Bombay High Court Cautions Income Tax Dept. Against Routine Appeals With Mechanically Drafted Questions Of Law

The Bombay High Court has cautioned the Income Tax Department against routinely challenging Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) orders by mechanically framing substantial questions of law.A division bench of Justice Suman Shyam and Justice Gautam A. Ankhad observed,"we are constrained to observe here that this Bench has noticed that Appeals under Section 260A of the Act are filed by the Department in a routine manner whereby the suggested substantial questions of law(s) are drafted...

Appeal Against Rejection Of Interim Relief Cannot Be Remitted To Arbitral Tribunal: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court has held that a High Court cannot transfer an appeal against rejection of an interim-relief application under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act to an arbitral tribunal and direct the tribunal to treat it as an application for interim measures.A bench of Justice Aravind Kumar and Justice Prasanna B. Varale set aside a Bombay High Court direction to that extent in a dispute between the Union of India and Hariom Projects Pvt. Ltd."The appellate jurisdiction under Section 37 is...

Bombay High Court Condones Trust's 30-Day Delay In Filing Tax Audit Form Despite Pending CBDT Plea

The Bombay High Court on 21 September condoned Vallabh Welfare Foundation's 30-day delay in filing Form 10B for Assessment Year 2020-21, despite the charitable trust having already approached the CBDT seeking condonation of the delay. A Division Bench of Justices B.P. Colabawalla and Farhan P. Dubash declined to relegate the Foundation to its pending application before the CBDT, finding that the peculiar facts warranted the High Court's intervention. The judges observed: “Though we are mindful...

Audit Objection Can't Reopen Scrutiny-Completed Assessment Without Fresh Material: Gujarat High Court

The Gujarat High Court on 17 September held that an assessment cannot be reopened merely on the basis of an audit objection when the underlying issue was examined during the original scrutiny and no fresh or tangible material indicates escapement of income. A Division Bench comprising Justices A.S. Supehia and Vaibhavi D. Nanavati quashed the Section 148A(3) order and consequential Section 148 notice issued to Lodestone Software Services Pvt. Ltd. for Assessment Year 2022-23, finding that the...

Delhi High Court Restrains Restaurant From Using “Social Circle” Mark Similar To Impresario's “SOCIAL”

On 21 September, the Delhi High Court granted an interim injunction restraining a Dehradun restaurant operating as “Social Circle” from using a mark deceptively similar to Impresario Entertainment and Hospitality's “SOCIAL” trademark. A Bench comprising Justice Vikas Mahajan observed that “the mark adopted by the defendant is identical/deceptively similar to the trade mark of the plaintiff.” Impresario has operated restaurants and bars under the “SOCIAL” brand since 2012 and currently has 52...

Gujarat High Court Says Casual Award Challenges Burden Courts, Imposes ₹3 Lakh Costs On Housing Board

The Gujarat High Court on 18 September held that courts can impose costs to deter casual challenges to arbitral awards, observing that frivolous applications under Sections 34 and 37 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 burden courts with unnecessary litigation. A Division Bench of Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice D.N. Ray dismissed the Gujarat Housing Board's challenge to a Rs. 3.97 crore arbitral award in favour of Cube Construction Engineering Ltd. and imposed Rs. 3 lakh...

Delhi High Court Orders Meta, WhatsApp To Block Fake 'Purplle' Franchise Seeking ₹15 Lakhs From Public

The Delhi High Court on 15 September passed an interim injunction restraining an anonymous Facebook and WhatsApp operation from impersonating beauty and personal-care platform Purplle and soliciting Rs. 15 lakh from people through a fake franchise opportunity. Justice Jyoti Singh passed the order in a suit filed by Manash Lifestyle Private Limited, which owns and operates Purplle, against the unidentified operators as well as Meta, WhatsApp, Reliance Jio and Truecaller. The Bench observed that...

Sikkim High Court Sets Aside ₹37.93 Lakh Recovery Against Lupin Limited, Directs Fresh Review

On 23 September, the Sikkim High Court set aside a Rs. 37.93 lakh recovery against Lupin Limited under the Budgetary Support Scheme, directing the tax authorities to reconsider the matter after examining the company's explanation and supporting documents. Chief Justice A. Muhamed Mustaque found that the authorities had not properly considered Lupin's explanation on the ITC reflected in its GSTR-2A before concluding that it had received excess benefit under the scheme. The Bench observed: “If...

Madhya Pradesh High Court Advises GST Department To Send SMS/Email Alerts For Hearing Dates

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has advised the GST Department to introduce SMS or email alerts to parties or their advocates about hearing dates, after noting that many taxpayers were approaching the court complaining that they had not been served with hearing notices.A Division Bench of Justice Subodh Abhyankar and Justice Alok Awasthi made the suggestion while allowing a petition filed by Maple Overseas Trade Private Limited. The court set aside the dismissal of the company's appeal against a...

Supreme Court Dismisses PIL Seeking Probe Into ₹1,537 Crore JKM Infra Debt Settlement

The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed a Public Interest Litigation seeking a court monitored probe into the settlement of JKM Infra Projects Ltd's ₹1,537 crore debt for ₹73.50 crore through the Asset Reconstruction Company (ARC) route. The petitioners had alleged a wider nexus between banks, ARCs and borrowers and sought investigation by agencies including the Central Bureau of Investigation, Enforcement Directorate and Serious Fraud Investigation Office.A bench of Chief Justice Surya...

'There Should Be A Separate 'META Court': Delhi HC Judge Jests As Another Instagram Copyright Case Lands In Court

The Delhi High Court judge hearing a copyright dispute involving a content creator and Meta remarked in jest that “there should be a separate court, a META court, funded by META” after yet another Instagram copyright-strike dispute came up before the court.Justice A.J. Bhambhani made the oral remark while hearing Jitender Singh's suit against Meta and other defendants over copyright strikes on his Instagram account.The court declined to pass a blanket order protecting Singh from future copyright...

Drishti IAS Founder Vikas Divyakirti Moves Delhi High Court Seeking Protection Of Personality Rights

Vikas Divyakirti of Drishti IAS has moved the Delhi High Court seeking protection of his personality rights, The suit was listed on Thursday before Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav The court directed that the matter be transferred to a coordinate bench already dealing with personality rights disputes, rather than proceeding before it.Divyakirti, the founder of Drishti IAS, a UPSC coaching institute, filed the suit through counsel who told the court that it seeks protection against three...