Calcutta High Court Refuses To Quash LOC Against Former Elder Pharma Employee In ₹1,300 Crore SFIO Probe

The Calcutta High Court has refused to quash a Look Out Circular issued against Debanjan Hazra, a former employee of Elder Pharmaceuticals now settled in China, in connection with an SFIO probe into the alleged siphoning of Rs 1,300 crore from the company.Justice Krishna Rao delivered the judgment on February 13, 2026 while hearing a writ petition filed by Hazra challenging the LOC dated February 7, 2025. “In view of the above, this Court did not find any justification to set aside or quash the...

Copy Of Arbitration Agreement Sufficient Where Original Not Available: Calcutta High Court

The Calcutta High Court on Thursday held that an application seeking reference to arbitration cannot be rejected merely because the original arbitration agreement or a certified copy is not produced, if the statutory requirements under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act are otherwise satisfied. A Single Bench of Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharyya set aside the orders of the trial court and the first appellate court, which had refused to refer the parties to arbitration. The court observed that...

RBI 2016 MSME Framework Not Absolute Bar To SARFAESI Action Against MSME Borrower: Calcutta High Court

The Calcutta High Court has recently observed that banks are required to examine and keep SARFAESI proceedings in abeyance only if an MSME borrower raises a specific objection with supporting materials and an affidavit asserting its MSME status.The court clarified that the 2016 RBI 'Framework for Revival and Rehabilitation of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises' does not create an absolute bar on classifying an MSME loan account as NPA or initiating action under the SARFAESI Act.Justice...

Calcutta High Court Sets Aside Rejection Of UPL's Herbicide Patent For Denying Mandatory Hearing

The Calcutta High Court has recently set aside an order of the Controller of Patents rejecting UPL Limited's patent application for a herbicidal combination, holding that the authority committed a “serious procedural infirmity” by denying the company a mandatory hearing under Section 14 of the Patents Act and improperly issuing a composite order in examination and pre-grant opposition proceedings. Allowing the appeal, Justice Ravi Krishan Kapur ruled that examination proceedings under Sections...

Calcutta High Court Sets Aside Order Treating WBIDC As Unsecured Creditor In Eastern Explosives Liquidation

The Calcutta High Court has recently set aside an order of a single judge of the court's original side, which upheld the official liquidator's decision treating the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation Ltd. (WBIDC) as an unsecured creditor in the liquidation of Eastern Explosives and Chemicals Ltd.The Court held that once charge documents were submitted prior to adjudication of claims, the official liquidator was bound to consider WBIDC as a secured creditor.“A creditor, of a company...

Disputes From Residential Real-Estate Development Can Be Commercial If Profit Oriented: Calcutta High Court

The Calcutta High Court has recently observed that a real estate development agreement can qualify as a commercial dispute even if the project is residential in nature and even if both parties are not engaged in the business.Justice Shampa Sarkar said the agreement, when read as a whole, showed that the property was meant to be commercially exploited. “The cumulative effect of the agreement was that the parties jointly agreed to put the property to commercial use, thereby earning from the...

Calcutta High Court Refers Reliance Entities' Telecom Tower Lease Dispute To Arbitration, Leaves Objections Open

The Calcutta High Court has referred a telecom tower lease dispute to arbitration. It declined to decide, at the referral stage, whether non-signatory Reliance group entities were bound by the arbitration clause or whether past dues stood extinguished under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC). Justice Shampa Sarkar held that such objections raise triable jurisdictional issues. These must be decided by the arbitral tribunal. The court reiterated that its role under Section 11 of the...

No Appeal Lies Against Conditional Stay Of Arbitral Award: Calcutta High Court

The Calcutta High Court has recently held that an appeal does not lie against an order granting conditional stay of an arbitral award, observing that such orders fall outside the narrow appellate framework prescribed under arbitration Act. Section 36(2) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, allows a party that has challenged an arbitral award in court to seek a stay on the enforcement of that award. A Division Bench of Justice Debangsu Basak and Justice Md. Shabbar Rashidi dismissed...

Non-Signatory Successor Company May Invoke Arbitration Clause After Merger: Calcutta High Court

The Calcutta High Court has recently held that a company that becomes the successor of an original contracting party pursuant to an NCLT-approved merger can invoke an arbitration clause even if it is not a signatory to the original agreement. Justice Shampa Sarkar made the observation on February 3 while hearing an application filed by Tata Capital Limited seeking appointment of an arbitrator in a dispute arising out of a loan agreement with a borrower. “In my prima facie view, even if the...

Calcutta High Court Sets Aside Arbitral Award Against Company Officials Without Impleading Companies

The Calcutta High Court has set aside an arbitral award after finding that it was passed against two officials of state-owned power companies instead of the companies that were parties to the arbitration agreement. A Division Bench of Justices Debangsu Basak and Md. Shabbar Rashidi held that the award, which fastened liability on the managing director of Bihar State Power Generation Company Limited and the chairman of Bihar State Power Holding Company Limited, could not be sustained since the...

Superintendent Cannot Adjudicate Cases Involving Extended Limitation: Calcutta High Court

The Calcutta High Court on 2 February held that cases that invoke the extended period of limitation are expressly excluded from the adjudicatory powers of a Superintendent, even if the demand falls within their monetary limit. Justice Om Narayan Rai, allowed a writ petition filed by the partners of Radiant Security, challenging an order by which the Superintendent, CGST, demanded service tax of Rs. 72,000 along with education cess and secondary and higher secondary cess, and imposed penalties...

No Additions On Mere Suspicion When Shareholders In Capital Assessments Are Traceable: Calcutta High Court

The Calcutta High Court on 4 February held that in share capital assessments, income tax additions cannot be sustained on mere suspicion, when the investors are identifiable, the taxpayers and share subscriptions are backed by audited records, and clear there are clear banking trails for transactions. A Division Bench of Justice Rajarshi Bharadwaj and Justice Uday Kumar dismissed an appeal filed by the Principal Commissioner of Income Tax, Kolkata, against Express Tradelink Pvt. Ltd....