Commercial Arbitration Matters Must Be Heard Only By Commercial Division After 2015 Act: Calcutta High Court

The Calcutta High Court on 9 April held that once a Commercial Division is constituted under the Commercial Courts Act, 2015, non-commercial benches cease to have jurisdiction to decide commercial arbitration matters, and any judgment delivered thereafter is a nullity. A Division Bench of Justices Debangsu Basak and Md. Shabbar Rashidi set aside the orders passed by a Single Judge in 2020 and 2023 in proceedings under Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, and directed that...

Profits Earned Do Not Negate Damages Claim In Arbitration: Calcutta High Court

On Monday, 13 April, the Calcutta High Court held that earning profits does not, by itself, defeat a claim for damages arising from breach of contract and upheld the arbitral award in favour of Great Eastern Energy Corporation Limited (GEECL) A Division Bench of Justices Arijit Banerjee and Om Narayan Rai dismissed SRMB Srijan Ltd's appeal under Section 37 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, clarifying that damages are not limited to actual loss but also include loss of expected or...

Calcutta HC Questions GST Officer's Demand For Personal Appearance When Law Allows Representation Through Counsel

The Calcutta High Court said GST authorities had no basis to insist that a Kanpur-based proprietor appear in person in proceedings over the detention of goods supplied to Maa Kali Traders, especially when the law allows representation through an authorised representative. In an order dated April 7, 2026, Justice Kausik Chanda disposed of a writ petition arising from the detention of a consignment of pan masala and the vehicle carrying it, which had been intercepted while in transit. The Court...

IOCL 'State' Status Analysis Misplaced In Contractual Dispute: Calcutta High Court Upholds Setting Aside Of Award

The Calcutta High Court has upheld a Single Judge's order setting aside an arbitral award after noting that the arbitrator had entered into constitutional considerations under Article 12 (Definition of State) in a dispute arising purely out of a commercial contract involving Indian Oil Corporation Limited. It observed that such an approach was misplaced and further held that the arbitrator had rewritten the terms of the contract and awarded damages without any supporting evidence. A Division...

Calcutta High Court Quashes Wilful Defaulter Action Against BSCPL, Finds No Evidence

The Calcutta High Court has set aside a lender's attempt to classify BSCPL Infrastructure Ltd. and its guarantor as “wilful defaulters”, quashing a show cause notice issued after the Wilful Defaulter Identification Committee proposed such classification on December 18, 2025, holding that there was no material to satisfy the RBI framework. Justice Krishna Rao held that the essential ingredients of “wilful default” were not made out, observing: “This Court finds that the respondents have not...

Calcutta High Court Denies Summary Judgment In GST Compliance Dispute, Says Trial Mandatory

The Calcutta High Court on 1 April held that objections relating to GST compliance and supply of goods raise triable issues that require a full trial and refused to grant summary judgment in a commercial dispute. Justice Aniruddha Roy was hearing an application under Order XIII-A of the Code of Civil Procedure seeking dismissal of the suit on the ground that the plaintiff had no real prospect of success. He observed: “Once factual enquiry is required to be made on the basis of the case and...

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...