“Is It Legitimate?”: Delhi High Court Seeks Flipkart's Reply on 'More Sellers' Feature On Its Marketplace

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday questioned Flipkart on whether its “more sellers” or latching-on feature can be considered legitimate when, in the facts of the case, it is alleged to enable the sale of counterfeit goods linked to a genuine product listing. Justice Jyoti Singh raised the issue while hearing a suit filed by a seller alleging that counterfeit sellers had latched on to its product listing as “more sellers” and offered non-genuine goods at lower prices, thereby misleading...

Welfare Boards For Building And Construction Workers Mandatory Before Levy Of Cess: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court has recently held that the constitution of Welfare Boards under the Building and Other Construction Workers Act, 1996 (BOCW), is a mandatory precondition for the effective levy and collection of cess under the Building and Other Construction Workers' Welfare Cess Act, 1996The court ruled that in the absence of such Welfare Boards, cess could neither have been validly levied nor collected, as the statutory scheme under both enactments presupposes the existence of a functional...

Calcutta High Court Declines To Entertain Arbitral Award Challenge In Disposed Arbitrator Appointment Plea

The Calcutta High Court has dismissed an application seeking to challenge an arbitral award after finding that it was filed in the wrong proceeding. The Court held that once it appoints an arbitrator, it cannot entertain further applications in that case and that any challenge to an award must be filed separately under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act. In this case, the opposite parties approached the High Court after the arbitral award was passed but filed their challenge in the already...

Tax Authority Must Consider 'Genuine Hardship' to Condone Filing Delays: Orissa High Court

The Orissa High Court has reiterated that tax authorities must exercise their power to condone a delay in filing income tax returns to address "genuine hardship" and not reject such requests mechanically. A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Harish Tandon and Justice Murahari Sri Raman set aside an order of the Principal Chief Commissioner of Income Tax (PCCIT), Odisha Region, which had refused to condone the delay in filing income tax returns by The Reserve Bank Employees Co-operative...

Email Service Of Patent Examination Report Valid, Postal Service Not Mandatory: Calcutta High Court

The Calcutta High Court has upheld the rejection of a patent application on the ground of abandonment, ruling that service of the First Examination Report (FER) through email constitutes valid service under the Patents Act, 1970, and that postal service is not mandatory.In an order passed on January 19, 2026, Justice Ravi Krishan Kapur dismissed a writ petition challenging the abandonment of a patent application titled “Herbal Anti-Venom against Catfish Sting,” holding that the Patents Act and...

Supreme Court Impleads 17 State and Civic Authorities In DLF Primus-Homebuyer Dispute Over Civic Amenities

The Supreme Court on January 15 allowed the impleadment of 17 government and regulatory bodies in a batch of civil appeals linked to DLF's Primus housing project in Gurgaon. The court said authorities responsible for roads, electricity, water supply, and other basic amenities must be part of the proceedings. A Bench of Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah and Justice R. Mahadevan allowed the homebuyer's plea to add the authorities as party respondents. “We allow the prayer for impleading all the 17...

Kerala High Court Rejects Review Of Direction On KINFRA Lease Execution In Favour Of ALKARSF

The Kerala High Court has dismissed a delayed review petition, refusing to reopen its earlier order that allowed the Kerala Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (KINFRA) to consider execution of a lease in favour of ALKARSF Apparels Pvt. Ltd. A Division Bench of Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas and Justice C. Jayachandran held that no fraud or suppression of material facts was made out. The court also found that the review plea was an afterthought, raised only after an adverse decision...

Bombay High Court Overturns Arbitral Award Granting Toll Loss Relief Based On Pre-Contract Meeting Minutes

The Bombay High Court has set aside an arbitral award that granted toll loss compensation to a private concessionaire by treating pre-contract Minutes of Meeting as a binding part of the contract. Justice Somasekhar Sundaresan held that the arbitral tribunal had misread the contract, effectively converting a force majeure clause into a guaranteed revenue mechanism. The Court said this interpretation was an “impossible view,” “irrational,” and suffered from “manifest perversity,” and held...

'Full and Final' Settlement Does Not Bar Arbitration On Fresh Disputes: Delhi High Court Reiterates

The Delhi High Court has reiterated that a “full and final” settlement does not automatically bar arbitration if fresh disputes arise from the settlement's implementation and the parties have agreed to arbitrate such disputes. A single-judge bench of Justice Jyoti Singh ruled that an arbitration clause incorporated in a settlement agreement and reflected in a consent award constitutes a valid arbitration agreement under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. The court clarified that...

Delhi High Court Lifts Injunction On BONERICH In Dispute With Pharma Mark BONRICH

The Delhi High Court has set aside an interim injunction granted in favour of Invision Medi Sciences Pvt. Ltd., a Bengaluru-based pharmaceutical company using the mark “BONRICH,” which had restrained Kedar Nath Mishra, the proprietor of the “BONERICH” mark, from using that mark for competing pharmaceutical products.In a judgment dated January 13, 2026, a Division Bench of Justice C Hari Shankar and Justice Om Prakash Shukla allowed the appeals filed by Mishra against the order of the Commercial...

Kerala High Court Upholds Order Against Detention Of Hindustan Coca-Cola's Goods In GST Dispute

The Kerala High Court has dismissed a writ appeal filed by the state tax authorities against Hindustan Coca Cola Private Limited over the detention of its goods during transit under the GST Act. The court held that the detention was not justified because the consignment was accompanied by all required documents. A Division Bench of Justice V.G. Arun and Justice Harisankar V. Menon said proceedings under Section 129 of the Central and State GST Acts were not called for in the facts of the...

Delhi High Court Upholds Rejection of Japanese Firm's Patent Bid For Worm-Based Cancer Detection

The Delhi High Court has upheld the rejection of a patent application for a cancer detection technique that relies on the smell responses of worms, holding that it is a non-patentable diagnostic method under Indian law. In a judgment delivered on January 17, 2026, a Single-Judge Bench of Justice Tejas Karia dismissed the appeal filed by Hirotsu Bio Science Inc., holding that the company's cancer detection method amounts to a diagnostic process barred from patent protection under Section...