No Appeal If Commercial Court Refuses To Return Plaint For Lack of Jurisdiction: Karnataka High Court

On 29 January, the Karnataka High Court dismissed an appeal filed by Trinetramilan Product Protection Solutions Pvt. Ltd., a packaging company, ruling that parties cannot immediately challenge a Commercial Court's decision to retain jurisdiction over a dispute. The Division Bench of Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice C.M. Poonacha was hearing an appeal filed by Trinetramilan against a suit by Milan Packaging. It held that an appeal under Section 13(1A) of the Commercial Courts Act,...

Calcutta High Court Upholds Service Tax On C&F and Transport of Steel, Excludes Bending & Bundling

On 4 February, the Calcutta High Court held that service tax applies to “Clearing and Forwarding” (C&F) services and transport expenses for steel products. The Court clarified that activities such as transporting, storing, forwarding, and record-keeping fall within the scope of C&F services, while bending, bundling, and stock verification of goods do not. A Division Bench of Justices Rajasekhar Mantha and Ajay Kumar Gupta dismissed an appeal by Naresh Kumar & Co., which claimed...

Suit For Specific Performance Of Agreement To Sell Shops Used For Business Is Commercial Dispute: Rajasthan High Court

The Rajasthan High Court has recently held that a suit seeking specific performance of an agreement to sell shops that were already being used for business cannot be tried by a regular civil court and must be placed before a Commercial Court. Justice Sanjeet Purohit, while dismissing an appeal against a trial court order, made it clear that once a dispute falls within the Commercial Courts Act, the civil court lacks jurisdiction to try the suit. The Court held, “When facts establish that the...

Mandatory Pre-Deposit For SARFAESI Appeal Applies To Mortgagor Who Secured Another's Loan: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court has clarified that, in the facts before it, a person who mortgages property to secure another party's loan is treated as a “borrower” under the SARFAESI Act and must comply with the mandatory pre-deposit before an appeal can be heard by the Debts Recovery Appellate Tribunal. A Division Bench of Justices R.I. Chagla and Farhan P. Dubash said the statute leaves no scope to exclude such mortgagors from the deposit requirement. “We are of the view that there is no need and...

Police Security Services Exempt From Service Tax Prior To June 2012: Madras High Court

The Madras High Court has allowed a plea seeking service tax exemption for police guard charges and escort duties, holding that such activities carried out by the State Police do not fall within the service tax net prior to 1 June 2012.A Division Bench of Justice Anita Sumanth and Justice Mummineni Sudheer, in a judgment delivered on 12 December 2025, examined service tax liability by referring to the definition of 'person' under the General Clauses Act.They noted that the Service Tax law...

Delhi High Court To Pass Interim Order Protecting Vivek Oberoi's Personality Rights

The Delhi High Court on Friday said it would issue an interim order safeguarding the personality rights of actor and entrepreneur Vivek Oberoi. The observation was made by Justice Tushar Rao Gedela when advocate Sana Raees Khan appeared on behalf of Oberoi in a suit seeking protection against misuse of his identity. At the beginning of the hearing, the judge remarked, “We will pass orders.” When Khan asked whether submissions were required, the court replied, “Do you need to make any submission...

GST Appellate Authority Cannot Invoke Limitation Act To Condone Delay Beyond One Month: Rajasthan High Court

The Rajasthan High Court has recently held that a GST appellate authority cannot condone delay beyond one additional month after the expiry of the three-month statutory period for filing an appeal, even if sufficient cause is shown. Setting out the law, the court ruled that Section 107(4) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, permits the Appellate Authority to condone delay only up to one month and that it can't take recourse to Section 5 of the Limitation Act to extend that period...

Rajasthan High Court Upholds Injunction Over 'DURGA' Mustard Oil Trademark, Cites Public Interest

The Rajasthan High Court has declined to interfere with an interim injunction restraining the use of the trademark “DURGA” for mustard oil. The court said trademark infringement affects not just the parties to the dispute but also consumers and the wider public, as it can cause confusion and deception. A Division Bench of Justices Arun Monga and Yogendra Kumar Purohit dismissed an appeal challenging an order of the commercial court that had granted a temporary injunction against the...

Delhi High Court Cuts TDS To 0.5% for UK Company Travelport, Sets Aside 1.6% Certificate

The Delhi High Court has granted partial relief to UK-based travel technology company Travelport International Operations Limited by setting aside a tax withholding certificate that required deduction of tax at 1.6%. A division bench of Justices Dinesh Mehta and Vinod Kumar directed the tax authorities to issue a fresh certificate providing deduction of tax at a reduced rate of 0.5%.Travelport, a United Kingdom tax resident, provides electronic global distribution services to the travel industry...

Delhi High Court Quashes Tax Demand On NGO, Raps Revenue for 'Taking Advantage' Of Taxpayer's Ignorance

The Delhi High Court has granted tax exemption to the International Buddhist Confederation, a Non-Governmental Organisation holding that tax authorities can't deny statutory benefits merely because of an inadvertent disclosure error made in the income tax return. A division bench of Justices Dinesh Mehta and Vinod Kumar also criticised the Revenue for taking advantage of the assessee's ignorance of his rights while passing the scrutiny assessment.Briefly put, the NGO filed its income tax return...

Arbitral Tribunals Cannot Grant Equity-Based Relief Unless Authorised By Contract: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court has held that arbitral tribunals must decide disputes strictly in accordance with the contract and applicable law and cannot grant relief based on "notions of equity or fairness" unless the parties have expressly authorised such an approach. Setting aside an arbitral award directing a refund of brokerage, the court held that arbitrators are not courts of law empowered to dispense equitable relief and that once transactions are held to be authorised, their contractual...

Delhi High Court Awards ₹20 Lakh Damages To Hero Electric Vehicles Against Rogue Website Misusing Its Mark

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday awarded Rs 20 lakh in damages and Rs 3 lakh in litigation costs to Hero Electric Vehicles Private Limited while decreeing a trademark infringement suit over a dealership scam run through a rogue website. Justice Tushar Rao Gedela also granted a permanent injunction restraining the defendants from unauthorised use of Hero Electric's registered trademarks and copyrighted works. The court found that the defendants had posed as the company and cheated innocent...