Punjab and Haryana High Court Bars Coercive Recovery Action Against Firm After VAT Records 'Burnt In Fire'

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has restrained the Punjab tax department from taking coercive recovery action against a proprietorship firm over a legacy VAT demand, after the state told the court that the assessment record had been destroyed in a fire. A Division Bench of Justice Lisa Gill and Justice Ramesh Chander Dimri recorded the State's submission that the assessment order against Swastika Insulation was not available with the department, as the record was “stated to have been burnt.” ...

'Prejudice From Delay Ignored': Delhi High Court Cuts Insolvency Professional's Suspension To Period Undergone

Holding that prolonged delay in disciplinary proceedings had already caused serious prejudice, the Delhi High Court has reduced a one-year suspension imposed by the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) on insolvency professional Vikas Prakash Gupta to the period already undergone. Justice Sachin Datta underscored that “Administrative authorities are required to act within a reasonable period, and any prolonged delay must be justified by cogent reasons.” While noting that the...

RERA Cannot Examine Municipal Completion Certificates Issued Before It Came Into Force: Chhattisgarh High Court

The Chhattisgarh High Court has recently held that the Real Estate Regulatory Authority has no jurisdiction to examine or question completion certificates issued by municipal authorities before May 1, 2017, when the substantive provisions of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, came into force. "Prima facie, a real estate project which has been certified as complete under the applicable municipal law prior to the enforcement of the RERA regime in the State of Chhattisgarh...

Delhi High Court Intervenes Against CESTAT Release Order On 53 Kgs Of Imported Gold

The Delhi High Court on 16 January 2026 issued an ad-interim order, effectively intervening against a CESTAT order which had granted the provisional release of gold to Shree Gold Art Pvt. Ltd.Justice Nitin Wasudeo Sambre and Justice Ajay Digpaul noted that prima facie, the Tribunal order dated 17 March 2025, had failed to consider the fact and legal effect of 53 kilograms of imported gold being kept in unauthorised custody for four days, from 13 August 2020 to 17 August 2020 The...

Calcutta High Court Sets Aside Arbitral Award Against Company Officials Without Impleading Companies

The Calcutta High Court has set aside an arbitral award after finding that it was passed against two officials of state-owned power companies instead of the companies that were parties to the arbitration agreement. A Division Bench of Justices Debangsu Basak and Md. Shabbar Rashidi held that the award, which fastened liability on the managing director of Bihar State Power Generation Company Limited and the chairman of Bihar State Power Holding Company Limited, could not be sustained since the...

Tax Authority Cannot Deny Interest Waiver Through A Cryptic Order: Karnataka High Court

The Karnataka High Court recently held that a tax authority cannot deny a taxpayer's request for interest waiver through a cryptic order. It must pass a reasoned, speaking order after objectively examining whether the income could have been anticipated at the relevant time. A Bench of Justice K.S. Hemalekha, partly allowed a writ petition filed by Kanhaiyalal Dudheria (petitioner) and partially set aside an order of the Chief Commissioner of Income Tax, that allowed waiver of the second and...

Superintendent Cannot Adjudicate Cases Involving Extended Limitation: Calcutta High Court

The Calcutta High Court on 2 February held that cases that invoke the extended period of limitation are expressly excluded from the adjudicatory powers of a Superintendent, even if the demand falls within their monetary limit. Justice Om Narayan Rai, allowed a writ petition filed by the partners of Radiant Security, challenging an order by which the Superintendent, CGST, demanded service tax of Rs. 72,000 along with education cess and secondary and higher secondary cess, and imposed penalties...

Kerala High Court Sets Aside Arbitral Award For Relying On Findings Of Set-Aside Award

The Kerala High Court has recently set aside an arbitral award after holding that the arbitrator committed a jurisdictional error by treating findings from an earlier arbitral award, which had already been set aside, as 'alive and final.'A bench comprising Chief Justice Soumen Sen and Justice Syam Kumar V. M. observed the arbitrator was required to consider the dispute afresh but failed to do so. Instead, the arbitrator proceeded on the assumption that conclusions recorded in the earlier...

No Additions On Mere Suspicion When Shareholders In Capital Assessments Are Traceable: Calcutta High Court

The Calcutta High Court on 4 February held that in share capital assessments, income tax additions cannot be sustained on mere suspicion, when the investors are identifiable, the taxpayers and share subscriptions are backed by audited records, and clear there are clear banking trails for transactions. A Division Bench of Justice Rajarshi Bharadwaj and Justice Uday Kumar dismissed an appeal filed by the Principal Commissioner of Income Tax, Kolkata, against Express Tradelink Pvt. Ltd....

Copyright Suit Cannot Be Dismissed For Local Commissioner Visiting Additional Premises: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has ruled that a copyright suit cannot be dismissed merely because the Local Commissioner appointed visited the additional premises beyond judicial mandate. A division bench comprising Justice C Hari Shankar and Justice Om Prakash Shukla said that it is normal for a court to authorise the Local Commissioner not only to visit the premises disclosed in the plaint but also any other premises at which infringing goods may be found to be present. The Court was dealing with an...

BREAKING | Madras High Court Dismisses Actor Vijay's Plea Challenging Rs 1.5 Crore Penalty In Undisclosed Income Case

The Madras High Court on Friday dismissed a plea by actor-turned-politician Vijay challenging a Rs 1.5 crore penalty imposed on him by the Income Tax Department in connection with alleged undisclosed income of Rs 15 crore for the financial year 2015–16.The judgment was pronounced by a single judge, Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy, after reserving the same on January 23, 2026.The court noted that the show cause notice was passed within the time limit prescribed under Section 263 of the Income...

Summary Judgment Is 'Exceptional In Nature', Must Be Used With Prudence In Commercial Cases: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has set aside a summary decree passed by a Commercial Court, holding that disputes over rent and consultancy fees could not have been decided without a full trial. A division bench of Justices Anil Kshetarpal and Amit Mahajan said the power of summary judgment under Order XIII-A of the Civil Procedure Code is “exceptional in nature” and must be exercised with prudence. The court said, “The provision does not contemplate dispensation of trial merely because documents...