'Ilaiyaraaja Had No Copyright Over En Iniya Pon Nilave ': Delhi HC Dismisses Appeal Against Single-Bench Order

The Delhi High Court has dismissed music composer Ilaiyaraaja's appeal against a single-judge order that had, at an interim stage, recognised Saregama India Limited's rights over the classic Tamil song En Iniya Pon Nilave from the 1980 film Moodu Pani. A Division Bench of Justice C. Hari Shankar and Justice Om Prakash Shukla pronounced the judgment on Thursday."However, Ilaiyaraaja was not the owner of copyright in the sound recording, or the lyrics underlying the disputed song. His...

'Left No Stone Unturned To Harass': Delhi HC On IT Dept's Delay In Releasing KVPs, IVPs

The Delhi High Court has pulled up the Income Tax Department for delaying the release of seized Kisan Vikas Patras (KVPs) and Indira Vikas Patras (IVPs) even after the assessee deposited the settlement amount, observing that the authorities had “left no stone unturned to harass” the petitioner.A division bench of Justices Dinesh Mehta and Om Prakash Shukla directed the tax authorities to compensate the petitioners for loss of interest caused due to wrongful retention of the instruments.The case...

Company's Car, Telephone Costs Not 'Personal' Despite Being Separate Legal Entity: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has held that telephone and car expenses incurred by a company cannot be disallowed as “personal” expenses merely because a company is treated as a separate legal person.A division bench of Justices Dinesh Mehta and Vinod Kumar allowed the company's appeal and set aside an order of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), which had upheld disallowance of one-sixth of the company's telephone and car expenses on the ground of possible personal use.The company argued that...

Mere Concealment Of Gold Not Enough To Prove Customs Duty Evasion: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has upheld the acquittal of a man accused of smuggling gold into India, holding that mere concealment of gold was insufficient to establish fraudulent evasion of customs duty when the passenger was intercepted before he could proceed through customs clearance.Justice Neena Bansal Krishna dismissed an appeal filed by the Union of India challenging the acquittal of a Mumbai-based passenger who was found carrying 30 gold biscuits weighing 3496.400 grams concealed in a waist...

Delhi High Court Restrains Two Rivals From Using Marks Similar To 'Schezwan Chutney'

The Delhi High Court has restrained Fivestar Dehydration Pvt Ltd and another from using the mark 'Schezwan Chutney' or deceptively similar variants. It held that merely inserting the word 'Hot' between 'Schezwan' and 'Chutney' would not distinguish the rival products for an average consumer. Justice Tushar Rao Gedela passed the ex-parte ad-interim order on May 14 in a suit filed by Capital Foods Private Limited, an associate of the Tata Group. The suit seeks permanent injunction against...

Huge Turnover Difference Between Taxpayer, Comparable Warrants Exclusion In Transfer Pricing Analysis: Delhi HC

The Delhi High Court has held that a company with a vastly different turnover and scale of operations may not be a proper comparable for transfer pricing analysis.A division bench of Justices V. Kameswar Rao and Vinod Kumar observed that huge differences between the tested entity and the comparable would necessarily require the exclusion of the comparable.The court made the observation while dealing with an appeal filed by the Income Tax Department against an order of the Income Tax Appellate...

Delhi High Court Permits Trademark Renewal After Six Years, Faults Registry Over Defective Renewal Notice

The Delhi High Court has allowed trademark proprietor Rajinder Singh to file a fresh renewal application for his “B.P.R.” mark despite a delay of over six years. It held that the Trade Marks Registry could not rely on technical procedural non-compliance after having consistently sent communications to his updated address. Justice Tushar Rao Gedela ruled the Registry could not take such a stand after its own conduct showed it had recognised the changed address. “Once the Trade Marks...

Delhi High Court Rejects Pandrol Rahee's Extra Payment Claim, Affirms Fixed-Price Nature Of IRCON Contract

The Delhi High Court on 20 May upheld an arbitral award rejecting Pandrol Rahee Technologies Pvt. Ltd.'s claim for additional payment from IRCON International Ltd. for supplying extra components for ballastless track fastening systems, holding that the contract remained a fixed-price “set-based” agreement despite variations in quantity. Justice Avneesh Jhingan observed that, “if the argument is taken to its logical end, it would mean that upon variation, the contract would change from a...

Delhi High Court Grants Temporary Relief To Hugo Boss Against Delhi Trader Over Sale Of Alleged Fake Bedding

The Delhi High Court has recently granted temporary relief to Hugo Boss AG in a trademark infringement suit against a Delhi trader operating as Panipat Handlooms. The court restrained him from manufacturing and selling products such as luxury bedding, linen, and bath towels bearing allegedly infringing BOSS and HUGO BOSS marks. Justice Jyoti Singh passed the order on May 14 in the suit against Shubham Jain, who operates from Ashok Vihar in Delhi. Hugo Boss told the court that Jain was...

Delhi HC Directs AI+ Smartphones Founder To Appear Over Alleged Suppression In Injunction Against TechWiser

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday directed the personal appearance of Madhav Sheth, founder of NxtQuantum Shift Technologies India Pvt Ltd, trading as AI+ Smartphones, after hearing allegations that the company suppressed material facts and used incorrect contact details while obtaining an ex parte injunction against tech reviewer Prateek Rai of TechWiser. Justice Tushar Rao Gedela passed the direction while hearing Rai's application seeking vacation of the April 28 order restraining him from...

Delhi High Court Quashes IT Order After Dept. Failed To Intimate Decision On Taxpayer's Adjournment Request

The Delhi High Court has quashed an income tax assessment order and demand notice after finding that a taxpayer was denied a fair hearing. The tax department failed to communicate whether his adjournment request had been accepted or rejected. It also passed the order without considering the reply he had filed. A Bench of Justice Dinesh Mehta and Justice Vinod Kumar observed, “It is clear that the petitioner's right of being heard has been infracted and the violation of petitioner's Fundamental...

Arbitrator's Mandate Can't Be Denied Extension Because It May Remove Challenge Ground: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has extended an arbitrator's mandate after an arbitral award had already been pronounced, holding that an extension cannot be refused merely because it would eliminate a ground to challenge the award. Justice Avneesh Jhingan observed, “Merely as the outcome of the arbitration proceedings was known to the parties and with extension of the mandate one of the ground to challenge award under Section 34 of the Act may not survive, cannot be the consideration for rejection...