Bombay High Court Refuses To Restrain Kangana Ranaut's 'Queen Full Power' Over Copyright Dispute

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday refused to restrain the making and release of Queen Full Power, a film starring Kangana Ranaut and directed by Vikas Bahl, in a suit filed by Phantom Studios India Pvt. Ltd., which claims 50% ownership of the intellectual property rights in the 2014 film Queen. Justice Sandeep V. Marne held that Phantom had failed to establish a prima facie case of passing off or breach of contract. The Court also found that Phantom had not demonstrated that the word “queen”...

NMC Founder BR Shetty Sues Bank Of Baroda For $15 Billion Over Alleged Fraud

Dr Bavaguthu Raghuram (B R) Shetty, founder of the NMC healthcare group and UAE Exchange, has filed a $15 billion (approximately ₹1.43 lakh crore) suit against Bank of Baroda and 25 others before the Bombay High Court, alleging that the bank facilitated a fraud that led to the collapse of his business empire.Shetty has sought $5 billion each in direct and consequential damages, including loss of business opportunities, jointly and severally from all defendants. He has claimed a further $5...

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...

Interim Protection In Arbitration Can't Be Granted Merely On Disputed Money Claim: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court on 5 October held that a party seeking interim protection under Section 9 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, must demonstrate a real risk that recovery under a future arbitral award may become difficult, as a disputed monetary claim alone does not justify such relief. Justice Amit Borkar directed Alag Property Constructions Pvt. Ltd. to deposit Rs. 58,97,600 within four weeks in a dispute with flat purchaser Hemlata Ajay Ramani over the refund of money...

Bombay High Court Denies Anticipatory Bail To Tax Consultant Accused Of Misusing ₹45 Lakh Meant For GST Payment

The Bombay High Court has refused anticipatory bail to a tax consultant accused of retaining over ₹45 lakh given to him by a client for GST payments and allegedly preparing fake GST bills to show that the amount had been deposited with the government.Justice Madhav J. Jamdar was hearing an anticipatory bail application filed by Rakesh Rajendra Thakur, who was booked under Sections 316(2) and 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, for criminal breach of trust and cheating.The court...

Developer's Ordinary Business Selling Flats Doesn't Give Partner Blanket Authority: Bombay High Court

On Tuesday, 13 October, the Bombay High Court held that a real estate developer's ordinary business of selling flats does not, by itself, establish a partner's authority to enter into every property transaction on behalf of the firm. Justice Amit Borkar partly allowed a petition filed by Aatif Javeed Merchant, a majority profit-sharing partner of S.S. Crown Infrastructure, under Section 9 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, granting limited interim protection against unauthorised...

GST Appeals Can't Be Dismissed Without Hearing Taxpayer On Pre-Deposit Shortfall: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court on 12 October held that a GST appeal cannot be dismissed for a shortfall in mandatory pre-deposit without first giving the taxpayer notice or an opportunity to rectify the defect. A Division Bench of Justices M.S. Karnik and Sandesh D. Patil set aside the rejection of an appeal filed by Bhagyoday Agro Industries against a GST demand of approximately Rs. 14.77 crore. They observed: “The Appellate Authority ought to have applied the well settled principle that when an...

Income Tax Department Cannot Wait For Certified Copy When Digitally Signed Order Is Available: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court has ruled that the Income Tax Department cannot wait for a certified copy of a court order to compute the limitation period for completing an assessment when a digitally signed copy has already been received by the relevant tax authorities.“In this era of electronic filing and electronic uploading, and in order to alleviate difficulties of the litigants before us, this is a practice which this Court has adopted. Instead of asking a litigant to apply for a certified copy of...

Income Tax Penalty Can Be Waived Even In Cases Of Misreporting After 2026 Amendment: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court has ruled that taxpayers can seek waiver of income tax penalties even in cases of misreporting of income under the amended Section 270AA of the Income Tax Act, 1961. It also held that an earlier rejection does not prevent a taxpayer from applying again under the amended law.“However, we note that the position has changed considerably as a result of the amendments made by the Finance Act, 2026 w.e.f. 1st March 2026. As is evident from the amendments made, an application for...

Ahmedabad Entities Agree Before Bombay High Court To Stop Using 7 Drug Names In Sun Pharma Suit

Ahmedabad-based Nectar Life Care and Kashmik Formulations Private Limited have agreed to stop using seven names for pharmaceutical products that Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. alleged were deceptively similar to its registered trademarks “HISTAC” and “OMESEC”.Justice Madhav J. Jamdar of the Bombay High Court recorded the settlement on October 8, 2026, and accepted the parties' commitments as undertakings to the court.Sun Pharma holds registered Class 5 pharmaceutical trademarks for “HISTAC”...

Bombay High Court Allows Colgate To Submit Six Renewed Trademark Certificates In 1996 Suit Against Anchor

The Bombay High Court has allowed Colgate-Palmolive to introduce six renewed trademark registration certificates as evidence in its 1996 infringement suit against Anchor Health and Beauty Care Private Limited, holding that the documents cannot be considered irrelevant to the dispute.Justice Somasekhar Sundaresan observed that “Colgate has paid a disproportionate price for its attorneys' failure to have tabled the six LPCs on July 10, 2019”. The court declined to impose costs on the...

Pending Insolvency Proceedings, Financial Distress Can Warrant Asset Protection Pending Arbitration: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court has held that the pendency of insolvency proceedings against a company does not, by itself, mean that a creditor's claim will fail. However, when considered alongside audited financial losses, negative net worth, substantial liabilities and limited assets, such proceedings can strengthen the case for securing a creditor's claim pending arbitration.“The mere pendency of such proceedings does not mean that the claim of the Petitioner will necessarily fail. But when this...