Mere Concealment Of Gold Not Enough To Prove Customs Duty Evasion: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has upheld the acquittal of a man accused of smuggling gold into India, holding that mere concealment of gold was insufficient to establish fraudulent evasion of customs duty when the passenger was intercepted before he could proceed through customs clearance.Justice Neena Bansal Krishna dismissed an appeal filed by the Union of India challenging the acquittal of a Mumbai-based passenger who was found carrying 30 gold biscuits weighing 3496.400 grams concealed in a waist...

Supreme Court Refuses To Vacate Stay On FIR Against WinZO, Director Over Alleged BOT Use To Defeat Players

The Supreme Court on Monday (May 18) refused to interfere with the Punjab and Haryana High Court's order staying further proceedings in an FIR against WinZO Pvt Ltd and its director over allegations that the gaming platform used “BOTs” to cheat users. It requested the High Court to endeavour to decide the matter by June 15, 2026. A Bench of Justices M.M. Sundresh and Nongmeikapam Kotiswar Singh said there was force in the submission that courts ordinarily should not stall investigations....

IOCL's Terminal Facilities For Crude Oil Storage At Barauni Attract Service Tax: Patna High Court

The Patna High Court has held that terminal facilities used by IOCL's Barauni Refinery for storing crude oil before onward transportation constituted an independent taxable service liable to service tax, and were not merely incidental to pipeline transportation. The court ruled, “If MOU creates a provision of a separate charge for 'discharge facility' or 'terminal facilities' or 'storing of crude oil' before entering into next phase of transportation for Bongaigaon Refinery then, it cannot be...

Delhi High Court Restrains Two Rivals From Using Marks Similar To 'Schezwan Chutney'

The Delhi High Court has restrained Fivestar Dehydration Pvt Ltd and another from using the mark 'Schezwan Chutney' or deceptively similar variants. It held that merely inserting the word 'Hot' between 'Schezwan' and 'Chutney' would not distinguish the rival products for an average consumer. Justice Tushar Rao Gedela passed the ex-parte ad-interim order on May 14 in a suit filed by Capital Foods Private Limited, an associate of the Tata Group. The suit seeks permanent injunction against...

Borrower Consent Mandatory For SARFAESI Sale At Reserve Price: Andhra Pradesh High Court

The Andhra Pradesh High Court has recently held that a bank cannot confirm the sale of a secured asset in a SARFAESI auction when the highest bid matches the reserve price unless the borrower consents. “The sale of the secured asset in the auction exactly at the reserve price cannot be confirmed by the Authorised Officer without the consent of the borrower,” the Court held. A Division Bench of Justice Cheekati Manavendranath Roy and Justice V. Gopala Krishna Rao dismissed writ petitions filed...

Huge Turnover Difference Between Taxpayer, Comparable Warrants Exclusion In Transfer Pricing Analysis: Delhi HC

The Delhi High Court has held that a company with a vastly different turnover and scale of operations may not be a proper comparable for transfer pricing analysis.A division bench of Justices V. Kameswar Rao and Vinod Kumar observed that huge differences between the tested entity and the comparable would necessarily require the exclusion of the comparable.The court made the observation while dealing with an appeal filed by the Income Tax Department against an order of the Income Tax Appellate...

Delhi High Court Permits Trademark Renewal After Six Years, Faults Registry Over Defective Renewal Notice

The Delhi High Court has allowed trademark proprietor Rajinder Singh to file a fresh renewal application for his “B.P.R.” mark despite a delay of over six years. It held that the Trade Marks Registry could not rely on technical procedural non-compliance after having consistently sent communications to his updated address. Justice Tushar Rao Gedela ruled the Registry could not take such a stand after its own conduct showed it had recognised the changed address. “Once the Trade Marks...

Banks 'Casual' In Granting Big Loans, Small Borrowers Face 'Borderline Harassment': Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Tuesday criticised banks for what it described as a casual approach in sanctioning large loans to bigger entities while subjecting ordinary borrowers seeking small personal loans to stringent conditions and tedious procedures that may, in some cases, amount to “borderline harassment." A Bench of Justices Ahsanuddin Amanullah and R. Mahadevan clarified that it was not advocating any easing of lending norms, saying those matters were best left to the Reserve Bank of India and...

Delhi High Court Rejects Pandrol Rahee's Extra Payment Claim, Affirms Fixed-Price Nature Of IRCON Contract

The Delhi High Court on 20 May upheld an arbitral award rejecting Pandrol Rahee Technologies Pvt. Ltd.'s claim for additional payment from IRCON International Ltd. for supplying extra components for ballastless track fastening systems, holding that the contract remained a fixed-price “set-based” agreement despite variations in quantity. Justice Avneesh Jhingan observed that, “if the argument is taken to its logical end, it would mean that upon variation, the contract would change from a...

Dispute Over Partnership Deed Validity Cannot Defeat Arbitration Agreement: Calcutta High Court

The Calcutta High Court on 18 May held that a party cannot defeat an arbitration agreement merely by disputing the validity or genuineness of partnership deeds containing the arbitration clause. It observed that allowing such a challenge at the referral stage would undermine the doctrine of Kompetenz-Kompetenz under Section 16 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act.Justice Gaurang Kanth allowed a Section 11 petition filed by Juli Bhagat and appointed Advocate Chayan Gupta as sole...

Delhi High Court Grants Temporary Relief To Hugo Boss Against Delhi Trader Over Sale Of Alleged Fake Bedding

The Delhi High Court has recently granted temporary relief to Hugo Boss AG in a trademark infringement suit against a Delhi trader operating as Panipat Handlooms. The court restrained him from manufacturing and selling products such as luxury bedding, linen, and bath towels bearing allegedly infringing BOSS and HUGO BOSS marks. Justice Jyoti Singh passed the order on May 14 in the suit against Shubham Jain, who operates from Ashok Vihar in Delhi. Hugo Boss told the court that Jain was...

Calcutta High Court Denies Urgent Relief To Dabur In Suit Against Influencer Over 'Real Fruit Power' Videos

The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday issued notice to Avanish Agarwal and other respondents on a suit filed by Dabur India Ltd alleging that videos posted by Agarwal about its REAL Fruit Power brand were misleading, malicious, disparaging, and defamatory, while declining immediate interim relief. Justice Sugato Majumdar, hearing the matter on May 19, observed that while Dabur's right to seek legal recourse could not be denied, consumer interest and the dissemination of information relevant to...