Madras High Court Dismisses Actress Tamanna Bhatia's Rs 1 Crore Damages Claim Against Soap Maker

The court held that use of an actress’s image after expiry of an endorsement agreement amounts to violation of personality and privacy rights, but found no evidence linking the company to the alleged use.

Railways' SCR Treasury Account Not Immune To Attachment Without Proof Of Exempt Funds: Telangana High Court

The Telangana High Court has recently held that the Railways' SCR treasury account is not immune from attachment in execution proceedings in their entirety and that only specifically identifiable exempt amounts can be protected. Clarifying that exemptions under Section 60 of the Civil Procedure Code apply only to identifiable portions of funds and not entire accounts, the Court said, “It is also pertinent to note that the proviso to section 60(1) of the CPC carve-out exceptions from...

Telangana High Court Sets Aside Order Directing Swiggy To Furnish ₹58.6 Lakh Security In Recovery Suit

The Telangana High Court has recently set aside an order directing online food delivery platform Swiggy to furnish Rs 58.60 lakh as security or face attachment of its bank account before judgment in a money recovery suit over alleged unpaid dues for supplies. It held that such attachment cannot be ordered in the absence of material satisfying the requirements under Order XXXVIII Rule 5 of the Civil Procedure Code.Order XXXVIII Rule 5 CPC empowers a court to direct a defendant to furnish security...

Probate Of Will Of Undischarged Insolvent Not Barred Under Indian Succession Act: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court has recently held that probate of the Will of a person who died as an undischarged insolvent is not barred under the law and can be sought, even though the estate vests in the Official Assignee for distribution among creditors. “There is no embargo under the provisions of the Succession Act from seeking probate of the Will of an undischarged insolvent.” A single-judge bench of Justice Sharmila U. Deshmukh was dealing with a testamentary petition seeking probate of the...

Bombay High Court Orders MPT To Refund ₹4.09 Crore To JSW Steel Over Sunken Barge

The Bombay High Court on Friday held that liability for the removal of a wrecked vessel under Section 14 of the Indian Ports Act, 1908 applies to the owner of the vessel and directed the Mumbai Port Trust (MPT) to refund Rs 4.09 crore to JSW Steel after finding it was not the owner of the sunken barge.Allowing the writ petition, a bench of Justices Manish Pitale and Shreeram V. Shirsat directed MPT to return Rs 4,09,25,764, comprising Rs 70 lakh deposited by JSW Steel along with accrued...

Cheque Not Legally Enforceable For Full Amount If Part Payment Not Endorsed: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court has held that a cheque presented for its full value despite prior part payments without endorsement does not represent a legally enforceable debt, while upholding an acquittal in a cheque dishonour case. Justice A. Badharudeen, while dismissing an appeal filed by complainant Danikutti Philip, held, "However, when part payment(s) is/are made and the indorsement mandated under Section 56 of the NI Act failed to be recorded, presenting the cheque for the whole sum, of which a...

Service Of Notice On One Partner Deemed Service On All Under Presidency Towns Insolvency Act: Bombay HC

The Bombay High Court has held that service of an insolvency notice on a firm or any one of its partners amounts to valid service on all partners under the Presidency Towns Insolvency Act, 1909. The court rejected the argument that limitation should be counted from the last date of service on each partner. A single-judge bench of Justice Jitendra Jain was hearing an insolvency petition where the judgment debtors challenged its maintainability under Section 12(1)(c) of the Presidency Towns...

MP High Court Restores Suit, Says Bar On Unregistered Partnerships Not Applicable As Claim Not Made As Partner

The Madhya Pradesh High Court at Jabalpur has set aside a trial court order rejecting a suit at the threshold, holding that the bar on suits by unregistered firms could not be invoked where the plaintiff was seeking declaration of his rights in the land on the basis of the money he had invested. A single judge bench of Justice Deepak Khot observed, "In fact, it is a case of the appellant that the appellant has invested money with defendants, who are said to be partners in the partnership firm...

Shareholder Has No Proprietary Rights Over Company's Digital Assets: Karnataka High Court

The Karnataka High Court recently refused to quash an FIR registered against the Director of a Bengaluru-based algorithmic trading company for allegedly stealing, copying, and deleting the company's proprietary source code and trading algorithms, holding that a shareholder's stake does not confer any proprietary right over the company's digital assets. The single-judge bench of Justice M. Nagaprasanna held that the issue was not purely civil in nature; the court observed that the allegations...

Delhi High Court Lets Meta Approach NCDRC Against ₹10 Lakh Penalty In Walkie-Talkie Listings Case

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday permitted Meta Platforms Inc. to withdraw its writ petition challenging a Rs. 10 lakh penalty imposed by the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) for alleged misleading advertisements and unlawful listing of walkie-talkies on its Facebook Marketplace platform, and granted liberty to approach the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC).A single-judge bench of Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav gave Meta liberty to challenge the order...

'PILs Filed At Behest Of Rivals Harm Corporate Reputation': Bombay High Court Rejects FIR Plea Against Reliance Industries

The Bombay High Court on Friday expressed its concern that writ petitions masked as public interest litigations are often filed at the instance of a failed competitor or a rival business house while dismissing a petition seeking registration of an FIR against Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) over allegations of illegal extraction of gas from ONGC wells. A bench of Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Suman Shyam noted that such petitions can cause serious harm to the reputation and...

No 'Deemed Liability' For Company Directors Under Negotiable Instruments Act: Calcutta High Court

The Calcutta High Court has recently held that there is no deemed liability for a director merely by virtue of his designation, emphasising that specific factual averments in a complaint linking a director to the day-to-day management of the company are a jurisdictional prerequisite under Section 141 of the Negotiable Instruments Act. The court said that silence in a complaint regarding a director's role constitutes a substantive failure to establish a prima facie case. Justice Uday Kumar,...