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...

S.130 CGST | GST Law Does Not Allow Provisional Release of Goods Seized During Confiscation Proceedings: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court on Friday held that GST authorities cannot release seized goods during confiscation proceedings merely because the trader pays the fine proposed in a show cause notice. Justice Ziyad Rahman A.A. ruled that Section 130(2) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act permits payment of a fine in lieu of confiscation only after a final confiscation order is passed. “Mere notice to initiate confiscation proceedings will not amount to authorisation for confiscation,” the court...

Kerala High Court Quashes Composite GST Notices Issued to Actor Honey Rose

The Kerala High Court on Monday refused to set aside composite GST show cause notices and assessment orders issued to actor Honey Rose Varghese and several other taxpayers, holding that it was bound by earlier Division Bench rulings requiring separate proceedings for each assessment year. Allowing the batch of petitions, Justice Ziyad Rahman A.A. observed that there was no stay on the earlier orders of the court and was therefore bound by it. “In this case, evidently, no stay is also obtained...

Writ Courts Cannot Force NBFCs To Regularise NPAs After SARFAESI Notice: Keral High Court

The Kerala High Court has held that courts cannot compel banks or Non-Banking Financial Companies to regularise loan accounts classified as Non-Performing Assets. Such directions cannot be issued once proceedings under the SARFAESI Act have been initiated especially diregarding the specific stand taken by NBFC. Setting aside an order granting instalment relief to a defaulting borrower, a Division Bench of Justices Anil K. Narendran and Muralee Krishna S. held: “When the...

Surviving Joint Holder Cannot Claim Ownership Of Bank Locker Contents After Co-Holder's Death: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court has recently clarified that the “either or survivor” clause in a joint bank locker agreement, which ordinarily allows the surviving holder to operate the locker after the other's death, does not confer ownership rights over its contents. “The concept of the entitlement of one of the joint holders to have a right over the money, which is deposited in the joint account or fixed deposit, is entirely different and cannot be applied to the case of a bank locker,” the Court...

Kerala High Court Mandates Police Verification Of Petitioner's Identity In Bank Account Defreezing Pleas

The Kerala High Court has recently directed strict procedural safeguards in cases where petitioners seek defreezing of their bank accounts, mandating police verification of identity before such pleas are entertained. A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Soumen Sen and Justice Syam Kumar V.M. issued the directions while disposing of a suo motu Judicial Practice and Procedure (JPP) proceeding initiated by the Court. The bench ordered that the Registry of the High Court shall not accept any...

Bank Can Exercise Lien On Guarantor's Salary, Section 60 CPC Not Applicable: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court on 9 February held that a bank is entitled to exercise its right of lien over a guarantor's salary account. It clarified that protection under Section 60(1)(i) CPC does not restrict the bank's substantive right. A Division Bench of Justice Anil K. Narendran and Justice Muralee Krishna S, while deciding cross appeals filed by Canara Bank and the guarantor, Agi Kumar, allowed the bank's appeal and set aside the single judge's direction limiting the lien. The judges...

Managing Director Liable For Dishonoured Company Cheques Where He Ran Its Day-to-Day Affairs: Kerala High Court

A Managing Director who was in charge of a company's day-to-day affairs and who signed its cheques can be held vicariously liable for cheque dishonour, the Kerala High Court has held, dismissing a revision plea by a company's former head. Justice M.B. Snehalatha upheld the conviction of V.J. Joseph, the former Managing Director of J and A Foundations Pvt. Ltd., in a cheque dishonour case under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act. It involved three cheques issued by the company. The...

Kerala High Court Sets Aside Arbitral Award For Relying On Findings Of Set-Aside Award

The Kerala High Court has recently set aside an arbitral award after holding that the arbitrator committed a jurisdictional error by treating findings from an earlier arbitral award, which had already been set aside, as 'alive and final.'A bench comprising Chief Justice Soumen Sen and Justice Syam Kumar V. M. observed the arbitrator was required to consider the dispute afresh but failed to do so. Instead, the arbitrator proceeded on the assumption that conclusions recorded in the earlier...

Kerala High Court Quashes Panchayat Prosecution Over Tax Dues, Reiterates Recovery Must Fail First

The Kerala High Court has quashed criminal proceedings initiated by a grama panchayat against the General Manager of GTL Infrastructure Ltd. over alleged non-payment of panchayat tax in respect of mobile towers, holding that prosecution under the Kerala Panchayat Raj Act can be launched only after statutory recovery proceedings are first exhausted. A Single Bench of Justice C. S. Dias allowed a criminal miscellaneous case filed by the General Manager, who was the first accused in a complaint...

Real Estate Appellate Tribunal Can Remand Cases Despite No Express Power Under RERA: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court has recently held that the Real Estate Appellate Tribunal has the power to remand matters to the Real Estate Regulatory Authority for fresh consideration, even though the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, does not expressly provide for such a power. The court dismissed appeals challenging a remand order passed by the tribunal and upheld the direction for reconsideration. Justice M.A. Abdul Hakhim said the tribunal's appellate powers are wide enough to...