Maharashtra Stamp Authorities Have No Jurisdiction Over NCLT Chennai Order: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court on 18 February held that Maharashtra stamp authorities have no jurisdiction to assess stamp duty on an order passed by the NCLT, Chennai Bench, merely because the same scheme was also sanctioned by the NCLT, Mumbai Bench. A Single-Judge Bench of Justice Sharmila U. Deshmukh clarified that even if stamp duty had not been paid on the Chennai order, that question falls within the domain of authorities in Tamil Nadu and is irrelevant to the assessment of the Mumbai order. The...

Arbitral Award Holders Can Seek Interim Protection Until Award Is Fully Satisfied: Calcutta High Court

The Calcutta High Court on 18 February, held that an arbitral award holder is not left remediless after initiating enforcement proceedings and may seek interim protection under Section 9 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act until the award is fully satisfied. A Division Bench of Justices Sabyasachi Bhattacharyya and Supratim Bhattacharya was hearing an appeal filed by Alok Saraf and others against the EPI Group, challenging a single judge's order dated 10 September 2025, which had refused ad...

Madras High Court Quashes ₹1.10 Crore Award Against Annai Builders For "Unintelligible" Findings

The Madras High Court on 17 February set aside a Rs. 1.10 crore arbitral award passed against Annai Builders Real Estate Pvt. Ltd., holding that the arbitrator's findings were unintelligible as two disputed running bills were allowed without examining objections of duplicate claims and excess payment, and by ignoring a detailed 242-page expert report assessing actual construction progress. A Single Bench of Justice N. Anand Venkatesh held that the award suffered from perversity and patent...

S. 7 IBC | Corporate Debtor's Inability To Pay Not Relevant For CIRP Plea Admission: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Wednesday reaffirmed that the Adjudicating Authority cannot refuse to admit a financial creditor's plea under Section 7 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code on the ground of the corporate debtor's inability to pay. The only question at the admission stage is whether a financial debt exists and whether there has been a default. The inability of the corporate debtor to pay is not required to be examined at this stage. Dismissing an appeal filed by Power Trust, promoter...

Supreme Court Restores Breach-Of-Injunction Proceedings In 'HERO' Trademark Dispute Between Hero Cycles and Hero Ecotech

The Supreme Court recently revived proceedings for alleged breach of an injunction in the long-running “HERO” trademark dispute between Hero Cycles Limited and Hero Ecotech Limited. A bench of Justices B.V. Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan set aside a September 3, 2025 judgment of the Patna High Court, which had quashed a 2019 trial court order directing initiation of contempt proceedings against Hero Ecotech and others for alleged breach of an injunction. The High Court had held that the trial...

Rajasthan High Court Declines Writ In Janani Express Contract Dispute, Cites Agreed Dispute Resolution Mechanism

The Rajasthan High Court has declined to entertain a writ petition filed by Modern Emergency Services JV Pvt. Ltd. over its Janani Express contract with the State.The company had sought a six-month extension of its service agreement. It had also sought reimbursement for 350 newly procured ambulances. In addition, it challenged Clause 6.4(35) of a fresh Request for Proposal issued on November 26, 2025. Justice Maneesh Sharma held that the principal grievances arise out of a commercial contract....

Bombay High Court Upholds ₹33 Lakh Award Against Dealmoney Commodities For 'Blatantly Unauthorised' F&O Trades

The Bombay High Court has recently upheld an arbitral finding that Dealmoney Commodities Pvt Ltd executed “blatantly unauthorised” Futures and Options trades in the accounts of a retired couple, which resulted in the depletion of their investment portfolio, and restored compensation of over Rs. 33 lakh with 18 percent interest. A Single Bench of Justice Sharmila U. Deshmukh confirmed the investors' entitlement to Rs. 17,76,581 and Rs.15,32,073 respectively, with interest at 18 percent per annum...

Right To Seek Arbitration Ends Once Written Statement Stage Is Closed: Karnataka High Court

The Karnataka High Court has reiterated that a defendant cannot seek reference to arbitration under Section 8 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 after its right to file a written statement in a commercial suit has been closed, dismissing an appeal filed by real estate developer Bhagyalakshmi Homes LLP. A Division Bench of Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice C.M. Poonacha upheld the Commercial Court's order rejecting the developer's plea to refer the dispute to arbitration. “It is...

Anil Ambani Assures Supreme Court He Won't Leave India Amid ED-CBI Probe Into Alleged ₹40,000 Crore ADAG Loan Fraud

Industrialist Anil Ambani on February 18 filed an affidavit before the Supreme Court undertaking that he will not travel outside India without prior permission of the court and will fully cooperate with ongoing investigations by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into alleged irregularities involving companies of the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG). The affidavit was filed in response to a 2025 writ petition by former bureaucrat E.A.S. Sarma...

Pre-Litigation Mediation Mandate Cannot Be Used To 'Cold-Storage' Urgent Commercial Suits: Telangana High Court

The Telangana High Court has recently observed that mandatory pre-litigation mediation cannot be used to stall urgent commercial suits. Section 12A of the Commercial Courts Act, it said, cannot “cold-storage urgent claims.” Nor can it be used for “arm-twisting” a plaintiff seeking interim protection. A Division Bench of Justice Moushumi Bhattacharya and Justice Gadi Praveen Kumar dismissed a revision plea, upholding an order of the Commercial Court which exempted Ras Al Khaimah Investment...

Executing Court Does Not Cease To Have Jurisdiction After Allowing Execution Petition: Calcutta High Court

An executing court does not become functus officio merely because it “allows” an execution petition, the Calcutta High Court has held, clarifying that jurisdiction continues until the arbitral award is fully implemented and satisfied.Dismissing an appeal filed by India Media Services Pvt Ltd, a Division Bench of Justice Sabyasachi Bhattacharyya and Justice Supratim Bhattacharya said that allowing the execution case was “merely nominal, contemplating further steps to be taken” and that “it cannot...

Common Independent Director Not 'Common Management': Gujarat High Court Sets Aside GeM Bid Rejection

The Gujarat High Court has held that an Independent Director cannot be treated as part of the common management of a company for the purpose of disqualifying bids under Clause 29 of the Government e-Marketplace General Terms and Conditions, setting aside the rejection of NR Agarwal Industries Ltd's technical bid in a public tender. A Division Bench of Justice Bhargav D. Karia and Justice L.S. Pirzada observed, “the Independent Director stands on a different foot than the Director whether he is...