Calcutta High Court Upholds Injunction In Favour Of Exide Industries In Battery Trade Dress Dispute

The Calcutta High Court has upheld an interim injunction in favour of Exide Industries Limited, holding that Amara Raja Energy and Mobility Limited's red trade dress for automotive batteries is prima facie deceptively similar in overall get-up and likely to mislead consumers. A Division Bench of Justice Debangsu Basak and Justice Md. Shabbar Rashidi, in a judgment delivered on April 02, 2026, dismissed an appeal filed by Amara Raja challenging the Single Judge's order granting interim relief in...

Calcutta High Court Sets Aside Denial Of Interest Subsidy To MSME Despite Grant Of Power Subsidy Under WBIS 2013

The Calcutta High Court has set aside the West Bengal government's decision denying interest subsidy to Hooghly Extrusions Ltd., an MSME holding that once a unit is found eligible under the West Bengal Incentive Scheme, 2013 and granted one component of benefit, denial of another on technical grounds defeats the scheme's object.Allowing the writ petition, Justice Rai Chattopadhyay quashed the State's order dated February 22, 2019 and directed authorities to disburse the interest subsidy within...

Clandestine Gold Transport & High Purity Satisfy “Reasonable Belief” Under Customs Act: Calcutta High Court

The Calcutta High Court on 31 March restored the adjudicating authority's confiscation of 1,999.90 grams of gold, holding that clandestine transport and high scientific purity of bullion establish a “reasonable belief” of smuggling under the Customs Act. A Division Bench of Justices Rajarshi Bharadwaj and Uday Kumar allowed the Commissioner of Customs (Preventive), Kolkata's appeals, reinstated the confiscation and penalties, and set aside the Tribunal's order that had granted relief to the...

No 'Deemed Liability' For Company Directors Under Negotiable Instruments Act: Calcutta High Court

The Calcutta High Court has recently held that there is no deemed liability for a director merely by virtue of his designation, emphasising that specific factual averments in a complaint linking a director to the day-to-day management of the company are a jurisdictional prerequisite under Section 141 of the Negotiable Instruments Act. The court said that silence in a complaint regarding a director's role constitutes a substantive failure to establish a prima facie case. Justice Uday Kumar,...

Calcutta High Court Sets Aside Eviction Decree Against Indian Oil As Commercial Dispute Was Heard In Non-Commercial Division

The Calcutta High Court has recently set aside an eviction decree passed against Indian Oil Corporation Limited, holding that a suit for eviction from property leased for running a petrol pump remained a commercial dispute under the Commercial Courts Act, 2015 and therefore could not have been filed in the non-commercial division of the Court. A division bench of Justice Debangsu Basak and Justice Md. Shabbar Rashidi held that the requirements of Section 2(1)(c)(vii) of the Act were satisfied,...

Clause Allowing Unilateral Appointment Of Arbitrator Does Not Invalidate Arbitration Agreement: Calcutta High Court

The Calcutta High Court has held in a dispute between a borrower and IndusInd Bank that even if an arbitration clause permits unilateral appointment of an arbitrator by one party, such a condition would invalidate only the appointment procedure and not the arbitration agreement itself. In a judgment dated March 23, 2026, Justice Om Narayan Rai upheld the referral of the dispute to arbitration while affirming an order of the City Civil Court, Calcutta, which had stayed a civil suit filed by...

Calcutta High Court Holds Issue Of Appointing Woman Director Triable In Case Against Rashmi Metaliks

Today, the Calcutta High Court refused to quash criminal proceedings against Rashmi Metaliks Ltd and its directors for alleged non-compliance with the mandatory requirement under Section 149 of the Companies Act to appoint at least one woman director. A Single-Judge Bench of Justice Ajay Kumar Gupta was hearing a criminal revision petition under Section 482 CrPC challenging proceedings pending before the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Alipore, including an order dated 19 September 2015. He...

Calcutta High Court Grants Temporary Injunction To Protect Actor Prosenjit Chatterjee's Personality Rights

The Calcutta High Court has granted an interim injunction to safeguard the personality rights of actor Prosenjit Chatterjee, restraining Masala Mamaji and another defendant from using his name or photographs, including those generated through Artificial Intelligence (AI), to imply his endorsement of their products without any agreement with him. On March 11, 2026, Justice Arindam Mukherjee held, “However, keeping in mind the stature of the plaintiff and that his image may be tarnished by...

Calcutta High Court Upholds Single Judge's Modification Of Arbitral Award In UltraTech-Mintech Dispute

The Calcutta High Court on 16 March dismissed cross appeals filed by Mintech Global Pvt Ltd and UltraTech Cement Ltd, upholding a Single Judge's order that partly modified an arbitral award arising from a commercial contract related to cement manufacturing. A Division Bench of Justices Debangsu Basak and Md. Shabbar Rashidi held that the Single Judge's conclusions on the interest rate and the limited scope of jurisdiction under Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, warranted...

Judgment On Admission Under CPC Requires Clear Admission Of Transaction And Amount Of Liability: Calcutta High Court

The Calcutta High Court has recently held that a court can grant a decree on admission under Order XII Rule 6 CPC only when the defendant clearly admits both the transaction and the amount due, observing that the rule must be applied strictly. Holding that mere acknowledgement of transactions is insufficient unless the specific amount payable is admitted, the court granted a Rs 12 lakh decree on admission to Skipper Limited in its commercial dispute with Prabha Infrastructure Private Limited,...

Plaint Cannot Be Read So As To Bypass Pre-Institution Mediation Under Commercial Courts Act: Calcutta High Court

The Calcutta High Court has held that a plaint cannot be framed so as to bypass the mandatory pre-institution mediation requirement under Section 12A of the Commercial Courts Act. The court made the observation while allowing an appeal in a case where a suit relating to a commercial dispute had been filed in the non-commercial division and while considering rejection of the plaint under Order 7 Rule 11 of the Code of Civil Procedure. “Section 12A of the Act of 2015 has mandated preinstitution...

'Purported Award' Can Be Challenged Under Section 34 Of Arbitration Act: Calcutta High Court

The Calcutta High Court on Friday held that the scope of challenge under Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 extends beyond existing awards to include a “purported award” where the very existence of the award is in dispute. A Single Bench of Justice Sabyasachi Bhattacharyya set aside two alleged arbitral awards relied upon by Roadwings International Private Limited in its dispute with SREI Equipment Finance Limited, holding that only photocopies of the awards were produced...