Borrower Can Directly Challenge Recovery Officer's Auction Sale Confirmation Before DRT: Allahabad High Court

The Allahabad High Court has held that a borrower can directly challenge an order of the Recovery Officer confirming an auction sale before the Debts Recovery Tribunal under Section 30(1) of the Recovery of Debts Due to Banks and Financial Institutions Act, 1993. The court clarified that the borrower need not first approach the Recovery Officer under Rule 60 or Rule 61 of the Second Schedule to the Income Tax Act, 1961. It also held that the borrower is not required to make the deposits...

MSME Council Location Does Not Determine Court's Jurisdiction In Post-Award Proceedings: Calcutta HIgh Court

The Calcutta High Court has reiterated that the location of an MSME Facilitation Council does not, by itself, determine the territorial jurisdiction of courts over proceedings arising from an arbitral award.Applying this principle, the court held that an exclusive-jurisdiction clause in favour of the New Delhi courts governed a Section 29A application seeking an extension of the arbitral mandate after an award was passed by the West Bengal Micro Small Enterprises Facilitation Council (WBMSEFC),...

Time-Barred Claim Order Is Arbitral Award, Superfluous Termination Remark Cannot Bar Challenge: Allahabad High Court

The Allahabad High Court has held that an arbitral tribunal's decision rejecting a claim as time-barred is a final arbitral award. It said that a separate observation terminating the proceedings under Section 32(2)(c) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, was unnecessary and could not be used to deny the claimant a challenge to the award. Referring to Section 32(2)(c), the bench of Chief Justice Arun Bhansali and Justice Kshitij Shailendra held “The said provision has nothing...

GST Authorities Cannot 'Ride Piggyback' On Adjudication Order For Income Tax Reassessment: Madras High Court

The Madras High Court has held that Income Tax authorities cannot rely solely on a GST adjudication order while conducting reassessment proceedings, cautioning that any reassessment must independently comply with the Income Tax Act.A single judge bench of Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy, however, declined to interfere with the Section 148 notice issued to a granite and tiles business proprietor for AY 2023-24, as the proceedings were still at a preliminary stage.The court, however,...

Karnataka High Court Sets Aside ₹482.69 Crore Penalty Against Adani Group's ACC Over Kalaburagi Mining

The Karnataka High Court has set aside a ₹482.69 crore penalty demand against Adani Group cement company ACC Limited over limestone mining at its Wadi operations in Kalaburagi district. The Court held that ACC's mining lease in Kalaburagi stood deemed to have been extended until 31 March 2030 under Section 8A(5) of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 (MMDR Act).A coram of Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice K.S Hemalekha also dismissed the State Government's...

Madras High Court Says Time Extension Doesn't Waive Liquidated Damages If Right Is Reserved

The Madras High Court has refused to interfere with an arbitral award in a dispute over delays in the expansion of Neyveli Lignite Corporation Limited's First Thermal Power Station by two 210 MW units. It held that NLC had not waived its right to claim liquidated damages by granting extensions of time, as each extension expressly reserved that right.A bench of Justice P. Velmurugan and Justice K. Govindarajan Thilakavadi observed:“Where the promisee permits further performance and extends the...

State's Government Dues Cannot Override Secured Creditor's Priority By Mere Attachment: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court has ruled that merely attaching a property for recovery of government dues does not give the State priority over a secured creditor when the prescribed proclamation procedure has not been followed. The court also noted that the State's affidavit was silent on whether its claim had ever been registered with CERSAI.“By simply attaching the property and taking no steps towards proclamation in the manner as required, for recovery of dues, would not give priority to the said...

Delhi High Court Protects Rajat Sharma's Personality Rights, Bars Trademark Misuse of INDIA TV

The Delhi High Court has recently permanently restrained several individuals and YouTube channels from infringing journalist Rajat Sharma's personality and publicity rights and INDIA TV's registered trademarks. The decree was passed against the specified parties in terms of the permanent-injunction reliefs sought in paragraphs 100(a) to (e) of the plaint.Justice Jyoti Singh passed the order on August 24, 2026. The court also allowed Sharma and INDIA TV to seek a declaration that the INDIA TV...

Customs Department Must Hear Account Holder Before Extending Bank Account Attachment: Patna High Court

The Patna High Court has recently ruled that a person whose bank account has been provisionally attached under the Customs Act must be given an opportunity of hearing before the attachment is extended. A hearing offered after the extension has already been ordered cannot cure the defect, the court held.A Division Bench of Justice Rajeev Ranjan Prasad and Justice Sunil Dutta Mishra made the ruling while allowing a writ petition filed by Nxtify Technologies Private Limited to the extent indicated...

Lack Of Written Allotment Or Agreement Itself Cannot Oust RERA Jurisdiction: Chhattisgarh High Court

The Chhattisgarh High Court has held that the absence of a written allotment document or agreement does not, by itself, oust the jurisdiction of the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) over a complaint concerning an alleged real estate transaction.A Division Bench of Justice Parth Prateem Sahu and Justice Sachin Singh Rajput observed, “The word “aggrieved person” used under Section 31 of the Act, 2016 and under Rule 35 of the Rules, 2017, who can file complaint is very wide, therefore, only...

Assessment Order Need Not Discuss Every Claim; Reopening Same Issue Is 'Change Of Opinion': Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court has ruled that an income tax assessment cannot be reopened where the record shows that an issue was examined during scrutiny and the assessee's claim was accepted, even if the original assessment order did not expressly discuss the issue.The bench of Justice B.P. Colabawalla and Justice Farhan P. Dubash observed that “it is not necessary for an Assessing Officer to discuss each and every issue elaborately to disclose his satisfaction” when accepting an assessee's claim. The...

MSME Registration Cannot Revive Abandoned Arbitration Claims: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has ruled that a supplier cannot revive claims abandoned in an earlier arbitration merely by subsequently obtaining registration under the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises Development Act, 2006. Justice Tushar Rao Gedela observed that a party that did not challenge the termination of the earlier arbitration cannot use subsequent MSME registration to reopen the same claims.The court held, “Having not availed the same, in the opinion of this Court, a party cannot be...