Kerala High Court Tax Annual Digest 2025

Direct Tax[Income Tax] Assessing Officer Not Only An Adjudicator But Also An Investigator, Cannot Remain Oblivious To Claim Without Enquiry: Kerala HCCase Title: Cochin International Airport Ltd v. The Assistant Commissioner Of Income TaxCase Number: ITA NO. 77 OF 2018The Kerala High Court stated that the Income Tax Commissioner can exercise Revisional Jurisdiction under Section 263 of the Income Tax Act, 1961.The Division Bench of Justices A.K. Jayasankaran Nambiar and Easwaran S. observed that...

Order Deciding Director's Authority Is Not An Arbitral Or Interim Award, Not Open To Section 34 Challenge: Karnataka High Court

The Karnataka High Court has held that an order passed by an arbitral tribunal deciding a preliminary or a factual issue such as whether the directors were authorised to execute agreements does not amount to an arbitral award or an interim award and therefore cannot be challenged under section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 ("Arbitration Act"). A Division Bench comprising Justice Anu Sivaraman and Justice Vijaykumar A. Patil allowed a commercial appeal and set aside...

Kerala High Court Grants Bail To Accused Caught In ₹5,000 Land Tax Bribery Trap By Vigilance

In an alleged bribe demand case of ₹5,000 for effecting mutation of property and payment of land tax, the Kerala High Court has granted bail to the accused after noting that the investigation was practically over and the petitioner had been in custody for more than 25 days. The order was passed by Justice Muralee Krishna S. while allowing a bail application filed by the sole accused in Crime No. VC.22/2025 of the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB), Ernakulam. The bail plea...

Delhi High Court Refuses To Restrain Haryana Company From Making Foldable Display Units In Patent Row

The Delhi High Court has declined to stop a rival manufacturer from making and selling foldable display units, saying the patent holder did not make out a case for interim protection. A single bench of Justice Mini Pushkarna, in a judgment delivered on December 24, 2025, dismissed a plea filed by the inventor Amitoje India Private Limited, a Delhi company against Haryana based Classic Display Systems Private Limited. The court held that the company's patent faced a credible challenge on...

Bombay High Court Quashes ₹1.26 Crore Arbitral Award Over Unilateral Appointment Of Arbitrator

The Bombay High Court recently set aside a ₹1.26 crore arbitral award made in favor of Madhuban Motors Pvt. Ltd. on the grounds that the lender unilaterally appointed the sole arbitrator, violating Section 12(5) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. Ruling that participation in arbitral proceedings cannot remedy an ineligible appointment, the Bench comprising of Justice Sandeep V. Marne held that the award was "patently illegal" and "against public policy". The disputed stemmed from a...

Availability Of Civil Remedy Not Grounds To Quash Criminal Proceedings: J&K High Court Holds In Enso Tower Dispute

The High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh recently held that the mere existence of a civil or commercial dispute does not bar criminal prosecution, if the allegations in a complaint disclose the commission of a criminal offense. Noting that same facts might result in both civil and criminal remedies, the bench comprising of Justice Sanjay Dhar, on 26th December, 2025, rejected to quash a 2020 theft FIR arising from a landlord-tenant dispute at Enso Tower. Zaffar Abbas Din, a landlord,...

Bank's Right To Recover Becomes Absolute Once Demand Notice Is Served In Borrower's Lifetime, Fresh Notice To Legal Heirs Not Needed: Kerala HC

The Kerala High Court, in a recent judgment, held that the statutory right of a bank to recover dues from a borrower under the SARFAESI Act becomes absolute once the demand notice is duly served during his lifetime and the mandatory 60-day period expires without the liability discharged.There was no need for the bank to issue fresh notices under the Act for the legal heirs of the deceased borrower, it was held.Justice Basant Balaji was considering a plea preferred by the legal heir of a deceased...

Non-Signatory Developer Can Be Impleaded In Arbitration If Conduct Shows Intent To Be Bound: Karnataka High Court

The Karnataka High Court has refused to interfere with an arbitral tribunal's decision impleading a non signatory company in arbitration proceedings holding that where conduct, agreements and commercial involvement of a party demonstrates clear intent to be bound by the arbitration agreement, the Group of Companies would apply. A Division Bench of Justice Jayant Banerji and Justice Umesh M Adiga dismissed a writ petition filed by Mantri Developers Pvt. Ltd., challenging a majority order...

Delhi High Court Bars “Star Smith” Name And Domain For Infringing A.O. Smith Trademarks

The Delhi High Court has barred the use of the trade name “Star Smith” and the website “www.starsmith.in,” holding that they appear to infringe the registered trademarks and domain names of A.O. Smith Corporation, a global maker of geysers and water purification systems.Justice Tejas Karia, passed the interim order on December 24, 2025, observing that the disputed trade name and domain name were deceptively similar to A.O. Smith's registered marks. The court said their use was likely to to...

Bombay High Court Sets Aside Arbitral Award Against Investors, Says Participation In Regulatory Proceedings Is Not “Forum Shopping”

The Bombay High Court recently set aside an arbitral decision that had rejected investors' claims against Central Depository Services (India) Limited (CDSL), on the grounds of alleged forum shopping, by declaring that involvement in regulatory proceedings does not bar independent arbitration remedies. Allowing a petition under Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, Justice Sandeep V. Marne on 23rd December, 2025 concluded that the arbitral panel had "egregiously erred" by...

Calcutta High Court Annual Tax Digest 2025

Direct TaxAO Duty Bound To Dispose Of Assessee's Written Objections To Proposed Re-Assessment By Passing Speaking Order: Calcutta High CourtCase title: Principal Commissioner Of Income Tax 13 Kolkata Vs Champalal OmprakashCase no.: ITAT/5/2025The Calcutta High Court recently upheld an ITAT order deleting the addition of over ₹4 crore made to the income of an assessee under the Income Tax Act, 1961 in reassessment action.A division bench of Chief Justice TS Sivagnanam and Justice Bivas Pattanayak...

Delhi High Court Revives Inventor's Patent Application For Mechanical Folding Device

The Delhi High Court has set aside a Patent Office order refusing a patent application filed by inventor Resham Priyadarshini for an invention titled “A Device For Folding Or Bending An Article”. The court held that the rejection was based on an incomplete reading of the application and remanded the matter for fresh consideration.In a judgment dated December 24, 2025, a single-judge Bench of Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora held that the Patent Office wrongly concluded that the claims were...