Hinglish Word Blend Not Inherently Distinctive: Bombay High Court Refuses Injunction Against Tata Play's Astro Duniya Mark

Observing that the blending of Hindi and English is common in India's linguistic landscape, the Bombay High Court has held that a combination of a clipped English word with a Hindi word does not, prima facie, make a trademark inherently distinctive. “The combination of the clipped version of the English word with the Hindi word prima facie does not make it inherently distinctive in our country where there is tendency of blending Hindi and English and spoken as such,” Justice Sharmila U....

Bombay High Court Sets Aside Interim 'ELDER' Trademark Injunction Granted To Elder Projects Against Elder Nutraceuticals

The Bombay High Court on Monday vacated an ex-parte ad-interim injunction granted to Elder Projects Ltd in a trademark infringement suit against its group company, Elder Nutraceuticals Pvt. Ltd., holding that the plaintiff had suppressed material facts while seeking injunction without notice to the opposing party. Justice Sandeep V. Marne noted that the injunction, granted on September 26, 2025, restrained Elder Nutraceuticals Pvt Ltd from using the mark “ELDER” or any deceptively similar mark...

ACJM Not Subordinate To CJM In Judicial Functions In SARFAESI Possession Proceedings: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court has held that an Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate is competent to entertain applications under Section 14 of the SARFAESI Act, ruling that the magistrate exercises judicial powers at par with a Chief Judicial Magistrate. Section 14 allows a secured creditor (bank/financial institution) to seek assistance from a magistrate to take physical possession of secured assets when a borrower defaults.A coram of Justice Urmila Joshi Phalke dismissed a criminal application filed...

SARFAESI Action Does Not Bar Civil Court From Hearing Partition Suit: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court has held that civil courts retain jurisdiction to adjudicate partition suits involving secured assets, observing that the Debts Recovery Tribunal cannot grant such relief even where proceedings under the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act, 2002 (SARFAESI) have been initiated. A Single Bench of Justice N.J. Jamadar observed that, “The Tribunal, thus, cannot transgress its jurisdictional limits and delve into the...

Dissenting Flat Owner Not Bound By Arbitration Clause In Redevelopment Agreement He Refused To Sign: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court recently refused to appoint an arbitrator in a dispute arising out of a housing redevelopment project in Mumbai, holding that a dissenting flat owner who had deliberately refused to sign the development agreement could not be compelled to arbitrate claims brought by the developer. Justice Sandeep V. Marne observed that arbitration is founded on consent and that the mere fact that redevelopment arrangements involve multiple interconnected agreements cannot bind a...

Limitation For TDS Default Orders Runs Quarter-Wise, Not Annually: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court has recently held that limitation for passing an order treating a person responsible for deducting tax at source as an “assessee in default” under Section 201 of the Income Tax Act must be computed quarter-wise based on the filing of each TDS statement, and not on an annual or cumulative basis. A Division Bench of Justice M.S. Karnik and Justice Gautam A. Ankhad on March 5, 2026 dismissed the Income Tax Department's appeal against Vodafone Cellular Ltd., Pune. In doing...

Assignment Of Leasehold Rights Is Transfer of Immovable Property, Not Taxable as GST Supply: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court at Nagpur, recently following a Gujarat High Court ruling, has held that assignment of leasehold rights in an industrial plot amounts to transfer of benefits arising out of immovable property and does not constitute “supply of services” under the GST law, and therefore GST cannot be levied on such transactions. A division bench of Justices Anil L. Pansare and Nivedita P. Mehta passed the ruling while allowing a writ petition filed by Vidarbha Beverages and its partners...

Bombay High Court Sets Aside Customs Orders On IGST Refund Interest To Jindal Drugs, Directs Fresh Determination

The Bombay High Court has recently set aside orders passed by customs authorities determining the interest payable on an IGST refund to Jindal Drugs Pvt. Ltd., holding that the authorities failed to explain how the interest had been calculated under Section 56 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. A division bench of Justice G. S. Kulkarni and Justice Aarti Sathe found that the impugned orders contained no reasoning showing that the statutory provision governing interest on delayed...

Participation Cannot Cure Ineligibility: Bombay High Court Sets Aside Awards By Unilaterally Appointed Arbitrator

The Bombay High Court has recently reiterated that arbitral awards passed by an arbitrator unilaterally appointed by one party are liable to be set aside and that such illegality cannot be cured merely because the opposing party participated in the arbitration proceedings without raising an objection. Applying the Supreme Court's recent ruling in Bhadra International (India) Pvt. Ltd. v. Airports Authority of India, the court further reiterated that waiver of an arbitrator's ineligibility under...

Bombay High Court Upholds Arbitral Award In Polimer-Ultra Media 'Jai Hanuman' License Fee Dispute

The Bombay High Court on 5 March upheld an arbitral award directing Polimer Media Pvt Ltd to pay Rs. 30.45 lakh to Ultra Media and Entertainment Pvt Ltd in a dispute arising from a broadcasting license agreement for the television serial “Jai Hanuman.” A Bench of Justice Gauri Godse held that the arbitral award did not warrant interference under Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act. The Court observed: “Hence, in my view, by applying the standards as set out in the various...

Pre-Institution Mediation Not Mandatory If Suit Seeks Urgent Interim Relief: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court has recently reiterated that a commercial suit cannot be rejected merely for non-compliance with the mandatory pre-institution mediation requirement under Section 12A of the Commercial Courts Act if the plaint demonstrates that the suit contemplates urgent interim relief. A single bench of Justice Gauri Godse delivered the ruling in an interim application filed by Warana Sugar Ltd, its director Vinay Kore, and its corporate guarantor Tatyasaheb Kore Warana Sahakari Sakhar...

Bombay High Court Temporarily Bars Delhi Hospital From Infringing 'SAIFEE HOSPITAL' Mark

The Bombay High Court has recently granted ad-interim relief to Saifee Hospital Trust, restraining a Delhi-based company from infringing its registered trademark “SAIFEE HOSPITAL” after finding that the rival mark “SAIFI HOSPITAL” is “visually, structurally and phonetically deceptively similar”.In an order dated February 10, Justice Sharmila U. Deshmukh observed that the defendant company, Saifi Hospital Private Limited, was offering similar medical services under the impugned mark even though...