Calcutta High Court
Calcutta High Court Dismisses Contractor's Appeal In Arbitration Dispute Over Kolkata East-West Metro Tunneling Accident
The Calcutta High Court recently dismissed an appeal filed by a contractor, affirming a single judge's decision that had set aside an arbitral award arising out of the 2019 Kolkata East-West Metro tunnel accident. A Division Bench of Justice Debangsu Basak and Justice Md. Shabbar Rashidi held that the arbitral tribunal committed patent illegality by discarding expert evidence on the basis of its own technical assumptions drawn from personal expertise rather than material on record. The bench...
Calcutta High Court Sets Aside Order Restraining IIBI From Redemption Of ₹221.08 Crore Preference Shares At 20% Value
The Calcutta High Court on March 12 allowed an appeal filed by Industrial Investment Bank of India Limited (IIBI). The court set aside a single judge's order that had confirmed an interim direction requiring the bank to set apart properties worth Rs 2 crore in a dispute relating to a resolution adopted in its 13th Annual General Meeting regarding redemption of preference shares. While allowing IIBI's appeal, the Division Bench of Justices Debangsu Basak and Md. Shabbar Rashidi observed: ...
Court Deciding Plea To Extend Arbitral Tribunal Mandate Concerned Only With Extension, Not Merits: Calcutta High Court
The Calcutta High Court has held that while exercising jurisdiction to extend the mandate of an arbitral tribunal under Section 29A of the Arbitration Act, the court is concerned only with whether extension of time is warranted and cannot examine the merits of issues pending before the tribunal.While deciding a petition filed by UGRO Capital Ltd seeking extension of the mandate of a sole arbitrator in a dispute with Vallabh Metal Industries, Justice Gaurang Kanth observed:“In any event, while...
Dispute With Composite Cause Of Action Against Multiple Parties Not Arbitrable: Calcutta High Court
The Calcutta High Court on 6 March refused to refer a commercial dispute between Tirupati Vancom Pvt. Ltd. and others to arbitration, as the suit involved several defendants. Justice Aniruddha Roy dismissed an application under Section 8 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, observing that where the cause of action and reliefs are inseparably connected, a dispute cannot be split and referred to arbitration even if an arbitration clause exists between some of the parties. He...
Graphical User Interfaces Not Automatically Excluded From Registration Under Designs Act: Calcutta High Court
The Calcutta High Court on Monday held that Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs) are not automatically excluded from protection under the Designs Act and may qualify as registrable designs if they satisfy the statutory requirements. A GUI is the visual interface of a digital device or software that allows users to interact with it through icons, buttons and menus instead of typing text commands. A single bench of Justice Ravi Krishan Kapur ruled that the Controller of Designs had adopted an...
Groundless Threat Suit Over Trademark Infringement Cannot Continue Once Infringement Case Is Filed: Calcutta High Court
The Calcutta High Court has recently observed that once the proprietor of a trademark or copyright institutes an infringement suit with due diligence, the cause of action in a suit alleging groundless threats automatically extinguishes.On January 30, 2026, Justice Ravi Krishan Kapur dismissed a 'threat suit' filed by Neelam Gupta against Esme Consumer Private Limited because the company had, subsequent to the filing of the suit, commenced a formal infringement action in a Delhi court. Under...
Calcutta High Court Protects 'SWASTIK' Rice Label Against Deceptive Packaging By Competitor
The Calcutta High Court has decreed a suit in favour of Jay Baba Bakreswar Rice Mill Private Limited against an individual, Deepak Kumar Barnwal, over the use of the “SWASTIK” label mark for rice products. Justice Ravi Krishan Kapur observed that the respondent's packaging was “strikingly similar and deceptively identical” to that of the petitioner and held that the rival marks appeared to be identical. Jay Baba Bakreswar Rice Mill told the court that it is engaged in the manufacture and sale...
Arbitration Not Available Under WB Premises Requisition Act After Requisition Lapses: Calcutta High Court
The Calcutta High Court has recently refused to appoint an Arbitrator to determine compensation for the period from April 1, 1992 to January 12, 2023, during which the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) continued to occupy a private property after expiry of requisition, holding that once the requisition ended, the statutory arbitration mechanism under the West Bengal Premises Requisition and Control (Temporary Provision) Act, 1947, could no longer be invoked. Dismissing the writ petition,...
Repeal Of 1993 West Bengal Building Act Does Not Extinguish Pending Proceedings: Calcutta High Court
The Calcutta High Court recently upheld compensation orders passed against R.D.B. Builders in a long-running flat dispute, holding that the repeal of the West Bengal Building (Regulation of Promotion of Construction and Transfer by Promoters) Act, 1993 does not extinguish proceedings already pending under it. A Single Bench of Justice Krishna Rao, by order dated 26 February, clarified that the Supreme Court of India's 2021 ruling in Forum for People's Collective Efforts v. State of West...
Calcutta High Court Grants Private Companies Same Excise Fee Exemption As Public Companies For Management Changes
Holding that the State cannot create artificial distinctions between similarly placed licensees in the matter of excise fee exemptions, the Calcutta High Court has ruled that private limited companies are entitled to the same treatment as public limited companies when changes in management occur in the ordinary course of business. The Court made it clear that even though liquor trade is a regulated privilege of the State, the manner in which that privilege — or exemptions attached to it — is...
Calcutta High Court Finds 'Spic' Bottle 'Virtually Identical' To Harpic, Restrains Godrej
The Calcutta High Court has granted an ad-interim injunction against Godrej Consumer Products Limited, restraining the company from selling its 'Godrej Spic' toilet cleaner in bottles that allegedly infringe upon the registered trademark shape of Reckitt Benckiser's 'HARPIC'.Justice Ravi Krishan Kapur, on February 25, 2026, explained that the cancellation or expiry of a design monopoly does not prevent a party from claiming trademark protection over a registered shape. "Nevertheless, the...
'Reimbursements' Fixed As Percentage Of Sales Are Contractual, Liable For TDS: Calcutta High Court
The Calcutta High Court has upheld the disallowance of expenses claimed by Deys Medical Private Limited (appellant) on account of alleged reimbursements paid to its group companies, holding that payments calculated as a percentage of sales constituted contractual consideration liable for tax deduction at source (TDS).The appeal arose from an order of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, Kolkata, which had partially affirmed the Assessing Officer's disallowance of over Rs. 3.35 crore under the...