PAN Misuse | Delhi High Court Quashes ₹3.91 Crore Income Tax Demand Against Security Guard

The Delhi High Court has quashed an income tax assessment order raising a demand of approximately ₹3.91 crore against a contractual security guard, observing that the assessment was based solely on portal data without any independent inquiry to establish his connection with the alleged transactions.The Division Bench of Justices Dinesh Mehta and Aditi Choudhary held that the assessment violated the principles of natural justice, as the Assessing Officer failed to provide the material relied upon...

Delhi High Court Refuses To Quash ₹8.12 Crore Income Tax Reassessment Notice Against Pernod Ricard

The Delhi High Court has refused to quash an income tax reassessment notice issued to Pernod Ricard India Private Limited, the maker of popular liquor brands Royal Stag and Blenders Pride, over an alleged discrepancy of more than ₹8 crore between its turnover declared in Value Added Tax (VAT) returns and its income tax records for the assessment year 2013-14.The Division Bench of Justices Dinesh Mehta and Aditi Choudhary dismissed the company's writ petition challenging the notice issued under...

Calcutta High Court Refuses ITC Exemption From Pre-Litigation Mediation In Counterfeit Cigarette Case

The Calcutta High Court has dismissed ITC Limited's appeal against a Single Judge's refusal to exempt its trademark and copyright suit from pre-litigation mediation under Section 12A of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015.The court said that the plaint did not show the urgent interim relief needed to bypass mediation.A Division Bench of Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty and Justice Partha Pratim Roy passed the order on October 12, 2026, in an appeal against the September 8, 2026 judgment wherein the...

Delhi High Court Blocks 20 Rogue Websites Streaming DAZN's Serie A Football Matches

The Delhi High Court has restrained 20 rogue websites, including Stremeo.ru, from streaming DAZN's exclusively licensed Serie A Football Season 2026-27 matches, and directed domain name registrars and ISPs to block them.The Court also allowed DAZN to have newly discovered mirror sites blocked in real time.Justice Tejas Karia passed the ad-interim order on October 12 in a suit filed by DAZN Limited, which seeks a permanent injunction against infringement of its broadcast reproduction rights.DAZN...

VAT Payment Doesn't Exempt Fit-Out Charges From Service Tax, CENVAT Credit Allowed: Madras High Court

The Madras High Court on 12 October held that payment of Value Added Tax (VAT) on fit-out charges does not automatically exempt the same transaction from service tax. Further, a portion of the consideration for leased office premises must be attributed to fit-outs provided under the lease agreements. A Division Bench comprising Justices Anita Sumanth and C. Kumarappan upheld CENVAT credit claimed by Ascendas IT Park (Chennai) Ltd. on specified input services, while deciding an appeal filed by...

Dupattas Made Of Woven Fabric Exempt From Tax As Fibres Under TNVAT Act: Madras High Court

The Madras High Court on 7 October held that dupattas made of woven fabric fall under the exemption for textile fabrics under the Tamil Nadu Value Added Tax (TNVAT) Act, 2006, and cannot be classified as fibres for taxation. A Division Bench comprising Justices Anita Sumanth and K. Rajasekar allowed three tax case revisions filed by Vedant Fashions Pvt. Ltd., and set aside the 4% tax levy on dupattas for the assessment years 2009-10, 2010-11 and 2011-12. The judges held: “A dupatta cannot, by...

Delhi High Court Protects Amazon's Upcoming Film 'Nayyi Naveli' From Online Piracy Ahead Of Release

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday protected Amazon's upcoming film “Nayyi Naveli” against piracy, directing that it not be broadcast or streamed without authorisation by rogue websites once it is released.Justice Vikas Mahajan passed the directions on a suit by Amazon Seller Services Private Limited against cinemalux.baby and other such rogue websites and their operators.Amazon told the court it feared the film would be pirated and put online soon after release. The horror-comedy, directed...

Rajasthan High Court Restores Canara Bank's Recovery Suit, Faults Court For Denying Chance To Remove Defects

The Rajasthan High Court has criticised the “undue haste” with which a Commercial Court handled a Canara Bank recovery suit, noting that the bank was not given adequate opportunity to remove procedural defects before the suit was dismissed.“One fails to understand the undue haste and alacrity with which the office of the Commercial Court as well the Court itself acted. Such swiftness, coupled with the fact that the learned Commercial Court also did not grant any opportunity to the appellant by...

Charitable Hospital Cannot Be Denied Income Tax Exemption For Charging Patients, Making Surplus: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court has ruled that a hospital seeking income tax exemption on philanthropic grounds cannot be denied the benefit merely because it earns a surplus, charges patients for treatment, or collects professional fees on behalf of consultant doctors. The question is whether its actual activities and use of funds establish that it exists solely for philanthropic purposes and not for profit.A division bench of Justice B.P. Colabawalla and Justice Farhan P. Dubash set aside orders passed...

Madras High Court Restrains Online Piracy Of Rajinikanth's 'Jailer 2' Ahead Of Release

The Madras High Court on Tuesday restrained unauthorised copying and streaming of Rajinikanth-starrer Jailer 2, scheduled for release on October 15, in an interim injunction granted to producer Sun TV Network Limited. Justice P.B. Balaji, by an order dated October 13, also directed internet service providers and other concerned service providers to block access to identified piracy websites and additional mirror, redirect and alphanumeric URL variants notified by Sun TV or its authorised...

Delhi High Court Allows GST Appeal Without Full Pre-Deposit Over Overlapping Demands

The Delhi High Court has permitted a taxpayer to approach the appellate authority with an application seeking exemption from the statutory pre-deposit requirement, to the extent the GST demand is alleged to overlap with an earlier demand.The division bench of Justices Anil Khetarpal and Bharat Parashar was hearing a plea by M/s Forever Exim India Private Limited seeking restoration of its writ petition challenging a GST order dated August 30, 2024.Petitioner submitted that parallel proceedings...

Uttarakhand High Court Restrains Use Of 'SWARNIKA' Mark Pending Suit Over Similarity With 'SUNAREKA'

The Uttarakhand High Court on 7 October held that a court must assess competing trademarks as a whole while determining deceptive similarity, and restrained jeweller Poonam Bhatt from using “SWARNIKA” pending the disposal of a suit alleging infringement of Deepanshu Bansal's registered mark “SUNAREKA”. Justice Ravindra Maithani allowed Bansal's appeal against the trial court's refusal to grant an interim injunction, holding that the Bench could not disregard similarities between the marks...