MP High Court Pulls Up MPRTC For Delay In Paying Arbitral Award, Notes ₹1.5 Crore Grew To ₹6 Crore With Interest

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has recently pulled up the Madhya Pradesh Road Transport Corporation (MPRTC) for delaying payment of a Rs 1.5-crore arbitral award for years, observing that the liability has now escalated to more than Rs 6 crore due to accumulated interest, resulting in “misuse and wastage of public money.” Setting aside an order of the executing court that had dismissed the execution proceedings for non-payment of process fee, a Division Bench of Justices Vivek Rusia and Pradeep...

Borrower Cannot Redeem Mortgaged Property After Sale Certificate Under Pre-2016 SARFAESI: Madhya Pradesh HC

Holding that a borrower cannot reclaim mortgaged property after issuance of a sale certificate under the unamended SARFAESI regime, the Jabalpur Bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court dismissed writ petitions challenging auction proceedings initiated by Bank of India. A Division Bench of Justices Vivek Rusia and Pradeep Mittal clarified that the equitable principle of “once a mortgage, always a mortgage” operates only until the right of redemption is lawfully extinguished.The case arose from...

Technical Member Mandatory: Madhya Pradesh High Court Sets Aside REAT Order Passed By Two-Member Bench

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has recently set aside an order of the Real Estate Appellate Tribunal after finding that it was passed by an improperly constituted Bench. The court held that the Tribunal decided the case without the participation of a Technical Member, a requirement mandated by law. Such an order, it said, cannot stand. “As per the provisions of Section 45 of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, the Appellate Tribunal must consist of the Chairman and two...

SARFAESI Act Does Not Mandate Resorting To Section 14 In Every Case Of Taking Possession: Madhya Pradesh High Court

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has held that a secured creditor is not mandatorily required to invoke proceedings under Section 14 of the SARFAESI Act for taking physical possession of secured assets, and that possession can be lawfully taken directly under Section 13(4) read with Rule 8 of the Security Interest (Enforcement) Rules, 2002, where no resistance is offered by the borrower.A Division Bench comprising Justice Anand Pathak and Justice Pushpendra Yadav allowed a writ petition filed by...

Section 14 | Banks Can Take Possession Without Magistrate's Assistance Under SARFAESI: Madhya Pradesh High Court

The Madhya Pradesh High Court on Wednesday held that a secured creditor is not required to mandatorily approach the District Magistrate or Chief Metropolitan Magistrate under Section 14 of the SARFAESI Act before taking physical possession of secured assets, so long as the statutory requirements under Sections 13(2) and 13(4) are complied with. A Division Bench of Justice Anand Pathak and Justice Pushpendra Yadav set aside orders of the Debt Recovery Tribunal, Jabalpur, and the Debts Recovery...

MP High Court Sets Aside District Court Order Rejecting SAIL's Arbitration Challenge In Two Paragraphs

The Madhya Pradesh High Court at Jabalpur has set aside a district court order that rejected SAIL's objections to a Rs 1.54-crore arbitration award, with its reasoning confined to just two paragraphs. The High Court said such a dismissal, without dealing with the objections raised, cannot be sustained. Justice Vivek Jain, while ordering a fresh decision through a reasoned order observed, “Such a non-speaking order passed in course of proceedings under Section 34 cannot be upheld by this...

MP High Court Asks GST Fraud Accused To Share Google Map Location With Investigators As Bail Condition

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has granted anticipatory bail to an accused in a GST fraud case but with a strict condition. The court has ordered him to share his location with investigators by dropping a Google Map pin, warning that any breach would cancel the protection. Justice Sandeep N. Bhatt passed the order on January 15, 2026, while allowing the anticipatory bail plea filed by Dheeraj Gupta. The Court said custodial interrogation was not warranted at this stage and observed that...

Municipal 'Self-Government' Doesn't Take Works Contract Disputes Outside State Arbitration Tribunal: MP High Court

The Madhya Pradesh High Court at Jabalpur has held that disputes arising out of works contracts with municipal corporations covered by the MP Madhyastham Adhikaran Adhiniyam, 1983 cannot be taken to arbitration under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, and must instead be decided by the state's statutory arbitration tribunal. Justice Vivek Jain held that although municipalities are described in the Constitution as institutions of local self-government, this does not place them beyond...

No Review Of Writ When GSTAT Appeal Is Available: Madhya Pradesh High Court

In a case involving bogus invoicing, the Madhya Pradesh High Court on 16 January reiterated that when an appellate remedy is available before the Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT), review of an earlier order which declined a writ petition was not warranted. A Division Bench of Justice Vivek Rusia and Justice Binod Kumar Dwivedi was hearing a review petition against its 5 August 2025 decision, which had relegated the petitioner to the remedy of appeal before GSTAT. The Bench...

Executing Court Cannot Add Interest on Capital Expenditure If Arbitral Award Is Silent: MP High Court

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has held that courts enforcing arbitration awards cannot add interest on capital expenditure by default when the arbitral award is silent and there is no delay in payment. It also ruled that courts enforcing arbitration awards cannot redo the electricity pricing formula used to calculate payments to power distributors once an arbitral award has become final.A Division Bench of Justice Vivek Rusia and Justice Pradeep Mittal said an executing court has a limited role....

Parties Must Exhaust Contractual Dispute Resolution Before Court Appoints Arbitrator: MP High Court

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has held that a court cannot appoint an arbitrator under Section 11 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 unless the party seeking such appointment has first exhausted the dispute resolution mechanism contractually agreed upon between the parties. A Bench of Justice Pavan Kumar Dwivedi dismissed three applications filed by former employees of Taskis India Private Limited, seeking appointment of an arbitrator, holding that the applicants were bound by the...

Appeal Against Commercial Court Judgment Lies Under Commercial Courts Act, Not CPC: MP High Court

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has said that a judgment delivered by a Commercial Court carries the force of a decree, and an appeal against it must be filed under the Commercial Courts Act rather than under the Civil Procedure Code. A division bench of Justice Vivek Rusia and Justice Pradeep Mittal held that such appeals must be filed under Section 13(1A) of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015, and registered as First Appeals before the Commercial Appellate Division of the High Court. “The...