Limitation No Ground To Refuse Arbitration Reference Unless Claim Is Clearly Time- Barred: J&K&L High Court

The High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh has reiterated that a plea of limitation cannot by itself block the appointment of an arbitrator unless the claim is clearly time-barred, and that such questions should ordinarily be left to the arbitral tribunal. A bench of Justice Sanjay Dhar relying on earlier precedents held,“at the time of considering a petition under Section 11(6) of the Act, unless it is shown that the claim is ex facie time barred or hopelessly time barred, the Court...

Bombay High Court Quashes Municipal Cess Assessment Orders Against HPCL Over 10-Year Delay

The Bombay High Court has recently quashed municipal cess assessment orders passed by the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation against Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd., holding that completing proceedings more than ten years after issuing show cause notices was unreasonable and liable to be set aside. A Division Bench of Justices G. S. Kulkarni and Aarti Sathe noted that the issue raised was already covered by its earlier ruling and that the corporation was bound by it. “In this view of the...

Madras High Court Sets Aside Rental Loss In Arbitral Award Against VLCC In Lease Dispute

The Madras High Court has partly allowed an appeal filed by VLCC Health Care Limited, setting aside the rental loss component of an arbitral award while upholding damages and arrears of rent against the company.The court held that once possession of the premises had been handed over, a claim for rental loss for the subsequent period was unsustainable. A Division Bench of Justices P. Velmurugan and K. Govindarajan Thilakavadi was dealing with an appeal under Section 37 of the Arbitration and...

Taxpayer Must Be Heard Even If They Opt Out Of Personal Hearing Under GST Law: Gujarat High Court

The Gujarat High Court recently quashed a GST demand against a registered taxpayer, holding that authorities must grant a personal hearing before passing an adverse order and cannot bypass this requirement even if the taxpayer opts out in a form. A division bench of Justice A.S. Supehia and Justice Pranav Trivedi held that the statutory mandate governing adjudication has to be strictly followed. The court said, “the option of no personal hearing taken by the petitioner, cannot override the...

Telangana High Court Upholds 1% Royalty Cap On Export Sales, Dismisses Gulf Oil Appeals

The Telangana High Court on 26 March, upheld the restriction of royalty on export sales to 1% for Gulf Oil Corporation Ltd., holding that regulatory approvals permitting higher royalty rates do not determine arm's length price under transfer pricing provisions, which operate as a self-contained code under Sections 92 to 92F of the Income Tax Act. The Division Bench comprising Justices P. Sam Koshy and Suddala Chalapathi Rao held that no substantial question of law arose in the matter and...

Delhi High Court Sets Aside Arbitral Award In Samsung–PTC Dispute Over Unilateral Arbitrator Appointment

The Delhi High Court has recently set aside a 2018 arbitral award arising out of disputes between PTC Techno Pvt. Ltd. and Samsung India Electronics Pvt. Ltd., holding that the appointment of the arbitrator by an official of Samsung was legally impermissible. A Single Bench of Justice Avneesh Jhingan held that the sole arbitrator, Justice Sunil Ambwani (Retd.), had been appointed by the Vice President of the respondent company, which was contrary to Section 12(5) of the Arbitration and...

Madras High Court Upholds Dismissal Of Hatsun 'Arokya' Trademark Suit Against Patanjali 'Aarogya'

The Madras High Court on 21 April 2026 dismissed an appeal filed by Hatsun Agro Product Ltd., upholding a summary judgment rejecting its trademark infringement and passing off claims against Patanjali Biscuits Pvt. Ltd. and Patanjali Ayurved Ltd. A Division Bench comprising Justices P. Velmurugan and K. Govindarajan Thilakavadi held that the use of the mark “PATANJALI AAROGYA” for biscuits does not infringe Hatsun's “AROKYA” mark used for dairy products. It held: “The goods falling under Class...

Bidder Cannot Reopen Concluded E-Auction Due To Own Technical Glitch: Calcutta High Court

On 23 April, the Calcutta High Court held that a bidder cannot seek reopening of a concluded e-auction process on the ground of a technical glitch arising at its own end, as such a plea cannot justify a second opportunity once the auction has closed. A Bench of Justice Krishna Rao dismissed a writ petition filed by City Mall Vikash Pvt Ltd and another against the Union of India and Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port (Kolkata), which had issued a tender for allotment of land inside the CME compound at...

Patna High Court Temporarily Restrains Local Company From Using 'Johnson' Mark For Paint Products

The Patna High Court has recently restrained Johnson Paints Private Limited from using the “JOHNSON” brand name, granting temporary relief to Johnson Paints Co.Setting aside a Commercial Court order that had refused an injunction, a Division Bench of Justice Rajeev Ranjan Prasad and Justice Praveen Kumar found that the lower court erred in concluding that no prima facie case of prior use or goodwill was made out. Examining the respondent's claim of rights based on a chain of assignment deeds...

Delhi High Court Upholds Award For HCL Technologies, Rejects Time Extension From Earlier Proceedings

The Delhi High Court on 23 April upheld an arbitral award in favour of HCL Technologies Ltd., holding that Sahaj Bharti Travels' claim of over Rs. 3.27 crore towards unpaid Minimum Running Guarantee dues under an employee transport agreement was time-barred. Justice Subramonium Prasad upheld the Tribunal's refusal to exclude the nearly three-year period (August 2019 to May 2022) spent before the NCLT and NCLAT while computing limitation, as the proceedings were dismissed on merits and not for...

Company Auditor's General Observation Not Adverse Remark, Can't Trigger Criminal Liability: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court at Goa on Monday quashed criminal proceedings initiated against the directors of a company under the Companies Act, 1956, holding that the auditor's remark was merely a general observation or recommendation and did not constitute a “reservation, qualification, or adverse remark” so as to attract penal liability. A bench of Justice Ashish S. Chavan was dealing with a writ petition filed by the directors of Timblo Private Limited challenging the order of the Judicial...

Delhi High Court Upholds Arbitral Award Denying Distributor's Loss Of Profit Claim Against Bausch & Lomb

The Delhi High Court has recently upheld an arbitral award passed in favour of Bausch & Lomb India Pvt. Ltd., a leading eye-care products manufacturer. It rejected claims of OSA Vendita Pvt. Ltd., its non-exclusive distributor in Kolkata, for loss of profits. The court found that the distributorship agreement for the supply of eye-care products did not stipulate any assured or fixed sales commitment. In the absence of such a stipulation, the distributor could not recover losses arising...