Challenge To Rejected Jurisdiction Objection Must Ordinarily Await Arbitral Award: Karnataka High Court

The Karnataka High Court has recently held that an order rejecting a jurisdictional objection by an arbitral tribunal cannot ordinarily be challenged through a writ petition while arbitral proceedings are pending. Such a challenge must ordinarily await the arbitral award stage. Justice Suraj Govindaraj delivered the ruling while declining to interfere with an order of a sole arbitrator who had rejected a challenge to the tribunal's jurisdiction in a dispute arising from an Agreement of Sale. ...

Karnataka High Court Upholds Decree Directing MVJ College To Pay STP Contractor Dues

The Karnataka High Court has largely upheld a commercial court decree directing MVJ College of Engineering to pay outstanding amounts claimed by a contractor engaged to refurbish and maintain the institution's sewage treatment plant (STP). The court, however, reduced the amount payable towards refurbishment works after accounting for tax deducted at source (TDS). A Division Bench of Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice C.M. Poonacha partly allowed the college's appeal. It reduced the...

Karnataka High Court Sets Aside Part Of Arbitral Award Over GST Computation On Non-Tendered Works

The Karnataka High Court has partly set aside an arbitral award in a dispute between the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) and URC Constructions Pvt Ltd. The court held that the arbitral tribunal ignored material evidence while concluding that the value of non-tendered items was ₹9.65 crore exclusive of GST. A division bench of Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice C.M. Poonacha found that invoices and other records on the arbitral record showed that at least some GST was...

Service Tax Cannot Be Levied By Treating Maintenance Of Minimum Balance As Consideration For Banking Services: Karnataka HC

The Karnataka High court has held that maintenance of a Minimum Average Balance (MAB) in a bank account is merely a contractual condition and cannot be treated as "consideration" for banking services so as to attract service tax. A bench of Justice S.R. Krishna Kumar quashed show-cause notices issued to Canara Bank, Bank of Baroda (formerly Vijaya Bank), Karnataka Bank and another bank over the proposed levy of service tax on facilities extended to customers maintaining minimum balances in...

Dedicated Ethanol Plants Cannot Be Disadvantaged After Investing Under Procurement Framework: Karnataka High Court

Dedicated ethanol plants that were set up to exclusively supply Oil Marketing Companies and invested substantial sums on the basis of long-term assurances cannot be denied the benefit of that framework without scrutiny, the Karnataka High Court has held. Justice M. Nagaprasanna delivered the ruling while allowing a petition filed by VINP Distilleries and Sugars Pvt. Ltd. against Indian Oil Corporation Ltd., Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd. The dispute...

Karnataka High Court Upholds Special Court Attachment Under KPIDFE Act, Rejects Canara Bank Challenge

The Karnataka High Court on 10 June 2026 dismissed an appeal filed by Canara Bank against a Special Court order that had made absolute an interim attachment under the Karnataka Protection of Interest of Depositors in Financial Establishments Act, 2004 (KPIDFE Act). A Division Bench of Justices Anu Sivaramman and Venkatesh Naik T dismissed the appeal filed by Canara Bank and upheld the Special Court's order. It held that a secured creditor who has constructive notice of an attachment cannot...

Karnataka High Court Quashes ED Arrest Of Gameskraft Founder, Says Arrest Cannot Spring From Ashes Of Old Allegations

The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday quashed the Enforcement Directorate's arrest of gaming platform Gameskraft founder Deepak Singh and two company executives, holding that the agency could not justify their arrest on the basis of material that was substantially the same as that relied upon in earlier proceedings. Justice M Nagaprasanna passed the order while allowing petitions filed by Singh and Gameskraft executives Vikas Taneja and Prithvi Raj Singh. The court observed that the ED itself had...

Banks Must Restrict Account Freeze To Amount Specified In Freezing Direction: Karnataka High Court

Banks cannot freeze an entire account when investigating agencies have directed freezing only up to a specified amount, the Karnataka High Court has held. The court observed that any restriction on the operation of a bank account must remain proportionate to the purpose sought to be achieved. Justice Suraj Govindaraj delivered the ruling while allowing a petition filed by a customer of IndusInd Bank. The account holder challenged the freezing of his account following communications from...

“Banks Are Dealing With Public Money”: Karnataka High Court Calls for Strict Adherence To RBI Guidelines

The Karnataka High Court recently observed that banks dealing with public money must exercise utmost caution while conducting their business and strictly follow RBI guidelines and internal circulars. The court warned that departures from prescribed procedures can adversely affect a bank's financial operations, create chaos in the banking system, and ultimately impact the country's economy. A Division Bench of Justice D.K. Singh and Justice T.M. Nadaf made the observation while setting aside...

Oral Statements Cannot Alter Written Lease Terms, Karnataka HC Sets Aside Commercial Court Decree

The Karnataka High Court has set aside a Commercial Court decree directing the return of a cable TV network business, equipment, and subscribers and ordering payment of rent and damages. The court held that there was no evidence of any agreement extending a written lease beyond its stipulated term and that the claims were barred by limitation. The dispute concerned a cable TV network business operated under the name “New Satellite Video Visions” in Mysuru. A Division Bench of Chief Justice...

NCLT's Scrutiny Of Applicant's Standing To Invoke Personal Insolvency Process Is Not Adjudication: Karnataka HC

The Karnataka High Court has held that the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) is entitled to examine whether an applicant possesses the requisite locus standi to invoke the personal guarantor insolvency framework before permitting the process to proceed. The court held that such an exercise does not amount to an adjudication of the insolvency claim on merits. Justice Suraj Govindaraj observed: “Thus, when the National Company Law Tribunal examines whether an applicant possesses the...

Karnataka High Court Rejects Trademark Suit After Finding Reliefs Were Undervalued To Avoid Commercial Court

The Karnataka High Court has rejected a trademark infringement and passing-off suit filed by a Raichur-based rice trader after holding that the plaintiff had deliberately undervalued the suit reliefs and instituted the dispute before a civil court instead of the commercial court.Justice Ravi V Hosmani passed the order on June 1 while allowing a revision petition filed by Shri Prasanna Anjaneya Agrotech and setting aside an order of the XVIII Additional City Civil and Sessions Judge, Bengaluru,...