State Cannot Appoint Arbitrator Under Maharashtra Municipal Councils Act Without Arbitration Agreement: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed a special leave petition filed by Bharat Udyog Ltd, holding that the State Government had no authority under Section 143-A(3) of the Maharashtra Municipal Councils, Nagar Panchayats and Industrial Townships Act, 1965, which deals with issuance of policy directions regarding the levy and collection of octroi, to appoint an arbitrator between a Municipal Council and its agent.The court held that the government's exercise of such power could not be equated...

Local Residents' Obstruction Not Force Majeure: Delhi High Court Upholds Termination Of IRWO Contract

The Delhi High Court has upheld an arbitral award in favour of the Indian Railway Welfare Organisation (IRWO), affirming the termination of a housing construction contract and forfeiture of the contractor's bank guarantee and security deposit. The Court held that obstruction by local residents and apprehension of hostility at the site did not fall within the force majeure clause and that the contractor's refusal to resume work amounted to abandonment of the project. The Bench of Justice...

Dispute Over Lease Of Land For Petrol Pump Is Commercial Dispute Even If Pump Not Operational: Karnataka High Court

The Karnataka High Court has recently held that a dispute arising from a lease of land for a petrol pump qualifies as a “commercial dispute” under the Commercial Courts Act, even if the business has not commenced and the project is still under construction.A Division Bench of Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice C.M Poonacha was considering an appeal challenging an order of the Commercial Court returning the plaint on the ground that the dispute did not fall within the definition of a...

Supreme Court Refuses To Interfere In Harpic-Spic Bottle Dispute Between Reckitt And Godrej

The Supreme Court on Monday refused to interfere in the Harpic toilet cleaner bottle disparagement and trademark dispute between Reckitt Benckiser (India) Pvt Ltd and Godrej Consumer Products Ltd, noting that the Calcutta High Court had clarified that its observations while setting aside an injunction were only prima facie and that the matter would be decided finally after completion of pleadings. A bench of Justices Sanjay Kumar and K. Vinod Chandran disposed of the special leave petitions...

Chhattisgarh HC Allows Taxpayer To Seek Relief Under CBIC Circular Meant For States Where GSTAT Is Not Operational

The Chhattisgarh High Court has disposed of a writ petition filed by Maa Shakambari Steel Ltd., allowing the company to seek protection from GST recovery proceedings by following a Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) circular that applies in cases where the GST Appellate Tribunal is not yet operational. The matter came before Justice Rakesh Mohan Pandey, who was hearing a challenge to an order passed by the State tax authorities under Section 107(11) of the Chhattisgarh Goods and...

GST Appeals Must Be Filed On Time, Writ Cannot Override Statutory Limitation: Jharkhand High Court

The Jharkhand High Court on 16 March held that a party cannot bypass statutory limitation by approaching the High Court under writ jurisdiction. Statutory appeals must be filed within the prescribed period. A Division Bench of Chief Justice M.S. Sonak and Justice Rajesh Shankar dismissed the writ petition filed by Nayan Enterprises challenging a GST adjudication order, noting that it had failed to show “sufficient cause” for not filing an appeal within the prescribed limitation period. The...

Technical Glitch On Portal Cannot Deprive Taxpayer Of Sabka Vishwas Scheme Benefit: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court on 11 March held that the benefit of the Sabka Vishwas (Legacy Dispute Resolution) Scheme, 2019 cannot be denied on mere technical grounds when a taxpayer is not at fault. A Division Bench comprising Justice G. S. Kulkarni and Justice Aarti Sathe allowed a writ petition by Himtaj Ayurved Pvt. Ltd and directed the authorities to issue it a discharge certificate, emphasising that the scheme is a one-time measure aimed at resolving legacy disputes and ensuring disclosure of...

Delhi HC Dismisses Wadia Appeals, Refuses Higher Consultancy Fees In Married Accommodation Project Dispute

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday dismissed appeals filed by Wadia Techno Engineering Services Limited challenging arbitral awards in disputes arising from consultancy agreements for defence housing projects, holding that the consultant was not entitled to higher fees or compensation for delays. The court upheld a single judge's order refusing to interfere with the arbitral awards while maintaining the limited setting aside of certain claims relating to the Vizag project. A Division Bench of...

Mohanlal Withdraws Plea For Interim Relief In Personality Rights Suit Before Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court on Monday allowed Malayalam actor Mohanlal Viswanathan Nair to withdraw his application seeking an interim injunction in a personality rights suit, after the court indicated that the plea lacked the necessary specificity to enable enforceable takedown directions against intermediaries such as Meta and Google. A single bench of Justice Jyoti Singh permitted the withdrawal with liberty to file a fresh application containing detailed particulars, including a defendant-wise...

Bombay High Court Allows Raj Kundra's Company To Challenge UK Anti-Suit Injunction In Rajasthan Royals Dispute

The Bombay High Court on Monday granted leave under Clause XII of the Letters Patent to Kuki Investments Limited, a company owned by Raj Kundra, to institute a suit challenging an anti-suit injunction passed by the High Court of England and Wales in a dispute relating to the affairs of IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals. Allowing the petition seeking permission to file the suit against Emerging Media Ventures Ltd. and others, Justice Abhay Ahuja observed that the court was satisfied that grounds...

Figures In Conciliator's Report Do Not Bind Arbitrator: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court on 17 March dismissed a petition filed by ICICI Securities Ltd, holding that the amount indicated in a conciliator's report does not constitute an award and does not bind the Arbitral Tribunal in determining the final claim. Justice Sandeep V. Marne upheld an arbitral award of Rs. 23.30 lakh passed in favour of Ridhi Siddhi Investment in a stock trading dispute arising out of margin trading transactions. The Court observed: “Thus, the amount indicated in the report of the...

Bombay High Court Dismisses Multi-Credit Society's Appeal, Upholds Setting Aside Of Arbitral Award Over Borrowers' Membership

The Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court on 17 March dismissed an arbitration appeal filed by Rajlaxmi Multistate Credit Co-operative Society Ltd, declining to interfere with an order setting aside an arbitral award passed in its favour in a loan recovery dispute. A Single-Judge Bench of Justice Pravin S. Patil held that the arbitral award suffered from patent illegality as the arbitrator had wrongly assumed jurisdiction without establishing that the borrowers were members of the...