After 50 Years, Delhi High Court Bars Both Registered Proprietor And Prior User From Using 'FIELDMARSHAL' For Pumps

The Delhi High Court has brought a five-decade dispute over the “FIELDMARSHAL” trademark to an unusual end by barring both rival manufacturers from using the mark for centrifugal pumps, after finding that one held a valid registration while the other had built prior market goodwill. A Division Bench of Justices C. Hari Shankar and Om Prakash Shukla delivered the judgment on February 6, 2026, in a long-running battle between PM Diesels Private Limited (PMD) and Thukral Mechanical Works,...

DRT Can Hear Only Banks' Recovery Applications Against Borrowers Under RDB Act: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court has clarified that under the Recovery of Debts and Bankruptcy Act, the Debts Recovery Tribunal (DRT) has jurisdiction only over recovery applications filed by banks and financial institutions and cannot entertain suits or proceedings initiated by borrowers or third parties against banks.Justice N. J. Jamadar said that while the Recovery of Debts and Bankruptcy Act bars civil court jurisdiction in respect of matters the DRT is empowered to decide, that bar does not extend to...

Confiscation Under PMLA Cannot Proceed While Appeal Against Attachment Is Pending: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Friday (February 6) held that confiscation proceedings under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) cannot be taken forward while an appeal against the confirmation of attachment is pending before the Appellate Tribunal. The Court clarified that once an attachment order passed under Section 8(3) of the PMLA is challenged under Section 26, a “deemed embargo” operates, preventing the Special Court from deciding confiscation proceedings under Section 8(7) until the...

Punjab and Haryana High Court Bars Coercive Recovery Action Against Firm After VAT Records 'Burnt In Fire'

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has restrained the Punjab tax department from taking coercive recovery action against a proprietorship firm over a legacy VAT demand, after the state told the court that the assessment record had been destroyed in a fire. A Division Bench of Justice Lisa Gill and Justice Ramesh Chander Dimri recorded the State's submission that the assessment order against Swastika Insulation was not available with the department, as the record was “stated to have been burnt.” ...

'Prejudice From Delay Ignored': Delhi High Court Cuts Insolvency Professional's Suspension To Period Undergone

Holding that prolonged delay in disciplinary proceedings had already caused serious prejudice, the Delhi High Court has reduced a one-year suspension imposed by the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) on insolvency professional Vikas Prakash Gupta to the period already undergone. Justice Sachin Datta underscored that “Administrative authorities are required to act within a reasonable period, and any prolonged delay must be justified by cogent reasons.” While noting that the...

Non-Signatory Successor Company May Invoke Arbitration Clause After Merger: Calcutta High Court

The Calcutta High Court has recently held that a company that becomes the successor of an original contracting party pursuant to an NCLT-approved merger can invoke an arbitration clause even if it is not a signatory to the original agreement. Justice Shampa Sarkar made the observation on February 3 while hearing an application filed by Tata Capital Limited seeking appointment of an arbitrator in a dispute arising out of a loan agreement with a borrower. “In my prima facie view, even if the...

RERA Cannot Examine Municipal Completion Certificates Issued Before It Came Into Force: Chhattisgarh High Court

The Chhattisgarh High Court has recently held that the Real Estate Regulatory Authority has no jurisdiction to examine or question completion certificates issued by municipal authorities before May 1, 2017, when the substantive provisions of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, came into force. "Prima facie, a real estate project which has been certified as complete under the applicable municipal law prior to the enforcement of the RERA regime in the State of Chhattisgarh...

Delhi High Court Intervenes Against CESTAT Release Order On 53 Kgs Of Imported Gold

The Delhi High Court on 16 January 2026 issued an ad-interim order, effectively intervening against a CESTAT order which had granted the provisional release of gold to Shree Gold Art Pvt. Ltd.Justice Nitin Wasudeo Sambre and Justice Ajay Digpaul noted that prima facie, the Tribunal order dated 17 March 2025, had failed to consider the fact and legal effect of 53 kilograms of imported gold being kept in unauthorised custody for four days, from 13 August 2020 to 17 August 2020 The...

Calcutta High Court Sets Aside Arbitral Award Against Company Officials Without Impleading Companies

The Calcutta High Court has set aside an arbitral award after finding that it was passed against two officials of state-owned power companies instead of the companies that were parties to the arbitration agreement. A Division Bench of Justices Debangsu Basak and Md. Shabbar Rashidi held that the award, which fastened liability on the managing director of Bihar State Power Generation Company Limited and the chairman of Bihar State Power Holding Company Limited, could not be sustained since the...

Tax Authority Cannot Deny Interest Waiver Through A Cryptic Order: Karnataka High Court

The Karnataka High Court recently held that a tax authority cannot deny a taxpayer's request for interest waiver through a cryptic order. It must pass a reasoned, speaking order after objectively examining whether the income could have been anticipated at the relevant time. A Bench of Justice K.S. Hemalekha, partly allowed a writ petition filed by Kanhaiyalal Dudheria (petitioner) and partially set aside an order of the Chief Commissioner of Income Tax, that allowed waiver of the second and...

Delhi High Court Grants Interim Injunction Against Rogue Websites Misusing 'VIMAL' Trademark

The Delhi High Court, in a recent order, has temporarily restrained rogue websites and social media pages that were selling VIMAL gutka without authorisation, after finding a prima facie case of trademark infringement and passing off. Justice Jyoti Singh was hearing a commercial suit filed by Vishnu and Company Trademarks Private Limited seeking protection of its trademark rights. The company is the proprietor of the VIMAL family of trademarks, used for products such as pan masala, elaichi,...

Superintendent Cannot Adjudicate Cases Involving Extended Limitation: Calcutta High Court

The Calcutta High Court on 2 February held that cases that invoke the extended period of limitation are expressly excluded from the adjudicatory powers of a Superintendent, even if the demand falls within their monetary limit. Justice Om Narayan Rai, allowed a writ petition filed by the partners of Radiant Security, challenging an order by which the Superintendent, CGST, demanded service tax of Rs. 72,000 along with education cess and secondary and higher secondary cess, and imposed penalties...