Kerala High Court
Single Judicial Member Of NCLT Can Pass Orders If Authorised By President: Kerala High Court
The Kerala High Court on 18 February, held that a Single Member of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) can pass orders if the President of the Tribunal specifically authorises them under the proviso to Section 419(3) of the Companies Act, 2013. A Bench of Justice Viju Abraham dismissed a writ petition challenging orders passed by a Single Judicial Member of the NCLT, Kochi Bench, upholding the validity of the directions. The Court observed: “It is also to be noted that though Section 419...
Single Judge Cannot Disregard Rulings Of Division Bench Under Guise Of Reference: Kerala High Court
The Kerala High Court on Wednesday held that a Single Judge is bound by decisions of Division Benches and Full Benches and cannot question or disregard a binding Division Bench ruling under the guise of making a reference. A Division Bench of Chief Justice Soumen Sen and Justice Syam Kumar V.M was dealing with a reference arising from a writ petition filed by Grids Engineers and Contractors, challenging proceedings initiated by Union Bank of India under Section 14 of the SARFAESI Act. The Bench...
Tax Evasion Prosecution Not Liable To Be Terminated If IT Penalty Set Aside On Technical Grounds: Kerala High Court
The Kerala High Court has reiterated that criminal prosecutions for alleged tax evasion under the Income Tax Act do not automatically fail merely because penalty proceedings were set aside on technical grounds, and that such prosecutions can validly continue where allegations disclose wilful and deliberate concealment of income. The ruling was delivered by Justice G. Girish while dismissing a batch of criminal miscellaneous petitions filed by Dr. P.H. Abdul Majeed, who had sought the quashing...
Taxpayer Cannot Escape Prosecution By Filing Revised Returns Post-Search: Kerala High Court
The Kerala High Court on 20 February held that filing revised income tax returns after a search and seizure operation does not absolve a taxpayer from criminal prosecution for wilful tax evasion, and that such revised returns cannot be used as a shield against offences punishable under the Income Tax Act, 1961. Justice G. Girish, dismissed a batch of petitions filed by a medical practitioner challenging prosecutions pending before the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (Economic Offences),...
Bank Cannot Cancel Confirmed Auction Sale Due To Pending DRT Proceedings: Kerala High Court
The Kerala High Court on 3 March held that a bank cannot unilaterally set aside a confirmed auction sale merely because proceedings challenging the sale are pending before the Debts Recovery Tribunal (DRT). A Division Bench of Justice Anil K Narendran and Justice Muralee Krishna S was considering an appeal filed by the legal heirs of Vinod M.A., an auction purchaser. The Court stated: “It is trite that the authorised officer of the Bank cannot set aside the sale which was already confirmed in...
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...