IBC Is Now Being Misused Like Anything": CJI Surya Kant Flags Pre-Planned Auctions and Asset Undervaluation

The Supreme Court recently flagged the issue of IBC provisions being misused by Insolvent Companies to stage pre-planned auctions and sell assets at undervalued rates. The Chief Justice of India, Justice Surya Kant remarked on the gravity of instances where the IBC procedure is being misused, the CJI said :"Unfortunately, the IBC platform is now being misused like anything, you get the company's all assets undervalued, then you indulge in a kind of an auction, which is also a completely...

Parties Cannot Challenge Arbitration Clause After Accepting Court-Appointed Arbitrator Under Pre-2015 Regime: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Wednesday (February 4) reaffirmed that parties who accept a court order appointing an arbitrator under the pre-2015 arbitration regime cannot later challenge the existence or validity of the arbitration clause while assailing the arbitral award. The ruling was delivered by a bench comprising Justices J.B. Pardiwala and K.V. Viswanathan. Under the law as it stood before the 2015 amendments, the Chief Justice or the designated judge exercising powers under Section 11 was...

Supreme Court Dismisses Law Firm's ₹1.08-Crore Claim Against Insolvency-Bound Realty Company

The Supreme Court of India has recently dismissed an appeal by a law firm seeking to recover more than Rs 1 crore in unpaid legal fees from a realty company undergoing insolvency, declining to interfere with findings that the claim was not backed by the record. The appeal was filed by Juristica Legal Services LLP against Three C Universal Developers Private Limited, which is undergoing a Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process. A Bench of Justices Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha and Alok...

Supreme Court Refuses To Interfere With NCLAT Order Rejecting EPFO Claim Made After Liquidation Commencement

The Supreme Court has recently dismissed an appeal filed by the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation, declining to interfere with a ruling of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal on the treatment of claims in liquidation. A Bench of Justices Sanjay Kumar and K. Vinod Chandran said it found “no good ground and reason” to interfere with the NCLAT judgment dated September 24, 2024. The dispute arose from the liquidation of Khushi Foods Limited, which began on October 9, 2019. During the...

Supreme Court Stays CESTAT Order Against Prism Johnson In ₹11.25-Crore Service Tax, CENVAT Credit Case

The Supreme Court on Monday, issued notice and granted an interim stay on an order passed by the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), New Delhi against listed building materials company Prism Johnson Limited. The tribunal had upheld a service tax demand of about Rs 11.25 crore and denied CENVAT credit of around Rs 7.70 crore in related excise proceedings. A bench comprising Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Justice Vijay Bishnoi passed the order after hearing senior counsel...

Supreme Court Sets Aside Interim Relief In Arbitration Case Involving Pure Money Claim

The Supreme Court recently set aside a Calcutta High Court order directing escrow of payments arising out of a master service agreement, holding that in the facts of the case, where the dispute involved a pure money claim and there was no risk of irrecoverability, the High Court ought not to have granted interim protection after arbitration had been invoked. A Bench of Justice Manoj Misra and Justice Manmohan held that in such circumstances, the High Court should have deferred to the arbitral...

Supreme Court Stays NCLAT Finding On Patents Act Prevailing Over Competition Act

The Supreme Court on Monday stayed key observations of the NCLAT, which had held that the Patents Act prevails over the Competition Act and that the Competition Commission of India lacks jurisdiction to inquire into alleged anti-competitive conduct involving patented products A bench of the Supreme Court of India comprising Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Justice Vijay Bishnoi issued notice in an appeal filed by the Competition Commission of India against the NCLAT's order dated October 30,...

Arbitral Award Passed After Arbitrator's Mandate Expires Can Be Enforced If Court Extends Time Subsequtently: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Tuesday (February 3) held that arbitral awards delivered beyond the statutory timeline prescribed under Section 29A of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, do not automatically become ineffective. The Court clarified that such awards remain ineffective and unenforceable at that stage but may still be given effect if a party approaches the competent court seeking an extension of the arbitral tribunal's mandate under Section 29A. “…we are of the opinion that...

Supreme Court Dismisses Income Tax Dept Plea Against Telangana HC Ruling On Time-Barred Reassessment Notices

The Supreme Court has dismissed a Special Leave Petition filed by the Income Tax Department against a common Telangana High Court judgment setting aside reassessment notices issued against several taxpayers as time-barred. The plea challenged a common judgment of the Telangana High Court, which endorsed the Delhi High Court's view that mere generation or signing of a reassessment notice does not amount to issuance and that a notice is issued only when it is dispatched The Bench of Justice...

Supreme Court Remands Flipkart Appeal Against NCLAT Order Prima Facie Finding It Preferred Certain Sellers

The Supreme Court of India on Tuesday sent back to the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal a case alleging abuse of dominance by Flipkart in favouring select sellers on its marketplace. The appeal filed by Flipkart challenges an NCLAT order dated March 4, 2020, which had set aside the closure of the case by the Competition Commission of India and held that the material on record disclosed a prima facie case of abuse of dominance warranting investigation. The NCLAT order was passed on an...

Single Insolvency Petition Against Intrinsically Linked Real Estate Companies Maintainable: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Monday upheld insolvency proceedings against two closely linked real estate companies, holding that a single insolvency petition can be maintained against multiple corporate entities under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016, where the companies are intrinsically linked in the same project. A Division Bench of Justice Sanjay Kumar and Justice K. Vinod Chandran dismissed appeals filed by the erstwhile directors of Grand Venezia Commercial Towers Private Limited and...

S.74 CGST | Plea in Supreme Court Challenges GST Demands On Allegations Of Fraud In Cases Where Dept Alleges No Supply

A plea has been filed in the Supreme Court challenging the invocation of Section 74 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, a provision that allows tax authorities to raise demands of tax, interest, and penalty in cases of fraud or suppression, in situations where the department itself alleges that no taxable supply of goods or services ever took place. A Division Bench of Justice Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha and Justice Vijay Bishnoi took up the matter on January 30. The Bench directed...