Supreme Court Holds Port Trust Liable For Customs Duty On Pilfered Goods After Custodian Approval

The Supreme Court on 25 August upheld the validity of a notification approving the Mumbai Port Trust as a custodian under Section 45(1) of the Customs Act, 1962, empowers the Commissioner of Customs to approve a person or entity as custodian of imported goods pending their clearance.A Bench of Justices B.V. Nagarathna and Manmohan held that the Commissioner of Customs was justified in approving the Trust as a custodian, and set aside the Bombay High Court's finding that the Commissioner...

Supreme Court Says Extended GST Limitation Cannot Be Invoked Mechanically, Quashes G.R. Infra Notice

The Supreme Court on 19 August held that the extended limitation period under Section 74 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 cannot be invoked merely by mechanically using expressions such as “fraud”, “wilful misstatement” or “suppression of facts” in a show cause notice. A Bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and K. Vinod Chandran allowed an appeal filed by G.R. Infra Projects Limited, Ratlam, observing that the show cause notice itself must specify the allegations and circumstances...

Supreme Court Asks Bombay High Court To Expedite Pending Applications In Ex-Lilavati Trustee's Suit

On 20 August, the Supreme Court requested the Bombay High Court to take up and dispose of pending applications in a suit filed by Rajesh Mehta, former Permanent Trustee of the Lilavati Kirtilal Mehta Medical Trust, challenging his removal from the post. A Bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana declined to interfere with the Bombay High Court's interim order dated 7 August, as the matter remained pending before it, but requested the High...

Supreme Court Dismisses GST Review Against Bharti Airtel And Others Over ITC On Telecom Towers

The Supreme Court on 19 August dismissed the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Department's review petition against Bharti Airtel Ltd, Indus Towers Ltd and Elevar Digitel Infrastructure Pvt Ltd, upholding the earlier dismissal of the Department's challenge to the Delhi High Court ruling on input tax credit (ITC) for telecom towers. A Bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Prasanna B. Varale found no error apparent on the face of the record warranting reconsideration of the Supreme Court's earlier order...

Supreme Court Upholds TVS Motor's Referral Charges As Business Auxiliary Service, Sets Aside Penalty

The Supreme Court on 19 August held that TVS Motor Company Limited was liable to pay service tax on referral charges it received from banks and an insurance company for facilitating vehicle loans and insurance policies, treating the charges as Business Auxiliary Service under the Finance Act, 1994. However, the Division Bench comprising Justices J.B. Pardiwala and K. Vinod Chandran set aside the penalty imposed on the company under Section 78 of the Finance Act, after finding that it had paid...

Supreme Court Directs Status Quo On SAIL Employees Cooperative Credit Society Winding-Up Order

The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed status quo on a Delhi High Court order concerning the winding up of Steel Authority of India (SAIL) Employees Cooperative Credit Society Ltd. The High Court in May 2026 had directed the Central Registrar to pass an order for winding up the Society and appoint a Liquidator to take charge of its assets and facilitate repayment of claims.A bench of Justices Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha and Alok Aradhe directed the parties to file their responses. It listed the...

'Judicial Discipline' Requires HC To Refrain From Entertaining Writ Against Appealable NCLT Order: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court has set aside a Kerala High Court order that entertained a writ petition challenging an NCLT order passed during liquidation proceedings. The court held that judicial discipline requires the High Court to refrain from entertaining such a challenge when the aggrieved person can pursue an appeal under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).A Bench of Justices Manoj Misra and Vijay Bishnoi observed that Section 61 of the IBC gives a broad right of appeal to any “person...

Supreme Court Rejects NSEL Plea To Extend Committee Determining Defaulters' Liability To ₹937 Crore Suit

The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed National Spot Exchange Ltd.'s (NSEL) plea seeking to extend an existing committee mechanism to its ₹937-crore recovery suit against N.K. Proteins Ltd., its promoters, directors, and related entities. A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana dismissed NSEL's plea against the Bombay HC judgment refusing the same after hearing the parties. The three-member committee was constituted by the Bombay High Court in 2014 in...

Oil Marketing Companies Propose Additional 149 Crore Litres Ethanol Allocation For Fourth Quarter Before Supreme Court

The Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) have proposed an additional allocation of 149 crore litres of ethanol for the fourth quarter (August-October 2026) of Ethanol Supply Year (ESY) 2025-26.Of this, 55.5 crore litres is proposed to be allocated to 80 Dedicated Ethanol Plant (DEP) bidders.Under the proposal, 71 DEP-1 bidders would receive 52.2 crore litres. Nine DEP-2 bidders would receive another 3.3 crore litres. The remaining 93.3 crore litres would go to 122 other bidders.The Supreme Court on...

Supreme Court Imposes ₹10 Lakh Costs On Reliance Industries For Delaying 20-Year-Old NTPC Suit

The Supreme Court on Friday imposed ₹10 lakh costs on Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) for prolonging litigation in a nearly two-decade-old suit filed by NTPC over a proposed natural gas supply contract. A Division Bench of Justice Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha and Justice Alok Aradhe noted that the suit remains at the evidence stage despite repeated litigation over discovery, production of internal documents, and redaction of inadmissible statements. Discovery and inspection took four years,...

Failure To Serve CPC Notice On Legal Representatives Does Not Invalidate DRT Auction Sale: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Friday upheld an auction sale of a Delhi property in debt recovery proceedings. It held that the CPC notice requiring the legal representatives of a deceased judgment debtor to show cause why the decree should be executed against them did not govern the auction after the proceedings were transferred to the DRT.A bench of Justices Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha and Alok Aradhe noted that the execution proceedings were initially before the Morena court, where the issue of notice...

Supreme Court Dismisses Reliance's Plea Against Redaction Of Affidavit Portions In NTPC Gas Dispute

The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed Reliance Industries Ltd.'s challenge against a Bombay High Court order directing it to redact portions of its witness affidavits in the company's dispute with NTPC Ltd. over a proposed 17-year supply of natural gas.A bench of Justices Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha and Alok Aradhe dismissed Reliance's petition challenging the August 22, 2024 order of the Bombay High Court. The Court imposed a cost of Rs. 10 lakhs on Reliance Industries and directed it to...