Timeline To Pass Arbitral Award Inapplicable If Arbitration Invoked Before 2015 Amendment: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court, in a family partnership dispute, has held that timelines introduced under the amended arbitration law for passing arbitral awards would not apply since arbitration had first been invoked before the amendment came into force. The 2015 amendment introduced a 12-month deadline for arbitral tribunals to make an award from the date they entered upon reference, extendable by six months with parties' consent. A division bench of Justices Prathiba M. Singh and Madhu Jain held,...

Commercial Courts Act Amendment Lowering Threshold To ₹3 Lakh Took Effect In 2018, Andhra Pradesh HC Rules In 2:1 Ruling

The Andhra Pradesh High Court has, by a 2:1 majority, held that Parliament's 2018 amendment lowering the minimum threshold for commercial disputes from ₹1 crore to ₹3 lakh took effect immediately, bringing such disputes within the commercial courts' framework without any separate State notification.The Court held that the threshold that determines whether a dispute qualifies as a commercial dispute (specified value) is distinct from the monetary limits that determine which court hears it...

Calcutta High Court Quashes PMLA Case Against Louis Dreyfus India In ₹234 Crore Bank Fraud Case

The Calcutta High Court on Friday (May 22) quashed money laundering proceedings initiated by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) against Louis Dreyfus Company India Private Limited, the Indian subsidiary of Dutch-French commodities giant Louis Dreyfus Company. The case arose out of an alleged bank fraud of about ₹234.57 crore investigated by the CBI. The ED had alleged that the company was involved in circular trading transactions linked to three Letters of Credit (LCs) and had unlawfully received...

Rajasthan HC Sets Aside 10-Year-Old Decree Restricting Use Of 'METRO ENGINE' Mark, Orders Fresh Trial

The Rajasthan High Court on 19 May set aside a 2016 Trial Court judgment that had restrained Dhanvarsha Oil Mills from using the mark “METRO ENGINE” for its mustard oil products. Justice Sameer Jain held that registration of a trademark under Section 31 of the Trade Marks Act only raises a rebuttable presumption of validity and cannot, by itself, sustain a decree for infringement without a full trial on contested issues and remanded the suit for fresh adjudication on a de novo basis. He...

Delhi High Court Restrains “keiekae.store” From Using IKEA Name, Logo And Website Interface

The Delhi High Court on 20 May passed the order in a suit filed by Inter IKEA Systems BV and granted interim protection against trademark and copyright infringement. Justice Jyoti Singh restrained the registrant of the domain name “keiekae.store” from using IKEA's registered trademarks and from replicating the layout and user interface of IKEA's official website. She directed that until the next date of hearing, the defendant shall not use the IKEA name or logo in any manner, including as part...

Cheque Bounce Conviction Cannot Be Reversed In Revision Over POA Pleading Defect: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court on 18 May 2026 held that a conviction in a cheque dishonour case under Section 138 of the NI Act, cannot be set aside at the revision stage merely on the ground that the complaint was filed through a power-of-attorney holder without an averment as to the attorney's personal knowledge of the transaction, unless the accused shows that the defect caused prejudice or resulted in a failure of justice.Justice G Girish noted that in the present case, the Chief Judicial Magistrate...

Delhi HC Upholds Temporary Injunction Against Dabur's Cool King Thanda Tael In Dispute With Emami

The Delhi High Court on Friday upheld a temporary injunction restraining Dabur India Limited from selling its 'Cool King Thanda Tael' cooling hair oil in a trade dress passing-off dispute with Emami Limited over its Navratna Oil.A Division Bench of Justice V. Kameswar Rao and Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora made the ruling observing, "Our aforesaid conclusion is based on the finding that the trade dress encompassing the overall visual appearance of the product including the lay-out, colour...

Landlord Cannot Recover Service Tax From Tenant Without Express Clause In Lease: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has ron Thursday held that a landlord cannot recover service tax from a tenant in the absence of an express covenant in the lease deed imposing such liability on the tenant. Justice Neena Bansal Krishna dismissed an appeal filed by landlords against a decree directing refund of ₹5.53 lakh deducted from the tenant's refundable security deposit towards alleged service tax dues.The dispute arose between Sunrider India Pvt Ltd and the landlords in relation to a commercial...

'Security Cheque' Not Statutorily Defined, Not Exempt From Cheque Bounce Proceedings: Himachal Pradesh HC

The Himachal Pradesh High Court has refused to quash cheque dishonour proceedings at the threshold in a case where the accused claimed the dishonoured cheque had been issued only as security. Justice Sandeep Sharma said a cheque described as a “security cheque” is not automatically excluded from cheque dishonour proceedings. “Needless to say, expression “Security Cheque” is not a statutorily defined expression in the Negotiable Instruments Act, rather same is to be inferred from the pleadings...

Delhi High Court Refuses To Enforce Unchallenged Arbitral Award Passed By Unilaterally Appointed Arbitrator

The Delhi High Court has refused to enforce an arbitral award, holding that the absence of a challenge to the award under Arbitration Act does not automatically make it enforceable if it is void for lack of jurisdiction. Justice Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar passed the ruling. “In the present case, the position regarding unilateral appointment of the learned Sole Arbitrator is not even disputed by the Decree Holder. Equally undisputed is the absence of any express waiver in writing, as...

Delhi High Court Orders YouTube To Remove Video Allegedly Showing Hindu Preacher Endorsing Satlok Ashram

The Delhi High Court has directed YouTube to take down a video that allegedly used morphed versions of Hindu preacher Sadhvi Deepika Bharti's original religious discourse without authorisation, while falsely portraying her as endorsing Sant Rampal Singh and Satlok Ashram Foundation. Justice Mini Pushkarna passed the order on May 18, 2026, in a suit filed by Sadhvi Deepika Bharti and Divya Jyoti Jagrati Sansthan. The Court observed, “this Court is of the view that a prima facie case has been...

Madhya Pradesh High Court Denies Bail To Tobacco Trader Accused Of ₹3.32 Crore Excise Duty Evasion

The Madhya Pradesh High Court at Gwalior has recently refused bail to a tobacco trader accused of evading around ₹3.32 crore in central excise duty by allegedly concealing tobacco packing machines and illegally manufacturing tobacco products. Justice Rajesh Kumar Gupta observed that the trader's claim that one of the two machines found during the search was non-functional could not, at this stage, weaken the prosecution case. “Mere oral assertion during search proceedings that the machine was...