Deposit Of Arbitral Award Amount In Court Stops Post-Award Interest: Himachal Pradesh High Court

The Himachal Pradesh High Court on 5 March held that deposit of the entire arbitral award amount in the court registry amounts to payment to the decree-holder, and liability to pay post-award interest ceases from the date of deposit. A Bench of Justice Romesh Verma set aside an execution order against the Himachal Pradesh Power Corporation Ltd. (HPPCL) in its dispute with Arvind Kumar Bansal. He held: “the deposit of award amount in the Court amounts to payment to the credit of the decree...

Property Purchased Before PMLA Can Be Attached If Derived From "Proceeds Of Crime": Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court on Monday 16 March, held that the offence of money laundering is a continuing offence, and property purchased from “proceeds of crime” can be attached under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA), even if it was acquired prior to the Act coming into force. A Division Bench comprising Justice C Hari Shankar and Justice Om Prakash Shukla upheld the provisional attachment order issued by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The Bench observed: “Viewed thus, so long...

Allahabad High Court Allows Anand And Anand Firm's Writ, Holds Favorable Findings Prevent Remand

The Allahabad High Court on 16 February held that once a finding is recorded in favour of a party, the appellate authority cannot remand the matter back to the original assessing authority to redetermine the issue. A Single Judge Bench of Justice Vikas Budhwar allowed the writ petition filed by Anand and Anand Law Firm, holding: “Apparently, the writ petitioners herein are questioning the appellate order dated 30.04.2024 passed by the Joint Commissioner, GST (Appeals) for various periods....

Supreme Court Allows Zoomcar To File GST Appeal After Rajasthan HC Disposed Its Writ Without Granting Liberty

The Supreme Court has recently permitted Zoomcar India Pvt. Ltd., a car-sharing platform, to file a statutory appeal against GST assessment orders arising from proceedings for the financial year 2019–20, after the Rajasthan High Court disposed of its writ petitions without granting liberty to pursue the appellate remedy. A bench comprising Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Justice K.V. Viswanathan was dealing with special leave petitions challenging the Rajasthan High Court's orders, which had...

Shareholder Ratification Cannot Wipe Out Liability For Violation Of SEBI Regulations: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Tuesday observed that violations of SEBI regulations cannot be nullified through shareholder ratification, observing that regulatory breaches affecting multiple stakeholders must face statutory consequences.A bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and K.V. Viswanathan while setting aside the order dated June 2, 2022 passed by the Securities Appellate Tribunal, which had set aside penalties imposed by SEBI on Terrascope Ventures Ltd and its directors.“SEBI's Regulations...

Karnataka High Court Sets Aside Ex-Parte GST Order Passed Without Allowing Reply To Show Cause Notice

The Karnataka High Court has set aside an ex-parte GST order passed against Medizen Labs Pvt. Ltd. after noting that the adjudicating authority issued the order without considering any reply from the taxpayer. The court observed that, in the facts of the case, it would be appropriate to give the assessee an opportunity to respond to the show cause notice before the matter is decided on merits. A single-judge bench of Justice S. Sunil Dutt Yadav was hearing a writ petition filed by the...

Gujarat High Court Rejects Delayed Challenge To Arbitral Award Over No Plea Of Non-Delivery Of Signed Copy

The Gujarat High Court recently observed that a party challenging an arbitral award cannot seek to overcome limitation by claiming that it came to know of the award during execution proceedings, if its Section 34 application does not contain a clear and categorical plea that the signed copy of the award had never been delivered to it as required under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act. A division bench of Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice D.N. Ray made the observation while dismissing...

Bombay High Court Dismisses NHAI Appeal Against Enhanced Compensation For Petrol Pump Land Acquisition

The Bombay High Court has dismissed the National Highways Authority of India's (NHAI) appeal, finding no patent illegality in the arbitral award enhancing compensation to a petrol pump owner after partial acquisition of land for highway expansion resulted in loss of business access. Justice Arun R. Pednekar upheld an arbitral award revising land compensation from Rs 595 to Rs 1,190 per square metre and granting compensation for loss of income, easementary rights, and business impact, while...

Court Can Examine Arbitrator Appointment In Arbitral Award Challenge Even If Not Pleaded: Madras High Court

The Madras High Court has reiterated that courts can examine the validity of an arbitrator's appointment even if the issue was not specifically pleaded in a challenge under Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, where the defect goes to the root of the arbitral tribunal's jurisdiction. Setting aside a 2016 arbitral award, the Single Bench of Justice N. Anand Venkatesh held that the tribunal lacked inherent jurisdiction since the sole arbitrator, an official of Indian Oil...

Delhi High Court Upholds CESTAT Order Restoring Customs Broker License, Faults Vague Show Cause Notice

The Delhi High Court has upheld a CESTAT order restoring an entity's customs broker licence, holding that action based on a vague show cause notice cannot be sustained in law.A division bench of Justices Nitin Wasudeo Sambre and Ajay Digpaul dismissed an appeal filed by the Commissioner of Customs challenging the CESTAT order which had set aside the revocation of the respondent's Customs Broker licence.The dispute arose from an order dated February 14, 2024 by which the customs authorities had...

Delhi High Court Quashes Order Requiring OYO Parent Oravel Stays To Deposit 20% Tax Demand During Appeal

The Delhi High Court has quashed an order directing Oravel Stays Limited, the parent company of OYO, to deposit 20% of the outstanding tax demand as a condition for the grant of a stay during the pendency of its appeal.A division bench of Justices Dinesh Mehta and Vinod Kumar set aside the order passed by the Commissioner of Income Tax which had disposed of the company's stay application by directing payment of 20% of the total demand while keeping the remaining demand stayed.In its petition,...

Income Tax Assessment Order Against Amalgamated Boeing Entity Is Void: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has reiterated that an income tax assessment order passed in the name of a company that had ceased to exist following amalgamation is void ab initio and cannot be sustained in law.A division bench of Justices V. Kameswar Rao and Vinod Kumar thus dismissed an appeal filed by the Income Tax Department against Boeing India.For context, Boeing International Corporation India Pvt. Ltd. (BICIPL) had originally filed its return declaring an income of ₹60.55 crore. Subsequently, the...