Stamp Duty On Loan Assignment To ARC Must Be Based On Debt Assigned, Not Property Value: MP High Court

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has recently ruled that stamp duty on the assignment of loans to an Asset Reconstruction Company (ARC) under the state government's March 7, 2005 Notification must be calculated at 0.1% of the loan securitised or debt assigned and not on the market value of the mortgaged property.Holding that the notification links stamp duty to the loan securitised or debt assigned rather than the value of the secured property, Justice Maninder S. Bhatti observed,"A perusal of the...

SARFAESI Auction Purchaser Can't Be Treated As Unauthorised Occupant Under State Eviction Law: MP High Court

The Madhya Pradesh High Court, Gwalior Bench, has dismissed a writ petition filed by the M.P. Industrial Development Corporation Ltd. (MPIDC). The court held that an auction purchaser under the SARFAESI Act cannot be treated as an unauthorised occupant under the M.P. Lok Parisar (Bedakhali) Adhiniyam, 1974 merely because disputes later arise over transfer of leasehold rights or liability for earlier dues.Justice Milind Ramesh Phadke observed, "Its possession, therefore, cannot be equated with...

RERA Adjudicating Officer Cannot Award Interest While Enforcing Refund Order: Madhya Pradesh High Court

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has recently held that a RERA Adjudicating Officer cannot independently determine and award interest after the Regulatory Authority has already decided a homebuyer's entitlement to a refund and compensation. It ruled that such a determination falls outside the jurisdiction conferred on the Adjudicating Officer under Section 71 of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016. Justice Milind Ramesh Phadke partly allowed a writ petition filed by Jetal...

Liquor Contractors Cannot Be Penalised For Supply Failure Due To Portal Glitches: Madhya Pradesh HC

The Madhya Pradesh High Court on 8 July held that liquor contractors cannot be penalised for the Excise Department's failure to supply liquor due to technical glitches in its online portal, observing that the State cannot take advantage of its own lapse to deny relief to licensees. Justice Sandeep N. Bhatt partly allowed a batch of writ petitions filed by several liquor contractors and directed the authorities to grant relief sought by them, while declining the remaining reliefs considering the...

MP High Court Sets Aside Deletion Of J.P. Structures From Jindal Steel's Trademark Infringement Suit

The Madhya Pradesh High Court on 1 July set aside an order of the Commercial Court, Bhopal, which had deleted a construction contractor from Jindal Steel and Power Limited's trademark infringement suit over the alleged use of counterfeit TMT rebars bearing the “JINDAL TMT” mark in the construction of a Government Medical College project. A Division Bench of Acting Chief Justice Vivek Rusia and Justice Pradeep Mittal allowed the appeals filed against J.P. Structures Private Limited and Others,...

RERA Cannot Treat Temple Deity and Registered Trust As Separate Entities: Madhya Pradesh High Court

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has upheld an order directing registration of a residential-cum-commercial project proposed by Shankar Ji Maharaj Trust after ruling that the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) could not reject the application by treating the temple deity and the registered public trust managing the temple's affairs as separate entities. A division bench of acting Chief Justice Vivek Rusia and Justice Pradeep Mittal upheld the Madhya Pradesh Real Estate Appellate Tribunal's...

Madhya Pradesh High Court Upholds Tax On Soya Flour, Holds It Not Covered Under Exempt 'Atta' Category

The Madhya Pradesh High Court on 30 June upheld the orders of commercial tax authorities imposing Central Sales Tax on interstate sales of soya flour, holding that the product does not qualify as exempt “atta” under the relevant exemption notification. A Division Bench of Acting Chief Justice Vivek Rusia and Justice Pradeep Mittal dismissed the writ petition filed by Sonali Soya Pvt. Ltd. & Ors. and affirmed the tax demand raised against the petitioners. The judges held:“The Soya Flour...

Bona Fide Dispute Over Liability Bars Winding Up Proceedings: Madhya Pradesh High Court

The Madhya Pradesh High Court at Gwalior on 22 June held that a bona fide dispute over the rate of goods supplied to a company bars initiation of winding-up proceedings under Sections 433(e), 434(1)(a) and 439(1)(d) of the Companies Act, 1956. Justice Ashish Shroti dismissed a company petition filed by Mahavir Enterprises against Gwalior Sugar Company Ltd., finding that the claim involved disputed questions of fact regarding the applicable rates and outstanding liability. He observed: ...

MP High Court Appoints Arbitrator, Says Party Cannot Oppose Arbitration After Conceding To It In Similar Disputes

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has held that a party cannot "blow hot and cold" on arbitration by opposing arbitral reference after having accepted or relied on arbitration in similar disputes arising from the same agreement. The court consequently appointed a sole arbitrator to resolve a dispute over the valuation of shares following a proposed exit from a shareholders' agreement. Justice Deepak Khot passed the order in a dispute between JVS Foods Pvt. Ltd. and M.P. State Agro Industries...

RERA Cannot Demand 25-Year-Old Cooperative Society Records For Project Registration: Madhya Pradesh High Court

The Madhya Pradesh High Court recently has held that MP-RERA could not reject a real estate project registration application for non-production of a cooperative society's 25-year-old internal records when registered title documents and revenue records had already been produced. A division bench of Acting Chief Justice Vivek Rusia and Justice Pradeep Mittal dismissed MP-RERA's appeal and upheld an earlier order directing the authority to process the registration application filed by Shri Ji...

MP High Court Refers Gopal Enterprises-NCL Dispute To Arbitration Despite Use Of 'May' in Clause

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has referred a payment dispute between Gopal Enterprises and Northern Coalfields Limited (NCL) to arbitration. It held that the use of the word "may" in the contract's dispute resolution clause did not dilute the parties' intention to resolve disputes through arbitration. Justice Deepak Khot rejected NCL's objections and appointed Justice H.P. Singh, a former judge of the High Court of Madhya Pradesh, as the sole arbitrator. "The intention of the parties to...

Unexplained Delay Bars Exclusion Of Time Spent Before Wrong Forum From Limitation Period: MP High Court

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has held that a party cannot seek exclusion of time spent before a wrong forum under the Limitation Act if it fails to explain why it did not challenge the arbitral award within the prescribed period Justice Deepak Khot delivered the ruling while dismissing an appeal filed by Ashish and others against the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). The Court upheld an order rejecting their challenge to an arbitral award as barred by limitation. The court observed...