Madras High Court Grants Inventor Opportunity To Demonstrate His Solar Power Device Before Patent Office

The Madras High Court has directed the Patent Office to grant an inventor one opportunity to demonstrate the working of his invention, holding that a potentially viable invention should not be rejected without adequate consideration.Justice N Anand Venkatesh passed the order on December 18, 2025, while disposing of a writ petition filed by Kannan Gopalakrishnan challenging the rejection of his patent review application relating to an invention titled “Solar Supplemental Power Source.” The...

Income Tax Act | S.153C Notices Unsustainable When Search For 'Other Person' Initiated After 01.04.2021: Madras High Court

The Madras High Court held that the notices under Section 153C are unsustainable where a search for 'other person' was initiated after 01.04.2021. Section 153C of the Income Tax Act applies when documents or assets belonging to a third party are found during a search, and an assessment is made against that person. Section 153C(3) of the Income Tax Act states that Section 153C shall not apply to any search initiated under Section 132 or books/assets requisitioned under Section 132A...

Madras High Court Rejects Jaipur Restaurant's Co-Ownership Claim To 'Dasaprakash' Trademark

The Madras High Court has refused to recognise a Jaipur-based company as a co-owner of the “Dasaprakash” trademark, holding that the brand is a jointly owned family mark that could not have been transferred by a single family member.The original mark is commonly associated with a South Indian restaurant chain. A single bench of Justice N Anand Venkatesh, in a judgment dated December 16, 2025, dismissed an appeal filed by Dasaprakash Restaurant and Ice Cream Parlour Pvt. Ltd. and upheld a...

Commercial Courts Act Bars Intra-Court Appeals In Patent Disputes: Madras High Court

The Madras High Court has held that an intra-court appeal is not maintainable against an order passed by a Single Judge while deciding a statutory patent appeal under the Patents Act. The court reiterated that the Commercial Courts Act does not permit a second appeal within the High Court. “Any expansion of scope of the Commercial Courts Act will defeat its objectives and there is no ambiguity regarding appeals from decrees of Commercial Courts and Commercial Divisions under Section 13 of the...

Income Tax Act | Reassessment U/S 147 Valid If Original Order Did Not Consider S. 80HHC Claim Earlier: Madras High Court

The Madras High Court held that reassessment under Section 147 of the Income Tax Act is valid if the original order is completely silent on the assessee's claim for deduction under Section 80HHC of the Income Tax Act. Section 147 of the Income Tax Act, 1961, empowers the Assessing Officer (AO) to assess or reassess income that has escaped assessment. Justices Anita Sumanth and Mummineni Sudheer Kumar stated that the original order of assessment is wholly silent in regard to the ...

IBC | All Property, Including Alleged Benami Assets, Shielded From Action Over Pre-Resolution Offences: Madras High Court

The Madras High Court has recently held that once a resolution plan is approved under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, authorities cannot proceed against any property standing in the name of a corporate debtor for offences committed before the insolvency process, even if such property is alleged to be held benami. A single bench of Justice G R Swaminathan ruled that Section 32A(2) of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016, offers wide protection to the property of a corporate debtor after...

Seven-Year Delay Violates Public Policy: Madras High Court Quashes ₹51.48 Lakh Award Against TN Housing Board

The Madras High Court has set aside an arbitral award of ₹51.48 lakhs passed in favour of the contractor, M/s. N.C.C. Ltd., on the ground of an inexplicable and excessive seven-year delay in its decision.On December 8th, 2025, Justice N. Anand Venkatesh ruled that such a delay, which is "explicit and adversely reflects on the findings," renders the award in conflict with the public policy of India and is vitiated by patent illegality, thereby attracting the provisions of Section 34 of the...

Award By Arbitrator Appointed By HC In International Commercial Arbitration Invalid Even If Parties Consent To Appointment: Madras HC

The Madras High Court bench of Justice N Anand Venkatesh has observed that appointment of arbitrator by a high court in case of an international commercial arbitration renders the award a nullity. Sections 4 and 11(6), Arbitration and Conciliation Act (“ACA”) are non -derogable and it is only the Apex Court which can appoint an arbitrator in an international commercial arbitration. Facts The present petitions have been filed under Section 34, ACA by China Datang Technologies and...

Madras High Court Orders Fresh Review of TVS Motor's Patent Plea For Scooter Frame Design

The Madras High Court has overturned a decision by the Patent Office that had denied TVS Motor Company a patent for its "vehicle frame assembly" invention. The court said the Patent Office did not properly examine how the design worked or whether it was truly obvious from earlier technologies.In its ruling dated November 28, 2025, Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy said the refusal order did not provide enough reasoning to conclude that TVS Motor's invention lacked originality. Because the...

Madras HC Quashes SCNs Against Apollo Tyres & MRF; Says S.74 GST Act Cannot Be Invoked When Tax Was Paid Voluntarily

The Madras High Court has quashed Show Cause Notices issued to Apollo Tyres Limited and MRF Limited alleging wrongful availment of Input Tax Credit (ITC) for the composite supply of Tyres, Tubes and Flaps (TFF) since tax difference was paid voluntarily. In twin judgments dated November 28,2025, Justice Krishnan Ramasamy examined if Show Cause Notice had fulfilled the ingredients of Section 74 to hold that payment deferred due to confusion prevailing confusion in the industry regarding...

ITAT Cannot Re-Adjudicate Issues Under Guise Of Rectification U/S 254(2) Income Tax Act: Madras High Court

The Madras High Court has held that the rectification power under Section 254(2) of the Income Tax Act is akin to the review power under Order 47 Rule 1 CPC and is limited to rectifying any mistake apparent on the face of the record. The Tribunal cannot re-adjudicate issues or modify its original order under the guise of rectification. Section 254(2) of the Indian Income Tax Act, 1961, grants the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) the authority to amend its orders to rectify any...

Madras High Court Strikes Out 'Sangeetham House Of Veg' Trademark For Violating Earlier Settlement In Infringment Suit

The Madras High Court has ordered the removal of the “Sangeetham House of Veg” trademark held by a Thiruchendur-based restaurant, after finding that the registration was obtained in violation of an earlier court-recorded settlement that required the outlet to change its name. The settlement had been reached in a trademark infringement suit filed by Chennai-based Sangeetha Veg Restaurant, which said the Thiruchendur restaurant's name and “S” logo were deceptively similar to its own “Sangeetha”...