Bombay High Court Holds Denial Of 30% Solatium Is Computational Error In NH Land Acquisition Cases

The Bombay High Court recently held that denial of 30% solatium in arbitral awards arising from compulsory land acquisition for National Highways projects constitutes a computational error, which can be corrected under Sections 34 and 37 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, without undertaking a merits review. Justice Somasekhar Sundaresan allowed a batch of appeals filed by landowners, including Prashant Vasant Koregaonkar and others, challenging arbitral awards in proceedings...

Bombay High Court Quashes ₹10.25 Crore GST Demand Against Capital First Post-Merger With IDFC First Bank

The Bombay High Court has quashed a ₹10.25 crore GST demand raised against Capital First Limited post its merger with IDFC First Bank. It held that proceedings initiated against a company that had ceased to exist due to amalgamation are void ab initio and unsustainable in law.A Division Bench of Justice G.S. Kulkarni and Justice Aarti Sathe observed that despite repeated intimations about the merger, the department continued proceedings against the non-existent entity. Relying on the Supreme...

NCLT Has Exclusive Jurisdiction Over Internal Company Mismanagement Disputes: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court on 4 May held that civil courts cannot entertain interim relief claims arising from allegations of internal company mismanagement, as such disputes fall within the jurisdiction of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) under the Companies Act, 2013. Justice Gauri Godse dismissed interim applications filed by Ocean Deity Investment Holdings Ltd. and Mack Star Marketing Pvt. Ltd. against Vikram Homes Pvt. Ltd. in a dispute concerning the sale of commercial units allegedly...

Transactions During Winding-Up Can Be Validated If Beneficial To Creditors: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court on 4 May held that transactions entered into during pendency of winding-up proceedings ought to be validated if they benefit the company or its creditors. The Court accordingly rejected the Official Liquidator's plea seeking to declare void a Rs. 27 crore sale of Milestone Interactive Pvt. Ltd.'s property in favour of M.M. Styles Private Limited. Justice Arif S. Doctor validated the transaction executed on 9 September 2016 during pendency of the winding-up proceedings,...

Reliance Moves Bombay High Court To Restrain Release Of Punjabi Movie 'Carry On Jatta 4'

Reliance Industries Ltd. has moved the Bombay High Court, seeking to restrain the release of Punjabi film Carry On Jatta 4 over a contractual dispute. On Friday, the court permitted the company to cure defects in its plaint and approach the Vacation Court.The movie is slated for release on June 26, 2026. Justice Abhay Ahuja passed the order after objections were raised by the defendants over the maintainability of Reliance's commercial suit. The dispute arises out of a tripartite...

"Scam Within Scam": Bombay High Court Quashes Primezone Property Auction In Rs 5,600-Crore NSEL Scam

The Bombay High Court on Friday set aside the auction sale of Primezone Developers' Haryana properties linked to the Rs 5,600-crore NSEL fraud, calling the valuation and sale exercise a “scam within the scam” and finding that the process was manipulated to favour a pre-determined buyer. Calling the exercise deeply compromised, the division bench of Justices A.S. Gadkari and Kamal Khata held,“According to us, this is a scam within the scam. The Competent Authority bear primary responsibility,...

NSEL Case: Bombay High Court Allows SBI's SARFAESI Action Despite MPID Attachment

The Bombay High Court on Friday allowed State Bank of India (SBI) to proceed against secured assets attached in the National Spot Exchange Ltd. (NSEL) scam proceedings under the SARFAESI Act, holding that the bank's rights as a secured creditor cannot be lightly defeated. Setting aside a March 8, 2023 order of the Maharashtra Protection of Interests of Depositors (MPID) special court, a Division Bench of Justices A.S. Gadkari and Kamal Khata held that SBI's earlier failure to deposit amounts...

No TDS Payable On National Highways' Land Acquisition Arbitral Awards: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court has held that deducting TDS from compensation awarded under arbitral awards in National Highways acquisition cases is impermissible, holding that forcing land losers to seek tax refunds would defeat the purpose of the land acquisition law's tax exemption.Referring to Section 96 of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, the Court observed, "Any interpretation which requires deduction of tax at source...

Bombay High Court Quashes GST Action Over Infra Company's Corporate Guarantees Issued Without Consideration

The Bombay High Court has held that D.P. Jain & Co. Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd. cannot be subjected to GST for corporate guarantees it issued to State Bank of India and Bank of Maharashtra to secure loans granted to its group companies, as the company received no consideration for furnishing those guarantees. A Division Bench of Justice Urmila Joshi-Phalke and Justice Nivedita P. Mehta observed: “There was no flow of consideration for the rendering of services. Therefore, taxability does not...

Mumbai High Project Dispute: Bombay High Court Orders L&T To Keep ₹150 Crore Bank Guarantee Alive

The Bombay High Court has directed Larsen & Toubro Ltd. to continue renewing and keeping alive bank guarantees worth approximately ₹150.34 crore furnished to ONGC Ltd. in a dispute over liquidated damages arising from the Mumbai High North redevelopment project. The court held that ONGC, though largely unsuccessful in the arbitration after the tribunal awarded higher claims to L&T, could still seek interim protection under Section 9 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act in a rare and...

Bombay HC Waives Re-Verification Of Amended Pleadings Challenging Section 147A IT Act After SC Ruling

The Bombay High Court has waived re-verification of amended pleadings in pending writ petitions challenging income tax reassessment notices, where assessees now seek to challenge the newly inserted Section 147A following the Supreme Court's ruling in Income Tax Officer, Ward 2(1), Chandigarh v. Tej Pratap Singh. A Division Bench of Justice G.S. Kulkarni and Justice Aarti Sathe said re-verification need not be insisted upon, noting that a large number of similar reassessment matters were pending...

Bombay High Court Grants Interim Relief Protecting Ahmed Perfumes' Arabic Logo, Refuses Passing Off Relief

The Bombay High Court has granted an interim copyright protection to UAE-based Ahmed Perfumes against a Mumbai perfume trader over alleged copying of its Arabic calligraphic logo but refused interim passing off relief after finding the company had failed to show goodwill and a customer base in India. In an order pronounced on May 7, Justice Sharmila U. Deshmukh restrained Mohammed Faisal Rehman Sultan Ahmed Shamsi and his associated entities, Al Ahmed India and Ahmed Al Maghribi LLP, from...