DRT Registrar Can't Suo Motu Question Limitation, Maintainability Of SARFAESI Plea: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court has held that a Debts Recovery Tribunal (DRT) Registrar cannot suo motu refer a securitisation application filed under Section 17 of the SARFAESI Act to the DRT by examining questions of maintainability, limitation or locus standi. Justice P.V. Balakrishnan set aside the order of the Debt Recovery Tribunal-I, Ernakulam, rejecting an unnumbered securitisation application filed by Ramachandran P, and remitted the matter to the Registrar for consideration in accordance with...

Time-Barred GST Refund Claim Cannot Trigger Deficiency Memo: Madras High Court

The Madras High Court has held that a GST deficiency memo cannot be issued merely because a refund application is time-barred, as such a memo is meant to address a remediable defect in the application. Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy on 1 September, disposed of a deficiency memo issued to L.S. Pacific Wood Tech Pvt. Ltd. after it sought a refund under Section 54 of the GST enactments. The Bench observed that “a deficiency memo cannot be issued on the ground that the refund application is time...

Madras High Court Quashes GST Notice To Queen Mira School, Says Assessment Must Precede Recovery

The Madras High Court on 24 September quashed a show cause notice issued to Queen Mira International School, while granting the department liberty to initiate fresh proceedings in accordance with law. Justice C. Saravanan held that the GST authorities must first assess the tax liability of an unregistered person under the prescribed statutory mechanism before proceeding against such person for tax recovery. The Bench observed: “Under the GST enactment, the Department has to first invoke the...

Rajasthan High Court Quashes Jepee Construction's ₹6.93 Crore Tax Addition Over Short Response Time

On 6 October, the Rajasthan High Court held that less than three days to respond to a substantial tax addition is not a reasonable opportunity of hearing and set aside an assessment order passed by the National Faceless Assessment Centre against Jepee Construction Pvt. Ltd., involving an addition of about Rs. 6.93 crore. A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjay K. Agrawal and Justice Baljinder Singh Sandhu found that the assessment order wrongly recorded that the company had not filed...

Supreme Court Issues Notice On Challenge To HC Order Quashing Proceedings Against MSPL, Directors In Belekeri Iron Ore Case

The Supreme Court on Wednesday issued notice on a challenge to the Karnataka High Court order quashing CBI proceedings against MSPL Ltd., its directors, and others in a case arising from alleged illegal procurement and export of iron ore through Belekeri Port.A Bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana was hearing the challenge against the High Court order that had held that the CBI proceedings were without jurisdiction since the quantity of iron ore forming the...

Delhi High Court Stays FSSAI Orders Forcing PepsiCo, Monster Energy To Drop "Energy Drink" Label

The Delhi High Court has stayed orders of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) directing PepsiCo India Holdings Private Limited and Monster Energy India Private Limited to remove the description "Energy Drink" from their beverages.Justice Amit Mahajan, passing identical orders in both petitions on October 6, 2026, noted that the FSSAI orders were passed without a show cause notice or a hearing.PepsiCo sells "Adrenaline Rush Energy Drink - Ultimate Performance" and "Sting...

Supreme Court Refuses To Interfere With Delhi HC Order Reading Down CBDT Circular On AIF Taxation

The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to interfere with the Delhi High Court judgment reading down CBDT Circular No.13/2014 concerning taxation of Category-III Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) at the Maximum Marginal Rate (MMR).Allowing Equity Intelligence's writ petition, the Delhi High Court held that the SEBI framework itself made it impossible for a Category-III AIF to name its investors in the original Trust Deed before registration and investment. Applying lex non cogit ad...

SARFAESI Sale Notice Can't Reopen Issue Already Considered In Earlier Writ: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court has held that a SARFAESI sale notice cannot be used to reopen an issue already considered in earlier writ proceedings when the relief sought later is a continuation of the original cause of action.“We have also considered the implication of Order II Rule 2 of the CPC in proceedings under Article 226 of the Constitution of India and have categorically stated that, in the absence of any challenge to the proposed action of the Bank, the sale notice would not furnish another...

Delhi High Court Restrains Nine Rogue Websites From Streaming Ajay Devgn-Starrer 'Drishyam: The Conclusion'

The Delhi High Court has recently granted an ad interim ex parte injunction to Digital18 Media Private Limited, which holds exclusive rights in the Ajay Devgn-starrer Drishyam: The Conclusion. The Court restrained nine websites from hosting, streaming or making the film available online without authorisation.Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav also directed domain registrars and the government to block the sites and to act against fresh piracy of the film.Digital18 Media, which holds rights in the...

Karnataka High Court Upholds Injunction Against ACC Steel's Use Of 'ACC' Trademark

The Karnataka High Court has dismissed ACC Steel Pvt. Ltd.'s appeal against a commercial court decree restraining it from using “ACC” as a trademark or as part of its company name in the cement company's plea. A Division Bench of Justice D.K. Singh and Justice H. Shanthi Bhushan held that ACC Steel could not reduce the dispute to the fact that its steel products fall under the trademark classification for metals and metal goods, while ACC Limited's cement products are classified separately,...

Infosys, Infosys BPO Not Comparable To Goldman Sachs: Karnataka HC Upholds ITAT Order

The Karnataka High Court has upheld the exclusion of Infosys Ltd and Infosys BPO Ltd as comparable companies for Goldman Sachs Services Pvt Ltd in a transfer pricing dispute, finding no reason to interfere with the tribunal's factual assessment of the companies.A Division Bench of Justice S.G. Pandit and Justice Chillakur Sumalatha dismissed the Income Tax Department's appeal against the tribunal's order concerning Goldman Sachs for assessment year 2014-15.The department had challenged, among...

Government Instructions To Curb Tender Cartelization Do Not Usurp CCI's Powers: Orissa High Court

The Orissa High Court has dismissed a writ petition challenging government communications issued to ensure fair and transparent participation in open tenders and prevent cartelization and bid rigging, holding that the instructions did not usurp the statutory powers of the Competition Commission of India (CCI). The Court held that the communications merely contemplated administrative steps and possible reference of material to the CCI where evidence of cartelization was found. A Division...