Bombay HC Quashes SCNs Against Foreign Exporter, Says Customs Act Had No Extra-Territorial Reach Pre-2018

The Bombay High Court has quashed show cause notices issued by customs authorities against a German textile machinery manufacturer and its Indian subsidiary, holding that the notices were without jurisdiction and that a foreign exporter cannot be made liable for alleged misdeclaration by Indian importers for a period prior to the 2018 amendment to the Customs Act. A Bench of Justice G. S. Kulkarni and Justice Aarti Sathe held that proceedings initiated against a foreign entity situated outside...

Bombay High Court Orders Fresh Review of V Ships' GST Refund Plea, Says Nature Of Service Not Determined

The Bombay High Court has recently set aside orders rejecting GST refund claims of V Ships India Pvt. Ltd., holding that the appellate authority failed to examine the terms of the service agreement before deciding whether the company's services were exports or intermediary services. A Bench of Justice G. S. Kulkarni and Justice Aarti Sathe said the absence of any findings on the agreement, which was relevant to determining the nature of services, vitiated the appellate orders. V Ships India...

Gateway Of India Jetty Construction Dispute: Bombay HC Refuses To Stop ₹31.86 Cr Bank Guarantee Encashment

The Bombay High Court has recently declined to restrain the invocation and encashment of bank guarantees worth Rs 31.86 crore in a dispute between RKEC Projects Limited and the Maharashtra Maritime Board over the construction of a passenger jetty and terminal near the Gateway of India in Mumbai. The ruling came on a petition under Section 9 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, which allows courts to grant temporary protection until disputes are decided through arbitration, before...

Delhi High Court Partly Sets Aside Arbitral Award For Denying Pre-Reference Interest Without Reasons

The Delhi High Court has held that where an arbitrator, despite finding prolonged and unjustified delay by an insurer in settling a claim, fails to provide reasons as mandated under Section 31(3) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 for denying pre-reference interest, the award suffers from patent illegality and is liable to be set aside. Partly setting aside an award in a dispute between Panchanan International Private Limited and the Oriental Insurance Company Limited, a Bench of...

Delhi High Court Denies Injunction To Golfer Gurbaaz Mann, Finds No Prima Facie Copying In IGPL Event

The Delhi High Court on 10 April, dismissed an application for an interim injunction filed by professional golfer Gurbaaz Pratap Singh Mann, refusing to restrain entities from operating the “IGPL FLASH GOLF” tournament. Justice Tejas Karia held that while Mann owns a valid copyright in the literary work describing his golf format, he failed to establish a prima facie case of unauthorized copying by the organisers of the Indian Golf Premier League (IGPL). The Bench held:“...the Plaintiff has...

Bombay High Court Indicates It Will Pass Order Protecting Kartik Aaryan's Personality Rights

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday indicated that it will pass an order protecting the personality and publicity rights of Bollywood actor Kartik Aaryan, according to his counsel, who spoke to Live LawBiz. The relief would bein a suit alleging widespread digital misuse of his likeness through AI-generated content and unauthorised merchandise.The matter was heard by Justice Sharmila U. Deshmukh. Aaryan has moved the High Court seeking a broad John Doe injunction against 16 defendants, including...

LSG Owner and Industrialist Sanjiv Goenka Moves Delhi High Court Seeking Personality Rights Protection

Industrialist and owner of the IPL team Lucknow Super Giants, Sanjiv Goenka, has moved the Delhi High Court alleging misuse of his likeness through deepfakes and morphed content. A bench of Justice Tushar Rao Gedela was taken through multiple images and videos in which Goenka's face was allegedly superimposed to depict false incidents, including one suggesting he was “assaulting” team captain KL Rahul. Counsel for Goenka pointed to several URLs where his likeness had been used “to create an...

Delhi High Court Records Trimurti Films' Undertaking To Refrain From Making Media Statements In 'Oye Oye' Copyright Row

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday recorded an undertaking on behalf of Trimurti Films Private Limited to refrain from addressing the press or making public allegations in its ongoing copyright dispute with Aditya Dhar's B62 Studios and T-Series over the song “Oye Oye” included in the movie Dhurandhar 2, observing that such statements could derail court-ordered mediation. The undertaking was given during a hearing before Justice Tushar Rao Gedela after T-Series alleged that Trimurti's promoter,...

Patna High Court Sets Aside Award Based On Pleadings Alone Without Evidence, Cites Natural Justice

The Patna High Court has recently set aside an arbitral award and a subsequent order upholding it, holding that an award based solely on pleadings without proof of documents violates the principles of natural justice and cannot be sustained. It held that although arbitral proceedings are not bound by strict rules of evidence, ensuring that documents are properly admitted or denied; their contents are duly proved; and that parties are given a real opportunity to rebut the material relied upon,...

Rajasthan High Court Grants Electricity Duty Exemption For UltraTech's Captive Power Under Solar Policy 2019

The Rajasthan High Court has held that electricity duty exemption on captive consumption of solar power promised under the Solar Policy, 2019 cannot be withdrawn retrospectively so as to divest accrued rights, ruling that UltraTech Cement Ltd. and other petitioners are entitled to the benefit for projects commissioned prior to the amendment.A Division Bench of Justice Arun Monga and Justice Sunil Beniwal delivered the judgment. The dispute traces back to the State's amendment of the Solar...

Shareholder's Loss Of Control In Hotel Project During CIRP Not Deprivation Of Property Under Article 300A: Telangana HC

The Telangana High Court has upheld the State's decision to grant consent for a change in control of a Hyderabad hotel project under an insolvency resolution plan, holding that a shareholder cannot claim a vested right to retain control over the corporate debtor and that any loss suffered is merely a commercial consequence of the insolvency process, not a deprivation of property under Article 300A. "It cannot be construed as a deprivation of property dehors the authority of law. The appellant,...

Delhi High Court Declines Writ Against GST SCN Corrigendum Allegedly Expanding Tax Period, Cites Appeal Remedy

The Delhi High Court has recently declined to entertain a challenge to a corrigendum allegedly expanding the scope of a show cause notice by including an additional financial year, holding that such issues require factual examination and are not suited for adjudication under Article 226 when an efficacious statutory remedy is available. A Division Bench of Justices Nitin Wasudeo Sambre and Ajay Digpaul dismissed a writ petition filed by Manpar Icon Technologies challenging a show cause notice...