Supreme Court
Excise Department Cannot Invoke Extended Limitation For Omission When Facts Were Already Known: Supreme Court
The Supreme Court on Thursday reiterated that the Excise Department cannot invoke the extended limitation period when the relevant facts were already known to it. The court set aside an excise duty demand after finding that the Department knew the manufacturer had cleared the chassis at 110% of its manufacturing cost.A Bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and K. Vinod Chandran, however, upheld the Department's position on valuation. It ruled that the additional 10% included in the valuation of the...
Revenue Cannot Levy Service Tax Through Notional Apportionment Of Indivisible Turnkey Contracts: Supreme Court
The Supreme Court has held that the Revenue cannot artificially split an indivisible turnkey contract and levy service tax on a notional portion of the total consideration towards installation and commissioning. Such segregation was not permitted under the law during the relevant period, from July 2003 to April 2006.A Bench of Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra and Justice Shree Chandrashekhar made the observation while upholding a CESTAT order that had set aside service tax demands against Diebold...
Underlying Contract's Subsistence Cannot Revive Time-Barred Debt Under IBC: Supreme Court
The Supreme Court on Wednesday held that the mere subsistence of an underlying contract cannot give a creditor a continuing cause of action for an IBC default that has already occurred. It consequently ruled that a time-barred debt cannot be revived through insolvency proceedings.Justices J.B. Pardiwala and Manoj Misra held that the operational creditor's claims had crystallized in 2012, but it failed to pursue them within three years. The Court held that the insolvency application filed in 2018...
Supreme Court Notice On GST Department Plea Against HC Order Quashing Arrest Over Failure To Serve Grounds
The Supreme Court on Thursday issued notice on the GST Department's plea challenging an Allahabad High Court order that set aside the remand of a person arrested under the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. The High Court had found that the grounds of arrest were not shown to have been served before his production before the Magistrate. The High Court also found that the arrest memo did not mention any annexure containing the grounds of arrest. The court relied on the January 13, 2025...
Borrower Cannot 'Blithely' Ignore Banks' Accounting System While Calculating Loan Liability: Supreme Court
The Supreme Court has observed that a borrower, in this case a trust and its trustees, cannot keep changing its calculations of loan liability to suit its interests while ignoring the accounting system followed by banks.A bench of Justices Sanjay Kumar and Sanjeev Sachdeva observed, “The Trust and its trustees cannot blithely ignore the accounting system followed by banks and come up with different calculations at different points of time to suit their own interests.”The top court restored the...
Supreme Court Dismisses NSEL Plea For Joint Trial In Two CBI Cases Over 2013 Payment Crisis
The Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed National Spot Exchange Ltd.'s (NSEL) challenge to the Bombay High Court's March 27, 2026 judgment. The Bombay High Court had refused to direct a joint trial in two CBI cases arising from the alleged 2013 NSEL payment crisis.A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana held that, "No case to interfere with the impugned order passed by the High Court is made out. The Special Leave Petition is,...
Laser Imagers Are Accessories, Not Diagnostic Apparatuses For Customs Duty Purposes: Supreme Court
The Supreme Court has recently ruled that a laser imager used to print images generated by MRI, CT, X-ray and other diagnostic machines cannot itself be treated as a “diagnostic apparatus” for determining customs duty.“Admittedly, the laser imager has no diagnostic skill or capability of its own and must necessarily receive inputs from diagnostic equipment to carry out its function of printing films. In effect, it is an 'accessory' to the diagnostic equipment from which it receives inputs, as it...
Supreme Court Stays Bombay High Court Order Directing CDSL To Pay ₹86.02 Lakh To Investor
On 7 August, the Supreme Court stayed the operation of a Bombay High Court order that had upheld an arbitral award directing Central Depository Services (India) Limited (CDSL) to pay Rs. 86.02 lakh with interest to investor Daksha Narendra Bhavsar for losses arising from the transfer and pledge of her demat shares by BRH Wealth Kreators Limited. A Division Bench comprising Justices J.B. Pardiwala and K. Vinod Chandran issued notice on CDSL's Special Leave Petition, returnable on 10 September...
Defendant Can Question Trademark Owner On Prior Use Even If Written Statement Not On Record: Supreme Court
The Supreme Court has ruled that a party accused of trademark infringement can question the trademark owner about documents showing when the disputed brand name was first used, even if that party's written statement is not on record.A bench of Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Justice K. Vinod Chandran set aside a Kerala High Court order that had expunged such a question from the trial record, holding that it was a factual question beyond the permissible scope of cross-examination because the written...
Supreme Court Upholds Interim Relief To Unsuccessful Arbitration Party In 'Rare, Compelling' Case
The Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld interim relief granted to an unsuccessful party in arbitration, finding that it had met the higher threshold required for post-award relief under Section 9 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996.A bench of Justice K.V. Viswanathan and Justice Alok Aradhe upheld a Delhi High Court order directing National Projects Construction Corporation Ltd. (NPCC) to deposit ₹3.5 crore, which it had realised by invoking bank guarantees furnished by Ishvakoo (India)...
Supreme Court Reserves Verdict On Concast Steel MD's Bail Plea In ₹6,210 Crore Money Laundering Case
The Supreme Court on Wednesday reserved its verdict on the bail plea of Sanjay Kumar Surekha, Chairman and Managing Director of Concast Steel and Power Ltd. (CSPL).Surekha has been in custody since December 18, 2024, in an Enforcement Directorate money laundering case. The case concerns the alleged diversion and laundering of ₹6,210.72 crore.Surekha is challenging the Calcutta High Court's November 14, 2025, order rejecting his bail plea.The High Court had found prima facie material indicating...
Order Authorising Arrest Under GST Law Must Be Communicated Before Arrest: Supreme Court
The Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that an order authorising arrest under the GST law must be communicated to the person concerned before the authorities proceed with the arrest.“To ensure that anyone who is facing the apprehension of arrest is not left in a position of irreparable damage, we have said that Section 69 [CGST Act] order has to be communicated,” a bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Sheel Nagu held.The court made the observation while setting aside a Bombay High Court...