Calcutta High Court Upholds Arbitral Award Against Neo Metaliks In Lam Coke Supply Contract Dispute

The Calcutta High Court has upheld an arbitral award in favour of Orissa Metaliks Pvt Ltd, dismissing Neo Metaliks Ltd's appeal arising from a dispute over a Lam Coke supply contract. The court found no perversity or patent illegality in either the arbitral award or the earlier judgment refusing to set it aside. A Division Bench of Justices Debangsu Basak and Md. Shabbar Rashidi upheld the arbitral award and affirmed the Single Judge's judgment of January 6, 2025. The Court said that the...

'Deemed Service' Cannot Cure Defect In Service Of Arbitration Notices: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court has recently held that the legal presumption that arbitration notices have been served cannot be mechanically invoked where there is no proof that the notices actually reached the parties. Setting aside an arbitral award, the court observed: Justice Arif S. Doctor also quashed an April 4, 2025 judgment of the District Judge, Pune. The District Judge had dismissed the borrowers' challenge to an arbitral award passed in favour of Abhyudaya Co-operative Bank Ltd. in a loan...

NSE Chief Performs Public Duty; Delhi High Court Rejects Former CEO Chitra Ramkrishna's Challenge To PC Act

The Delhi High Court on Thursday held that the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the National Stock Exchange performs a public duty in which the public at large is invested. It dismissed former NSE chief Chitra Ramkrishna's challenge to the constitutional validity of provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, the sanction granted for her prosecution, and the criminal proceedings arising out of the NSE co-location case. A division bench of Justice Navin Chawla and Justice...

Suit Filed During IBC Interim Moratorium Attracts Rejection Of Plaint Provision Under CPC: Calcutta High Court

The Calcutta High Court has held that a court cannot entertain a suit instituted during the operation of an interim moratorium under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code where the statutory bar applies. It ruled that once the embargo is brought to the court's notice, the court must act in accordance with the law. Where the statutory conditions are met, the plaint must be rejected. A division bench of Justice Debangsu Basak and Justice Md. Shabbar Rashidi set aside a February 5, 2026 judgment of...

Commercial Litigants Cannot Produce Additional Documents In Piecemeal Manner: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that parties to commercial disputes cannot repeatedly seek to place additional documents on record after leading evidence, ruling that such an approach is incompatible with the purpose of ensuring the speedy resolution of commercial disputes. "The plaintiff when leading evidence, is expected to not only produce all documents but also properly anticipate the questions that may be put to its witnesses by the other side. What cannot be countenanced is a stop and...

Calcutta High Court Upholds ₹2.05 Crore Arbitral Award Against SAIL Over Wrongful Iron Ore Contract Termination

The Calcutta High Court has upheld an arbitral award directing Steel Authority of India Limited (IISCO Steel Plant) to pay more than ₹2.05 crore to Balaji Industrial Products Limited. The court found no ground to interfere with the arbitrator's conclusion that SAIL had wrongfully terminated a contract for the supply of 60,000 metric tonnes of iron ore. A division bench of Justices Debangsu Basak and Md. Shabbar Rashidi held that the arbitrator's findings represented a plausible view of the...

GST Order Need Not Elaborately Deal With Every Submission In Taxpayer's Reply: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has held that merely because a GST adjudicating authority does not elaborately deal with every submission made by an assessee in reply to a show cause notice (SCN), the same cannot lead to a conclusion that the representation was not considered.A division bench of Justices Anil Kshetrapal and Shail Jain observed that while Section 74(9) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 obligates the proper officer to consider the noticee's representation before determining...

Madras High Court Refuses To Quash CBI FIR Against Ind Barath Power Directors Despite Withdrawal Of Fraud Tag

The Madras High Court has refused to quash a CBI FIR against the directors of Ind Barath Power Gencom Limited. It held that the subsequent withdrawal of the company's "Fraud" classification by the lending bank does not wipe out criminal proceedings arising from allegations of diversion of funds, fabrication of records, and other cognisable offences. The court also observed that the FIR was not registered solely on the basis of the forensic audit that led to the fraud classification. Justice...

Karnataka High Court Upholds Bengaluru's Uniform Property Tax On Five-Star Hotels, Rejects Article 14 Challenge

The Karnataka High Court has recently upheld the application of a uniform property tax slab to Five-Star Hotels under the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Property Tax Rules, ruling that such hotels constitute a distinct and uniform class irrespective of where they are located in Bengaluru. A Division Bench of Justice D.K. Singh and Justice T.M. Nadaf dismissed an intra-court appeal filed by M.R. Kodandaram, owner of Gokula Grand Hotel & Spa, challenging a Single Judge's refusal to...

Delhi High Court Questions Invoking Personality Rights Over Investment Scammers Using AMC CEO's Photo

The Delhi High Court on Thursday questioned whether the alleged misuse of an Asset Management Company's CEO's photograph in an investment scam could be pursued as a personality rights claim, observing during the hearing that the allegations appeared to concern impersonation. Justice Jyoti Singh made the observation while hearing a suit filed by Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC Limited against unidentified persons allegedly operating fraudulent WhatsApp investment groups. Counsel for the company...

When Can A Disqualified Company Director Continue In Office? Karnataka High Court Clarifies

The Karnataka High Court has clarified that a director disqualified because of a company's statutory defaults can continue to hold office in that defaulting company so that the director can undertake the statutory compliance required to rectify the defaults and authorities can pursue proceedings against the person responsible. It also held that such a director must vacate office in companies that are not in default. Justice Suraj Govindaraj passed the order while partly allowing a review...

Bombay HC Says Confidentiality Claims Need Evidence, Refuses Injunction Against Tata Retail Arm Trent

On 7 July, the Bombay High Court held that allegations of misuse of confidential information, proprietary business methods and protected employees cannot, at the interim stage, justify a blanket injunction against a party's business activities and require adjudication before the arbitral tribunal on the basis of evidence. Justice Amit Borkar partly allowed a Section 9 petition filed by The Packshot (India) Pvt Ltd and directed Trent Ltd, Tata's retail arm, to preserve records relating to...