Withdrawn Civil Suit Does Not Bar Invocation Of Arbitration Clause: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has recently held that the filing of an earlier civil suit does not bar a party from invoking an arbitration clause where the suit was subsequently withdrawn. The court observed, “Mere fact that earlier a civil suit had been filed, would be no bar to invoke arbitration in terms of the Arbitration Clause, especially, when the said suit had been withdrawn.” Justice Mini Pushkarna made the observation while appointing Justice (Retd.) Kurian Joseph, former judge of the Supreme...

Arbitrator Appointment Without Written Waiver Under Section 12(5) Is Void Ab Initio: Delhi High Court

On 26 May, the Delhi High Court reiterated that waiver of the applicability of Section 12(5) read with the Seventh Schedule of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act cannot be inferred from conduct and must arise only from an express written agreement between the parties. A Bench of Justice Avneesh Jhingan set aside an arbitral award in a dispute between a developer and the Air Force Naval Housing Board (AFNHB) concerning construction of a residential complex. It observed: “The unilateral...

Delhi HC Refers Morgan Securities–BPL Post-Award Dispute To Arbitration, Appoints Justice U.U. Lalit

On 29 May, the Delhi High Court referred the disputes between Morgan Securities and Credits Pvt. Ltd. and BPL Limited to arbitration, appointed former Chief Justice of India Justice U.U. Lalit as sole arbitrator, and continued interim protection restraining alteration of BPL's assets, management, and control structure pending arbitration. A Single Judge Bench of Justice Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar held that alleged post-award breaches arising from subsequent transactions can give rise to a...

Delhi High Court Refers Zee-Zivore Copyright Dispute Over Instagram Music To Mediation

The Delhi High Court on 29 May referred a copyright dispute between Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited and Zivore Apparel Private Limited to mediation after Zivore undertook not to use Zee's repertoire pending adjudication of the injunction application. Justice Tushar Rao Gedela noted that music available in Instagram's licensed music library cannot, prima facie, be used for commercial purposes and referred the parties to the Delhi High Court Mediation and Conciliation Centre and requested...

Mere Objections To Specific Performance Not Enough To Deny Interim Relief In Arbitration: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has recently held that mere invocation of statutory restrictions on specific performance cannot, by itself, justify refusal of interim protective relief in arbitration proceedings. It observed that such objections must be clearly established before a court can decline measures aimed at preserving the subject matter of a dispute pending arbitration. Justice Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar made the observation while granting interim protection to Conscient Infrastructure Pvt....

Delhi HC Directs IndiaMart To Take Down MJ Talk Tools Listings Over Alleged Copying Of SpeechGear's Products

The Delhi High Court has recently directed IndiaMart to take down specified listings of MJ Talk Tools before the next date of hearing. The direction came in a suit filed by SpeechGears India Pvt Ltd, which alleges infringement of its copyrights, trade dress and the shape of tools used in kits designed for children with autism and speech impairment. Justice Tushar Rao Gedela passed the order on May 29 while hearing an application seeking ex-parte ad-interim relief. "The images of the...

Delhi HC Grants Temporary Injunction Against 'Milan's Kreamy Toffee' In Amber Nutrition Trademark Dispute

The Delhi High Court has recently granted a temporary restraint on the sale and marketing of confectionery products under the names "Milan's Kreamy Toffee" and "Milan's Kreami Toffee", finding them deceptively similar to Amber Nutrition Private Limited's "Amber Kream Toffee" products. Justice Tushar Rao Gedela passed the order on May 29. The court held that the products infringed Amber Nutrition's trademark, trade dress and copyrighted artistic work associated with its "Amber Kream Toffee"...

Delhi High Court Temporarily Restrains Medical Device Firms From Using 'MOTHERSON' Trademark

The Delhi High Court has granted temporary relief to auto components manufacturer Motherson, restraining Motherson Industries Private Limited and another entity described as its sister concern from using the "MOTHERSON" mark and device mark pending further proceedings in a trademark infringement suit. Justice Tushar Rao Gedela passed the order on May 29, 2026, after holding that Motherson had made out a prima facie case for protection of its trademark rights. Observing that the word...

Similarity With 'Excel' Alone Not Bad Faith; Delhi HC Sets Aside Award Transferring 'exceltotally.in' To Microsoft

The Delhi High Court has set aside an arbitral award that directed the transfer of the domain name "exceltotally.in" to Microsoft Corporation. The Court held that confusing similarity with Microsoft's "EXCEL" trademark, by itself, was not enough to establish bad faith under the .IN Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (INDRP). Justice Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar observed that the arbitrator had not independently examined whether the registrants intentionally sought to deceive users, exploit...

Delhi High Court Grants Ex Parte Injunction Against Clone Websites Impersonating Signature Global

The Delhi High Court on 29 May granted an ex parte ad interim injunction in favour of real estate developer Signature Global (India) Limited and restrained the operators of multiple clone websites and social media accounts from impersonating the company and defrauding homebuyers. A Bench of Justice Jyoti Singh held: “Having heard learned counsel for the Plaintiff and upon perusal of the documents, I am of the view that Plaintiff has made out a prima facie case for grant of ex parte ad interim...

Defendant Cannot Invoke Arbitration Clause After Participating In Trial Without Objection: Delhi HC

The Delhi High Court on 3 June reiterated that a defendant who files a written statement and participates in the trial without seeking reference to arbitration at the appropriate stage cannot later invoke an arbitration clause to challenge the maintainability of the suit. Justice Neena Bansal Krishna upheld a recovery decree of Rs. 2.91 lakh in favour of Dollar Security & Support Services against Amber Electrotech Ltd., finding that the company had never disputed the outstanding invoice...

'Economic Decision, Not A Criminal Offence': Delhi HC Quashes FIR, ED Case Against NewsClick, Founder Over Foreign Funding

The Delhi High Court has recently quashed an FIR registered against digital media platform NewsClick and its founder, Prabir Purkayastha, along with the Enforcement Directorate's money laundering case, holding that the allegations failed to disclose offences of cheating or criminal breach of trust. Justice Neena Bansal Krishna observed that the basic ingredients of the offences were absent. The court held: "Even if all the allegations are accepted, no offence under 406 or 420 IPC is disclosed...