order that denied refund of ₹9.39 crore claimed by the association for FYs 2009-10 to 2012-13 while allowing a refund claim of ₹26.66 lakh for FY...