Karnataka HC Directs Takedown Of AI-Morphed Content Depicting Dharmasthala Dharmadhikari Veerendra Heggade, Family

The Karnataka High Court has directed the State of Karnataka and the Bengaluru CEN Police Station to take immediate steps to ensure removal of AI-generated, morphed, manipulated, and fabricated images and video content depicting Dr. D. Veerendra Heggade, the Dharmadhikari of Sri Kshetra Dharmasthala, and his family members. The content is to be removed from all social media platforms, URLs, and press and media platforms within one week from receipt of a copy of the order. Justice S.R. Krishna...

Karnataka HC Says It Cannot 'Micromanage' CIRP Against Gulam Mustafa Enterprises Before NCLT Bengaluru

The Karnataka High Court has recently observed that it cannot micromanage proceedings before the National Company Law Tribunal by directing it to hear a company's applications in a particular order while hearing a petition filed by real estate developer Gulam Mustafa Enterprises Pvt. Ltd. “At the outset, this Court is of the considered view that the relief sought by the petitioner, in substance, amounts to inviting this Court to micromanage the proceedings pending before the adjudicating...

ITC Claims Filed Before 30 November 2021 Cannot Be Rejected on Limitation Ground: Karnataka High Court

The Karnataka High Court has held that Input Tax Credit (ITC) claims rejected as time-barred under Section 16(4) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 must be reconsidered where GST returns for the relevant financial years were filed on or before 30 November 2021, in view of the retrospective insertion of Section 16(5) of the CGST Act. A Single Judge Bench of Justice S. Sunil Dutt Yadav allowed the writ petition filed by ABE Security Mechanics Private Limited, set aside the show cause...

Courts Hearing Challenges To NH Act Arbitral Awards Cannot Enhance Compensation: Karnataka High Court

The Karnataka High Court has reiterated that courts cannot enhance compensation by modifying arbitral awards in land acquisition disputes under the National Highways Act. Referring to the precedent set by apex court, the court held, "The question whether the court could modify the award was also considered by the Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court in a recent decision in Gayatri Balasamy v. ISG Novasoft Technologies Limited3 . The Supreme Court, by a majority held that the arbitral award...

Arbitral Award Cannot Be Set Aside In Entirety If Claims Are Separable: Karnataka High Court

The Karnataka High Court has held that an arbitral award comprising distinct and separable claims cannot be set aside in its entirety merely because one component is found invalid, as courts have the power to sever the invalid portion while sustaining the valid portion. A Division Bench of Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice C.M. Poonacha allowed the appeal filed by Pinaka Infomatics Private Limited and modified the order of the Commercial Court, Bengaluru, which had set aside the arbitral...

Civil Courts Cannot Grant Injunctions Against SARFAESI Action: Karnataka High Court

The Karnataka High Court has set aside a Commercial Court order that had stopped lenders from taking action under the SARFAESI Act, holding that such directions cannot be issued by civil courts. Referring to Section 34 of the SARFAESI Act, which bars courts from granting injunctions in such matters, the Court said: “A plain reading of the said section indicates that it proscribes any Civil Court from issuing any injunction not only with respect to the action taken, but also to an action that...

Karnataka High Court Allows Alternate Security In Arbitral Award Execution Despite Finality Of Stay Condition

The Karnataka High Court has held in an arbitral award execution matter that courts can modify conditions imposed while granting a stay, even if such conditions have attained finality, to secure the ends of justice. Justice H. T. Narendra Prasad observed: “While the condition imposed earlier has attained finality, the same does not preclude this Court from moulding the relief in execution proceedings so as to secure the ends of justice, particularly when adequate alternative security is...

Karnataka High Court Dismisses AVTEC Appeal, Holds Unilateral Appointment Of Sole Arbitrator Invalid

The Karnataka High Court on 29 April dismissed an appeal filed by AVTEC Limited and upheld the Commercial Court's order setting aside an arbitral award. A Division Bench of Justices Anu Sivaraman and T.M. Nadaf held that parties cannot permit unilateral appointment of a sole arbitrator under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, and also ruled that a party which participates in arbitration without objection cannot later dispute jurisdiction. It observed: “The appellant having...

Karnataka High Court Holds KPIDFE Act, Like MPID, Has Priority Over SARFAESI Claims

The Karnataka High Court has held that secured creditors cannot claim priority under the SARFAESI Act over properties attached under the Karnataka Protection of Interest of Depositors in Financial Establishments Act, 2004 (KPIDFE Act), and such attachment would prevail in determining the priority of claims. A coram of Justice Lalitha Kanneganti dismissed a writ petition filed by Canara Bank challenging the refusal of the Sub-Registrar to register a sale certificate issued in favour of an...

Karnataka High Court Dismisses Plagiarism Plea Against Dhurandhar-2, Says Remedy Lies Before Civil Court

The Karnataka High Court has recently dismissed a writ petition filed by Bengaluru-based filmmaker Santosh Kumar R.S., who had alleged that the Aditya Dhar-directed Hindi film Dhurandhar-2 was a plagiarised version of his original script titled D-Saheb. Justice K.S. Hemalekha held that the petition was not maintainable, observing that writ jurisdiction under Article 226 is discretionary and ordinarily not exercised when an efficacious alternative remedy is available, and directing the...

Consolidated GST Show Cause Notices Across Multiple Years Permissible: Karnataka High Court

The Karnataka High Court has recently ruled that GST authorities can issue a single show cause notice covering multiple financial years, settling a dispute over whether such notices must be confined to one year. The question before the court was, “Whether it would be permissible to issue consolidated/common show cause notice under Sections 73 and 74 of the Act covering multiple financial years or multiple tax periods?” Answering this, a bench of Justice S.G. Pandit and Justice K.V. Aravind...

Karnataka High Court Reiterates Part Cause Of Action Gives Bengaluru Jurisdiction In Crochet Case

On 28 April, the Karnataka High Court reiterated that a suit for specific performance can be filed where part of the cause of action arises, including where the agreement is executed or the company has its registered office. A Division Bench of Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice C.M. Poonacha allowed an appeal by Crochet Industries and set aside a Commercial Court order that had returned a plaint for lack of territorial jurisdiction in a Rs. 42.5 crore share purchase dispute involving LN...