Can Stamp Duty Proceedings Continue Beyond 6 Years? Bombay HC Single Judge Refers Issue To Larger Bench

On Friday, 28 August, a Single-Judge Bench of the Bombay High Court referred to a Larger Bench the question whether proceedings to recover deficit stamp duty under Section 53A of the Maharashtra Stamp Act, 1958 must be completed within six years, or whether it is sufficient for the proceedings to be initiated within that period. Justice Amit Borkar was hearing a writ petition filed by Sahyog Homes Ltd. and another, challenging an order passed by the Chief Controlling Revenue Authority directing...

Future Revenue Share Can Be Consideration For Stamp Duty On Development Agreement: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court on 24 August held that a landowner's agreed share in future sale proceeds can be treated as consideration for determining stamp duty on a development agreement, even if the exact amount is not known when the agreement is executed. Justice Amit Borkar dismissed Star Developers' petition challenging the demand for deficit stamp duty, holding that the 42% revenue share agreed to be paid to the landowner could be considered while determining the market value of the transaction...

Bombay High Court Upholds ₹1,198 Crore Indian Oil Tender, Says CVC's 80% Rule Cannot Apply Mechanically

The Bombay High Court on 21 August upheld Indian Oil Corporation Limited's (IOCL) Rs. 1,198 crore all India tender for Retail Visual Identity (RVI) works, noting that the Central Vigilance Commission's (CVC) guideline referring to 80% of the estimated cost cannot be mechanically applied to the aggregate value of a tender. A Division Bench of Acting Chief Justice Ravindra V. Ghuge and Justice Gautam A. Ankhad rejected challenges to the requirement that bidders must have completed a single...

Bombay High Court Restrains Ex-Kidzee Franchisee From Using 'KIDGEE' Or Similar Mark Pending Arbitration

The Bombay High Court on 25 August restrained Beauty Singh, a former franchisee of ZEE Learn Limited, from using “KIDZEE”, “KIDGEE” or any deceptively or phonetically similar name for her school pending arbitration. Justice Amit Borkar partly allowed ZEE Learn's petition under Section 9 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (which permits courts to grant interim measures in arbitration related disputes), holding that the trademark dispute arising from the parties' franchise agreement...

MSME Registration Does Not Automatically Override Existing Arbitration Agreement: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court on 25 August held that registration under the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Act, 2006 (MSMED Act) does not by itself override an agreed contractual arbitration mechanism, where the statutory process before the Micro and Small Enterprises Facilitation Council has not actually been invoked. Justice Amit Borkar allowed Qwik Supply Chain Private Limited's application under Section 11 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 and appointed Advocate...

Taxpayer Cannot Be Denied TDS Credit For Deductor's Failure To Deposit Tax: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court on 5 August held that TDS credit cannot be denied to a taxpayer merely because the person who deducted the tax failed to deposit it with the Central Government, once actual deduction of tax from the income or payment is established. A Division Bench of Justices B.P. Colabawalla and Firdosh P. Pooniwalla observed that the default of the deductor cannot prejudice the deducted and directed the Income Tax Department to verify claims and grant TDS credit where actual deduction...

Asset Sale Alone Can't Bar Financial Creditor From Seeking NCLT Transfer For Revival: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court on 20 August held that a financial creditor can seek transfer of winding up proceedings to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) for revival under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (IBC), even where secured creditors have sold the company's assets outside the winding up proceedings, as such sale does not by itself make revival irreversible.A Division Bench of Justices A.S. Gadkari and Kamal Khata dismissed Omkara Assets Reconstruction Pvt Ltd's appeal against the...

Stamp Duty Cannot Be Levied On Final Conveyance If Documents Form One Transaction: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court on 20 August held that where several agreements and a subsequent conveyance form part of one continuous property transaction, stamp authorities cannot treat the final conveyance as a fresh transaction and levy stamp duty again merely because the documents bear different names. Justice Amit Borkar quashed the demand of Rs. 2.60 crore raised against Kumar Housing Corporation Private Limited towards alleged deficit stamp duty, along with the consequential penalty and other...

Bombay High Court Upholds IBBI's Power To Levy 0.25% Fee On Successful Resolution Plans

The Bombay High Court on 19 August upheld the validity of Regulation 31A of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (Insolvency Resolution Process for Corporate Persons) Regulations, 2016, holding that the provision enabling the IBBI to levy a regulatory fee on successful resolution plans is neither ultra vires the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 nor violative of Article 14 of the Constitution. A Bench of Justices Manish Pitale and Shreeram V Shirsat dismissed four petitions...

Bombay High Court Allows Kataria Insurance Brokers To Retain Name, Bars Gems Jewellery Insurance

The Bombay High Court on 19 August allowed Kataria Insurance Brokers Pvt. Ltd. to continue using its corporate name “KATARIA INSURANCE”, while restraining it from providing insurance services relating to the gems and jewellery sector, in a trademark dispute involving insurance agent Bhavesh Suresh Kataria. Justice Somasekhar Sundaresan allowed the company's application seeking vacation of an interim injunction dated 8 December 2025, which had restrained it from using “KATARIA” in its corporate...

Personal Insolvency Moratorium Does Not Stay Cheque-Bounce Proceedings Against Directors: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court has held that personal insolvency proceedings initiated by a company director do not require cheque-bounce proceedings against the director to be stayed where the dishonoured cheque was issued towards the company's debt. Justice N. J. Jamadar observed, “To put it in other words, the debt referred to in Section 96 must be a debt of the person by or against whom the insolvency resolution process is initiated under Sections 94 or 95, as the case may be.”The ruling concerned...

Arbitrability Of Dispute To Be Decided By Arbitral Tribunal, Not At Arbitrator Appointment Stage: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court has recently reiterated that whether an insurance dispute is ultimately arbitrable need not be decided while appointing an arbitrator, leaving that question for the arbitral tribunal to consider.“A distinction has to be maintained between the final issue whether the dispute is arbitrable and the limited enquiry which this Court is required to undertake at the stage of appointment of an Arbitrator,” Justice Amit Borkar observed.The court accordingly appointed former Kerala...