Conciliation Under MSMED Act Is Mandatory, Cannot Be Waived By Parties: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court on 27 February held that the statutory mandate of conciliation under Section 18(2) of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Act, 2006 cannot be waived by a party to proceedings before the Micro and Small Enterprises Facilitation Council. A Division Bench of Justice Anil K Narendran and Justice Muralee Krishna S allowed a writ appeal filed by Malabar Social Service and Sanitation (MASSS) and set aside the judgment of the Single Judge which had quashed an award...

Limited SARFAESI Auction Deferment To Preserve Subject Matter Within Supervisory Jurisdiction: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court on Monday upheld a Single Judge's two-week deferment of a SARFAESI auction, holding that the limited relief granted to preserve the subject matter did not exceed supervisory jurisdiction under Article 227 of the Constitution. A division bench of Justice Anil K Narendran and Justice Muralee Krishna S dismissed a writ appeal filed by Union Bank of India, observing that the single judge had not entered into the merits of the dispute. S.S. Glass World had approached the...

Non-Registration Of Ongoing Project Does Not Bar RERA Or Hinder Allottee Rights: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court on 20 February held that a developer's failure to mandatorily register a housing project cannot be invoked to challenge RERA's jurisdiction, and cannot deprive allottees of statutory relief. Justice Ziyad Rahman A.A. dismissed a batch of writ petitions filed by the Army Welfare Housing Organisation (AWHO), observing that once a project is compulsorily registrable under Section 3(1) of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, complaints by allottees are...

Setting Aside Of Arbitral Award Does Not Automatically Remand Matter To Arbitrator: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court recently held that once an arbitral award is set aside under Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, the matter cannot be treated as remanded to the arbitrator unless a party had sought recourse to Section 34(4) during the pendency of the challenge proceedings. Justice C. Jayachandran, rejected the National Highways Authority of India's (NHAI) plea of “implicit remand” finding that no such request had ever been made and that the District Court had...

GST Payable Separately On Municipal Works Contracts Unless Tender Includes It: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court, on 12 February, held that contractors executing works for local self-government institutions are entitled to payment of GST over and above the contract value, and that such tax cannot be treated as included in the quoted rates unless the tender conditions expressly so provide. Harisankar V. Menon stated that once government circulars categorically mandate that tendered rates for public works are to be quoted exclusive of GST, the municipality cannot subsequently treat GST...

BSNL VRS Retirees Absorbed From DoT Entitled To Leave Encashment Tax Exemption: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court has held that retired BSNL employees who were originally absorbed from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) are entitled to full income-tax exemption on leave encashment under the Income Tax Act, 1961.The writ petition was filed by the Sanchar Nigam Pensioners' Welfare Association and two retired officers of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited, who had opted for the BSNL voluntary Retirement Scheme, 2019.The grievance arose when BSNL deducted tax at source on leave...

Kerala High Court Says Writ Maintainable Against SARFAESI Notice Before Recovery Action In Housing Loan Dispute

The Kerala High Court has held that a writ petition filed by the legal heirs of a deceased borrower was maintainable at the stage of a Section 13(2) notice under the SARFAESI Act, since no measures under Section 13(4) had yet been initiated and their challenge also concerned the bank's alleged failure to transfer the insurance premium to the insurer. A Division Bench of Justice Anil K Narendran and Justice Muralee Krishna S was hearing an appeal filed by Prameela Devi and her two daughters, the...

S.108 Customs Act | Statements Recorded By Customs Officers Sufficient To Proceed To Trial: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court has refused to discharge one of the accused in a CBI corruption case, holding that in the present case, statements recorded by Customs officers under Section 108 of the Customs Act, along with other materials constitute sufficient prima facie grounds to proceed to trial. “Thus, in the instant case, prima facie, there are materials to proceed with trial of the revision petitioner/accused No.3. No doubt, the evidentiary value of approvers and how far the same to be believed...

Kerala High Court Restrains Former G-TEC Franchisee From Using GIO TECH Mark

Holding that “G-TEC” and “GIO TECH” are phonetically similar and confusion is likely to be caused, the Kerala High Court has restrained a former franchisee from using the marks “GIO TECH” and “GIO TECH COMPUTER ACADEMY,” setting aside a trial court order that had refused interim relief. Justice S. Manu, in a judgment delivered on February 18, 2026, held that the analysis made by the court below was “by dissecting the trademarks” and that such an exercise “is not in consonance with the settled...

Where No Tax Evasion Is Alleged, Liberal Approach Warranted in Transitional ITC Case: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court has recently observed that a bona fide mistake committed by a taxpayer while filing revised TRAN-1 and TRAN-2 forms cannot justify denial of transitional Input Tax Credit, especially in the absence of any allegation of tax evasion.TRAN-1 and TRAN-2 are statutory forms under Section 140 of the CGST Act through which taxpayers carried forward eligible input tax credit from the pre-GST regime into GST."However, I am of the view that, when it comes to a case where no evasion of...

Forcing Company Secretary To Continue In Service After Resignation Is 'Bonded Labour': Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court has recently observed that financial issues or financial emergency cannot be a reason to force a Company Secretary to work for an incorporated Company against his will and without his consent. The court further observed that if the employer refuses to accept resignation of an employee, it would amount to bonded labour prohibited under Article 23 of the Constitution of India. Justice N Nagaresh allowed writ petitions filed by Greevas Job Panakkal, Company Secretary of...

Auction Purchasers Cannot Remove EPFO Attachment As CERSAI Registration Came After EPF Dues Accrued: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court has recently dismissed a writ petition filed by auction purchasers seeking removal of attachments over a property purchased in SARFAESI proceedings conducted by Federal Bank. Justice Viju Abraham held that since the bank itself could not claim statutory priority under Section 26-E of the SARFAESI Act, the auction purchasers were not entitled to seek effacement of the EPFO attachment. The court noted that priority under Section 26-E arises only upon registration of...