Punjab & Haryana HC Dismisses Plea Seeking Appointment Of Arbitrator While Also Seeking Termination of Existing Arbitrator

The Punjab and Haryana High Court recently dismissed an arbitration petition seeking appointment of an arbitrator while also seeking termination of the mandate of a sole arbitrator already conducting the proceedings. A Single Bench of Justice Jasgurpreet Singh Puri imposed costs of Rs 25,000 on the petitioner and observed, “It is very surprising as to how an application under Section 11 of the Act would be maintainable before this Court and a specific query in this regard was put to the...

No Cancellation Of Educational Trust Registration For Generating Surplus: Punjab & Haryana High Court

The Punjab and Haryana High Court on 27 February held that mere generation of surplus by an educational institution cannot be a ground for cancelling registration of a charitable trust, so long as the activities are genuine and carried out in accordance with the objects of the trust. A Division Bench comprising Justice Lisa Gill and Justice Parmod Goyal dismissed an appeal filed by the Income Tax Department and upheld the order of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) restoring the...

Additional VAT Surcharge Valid Over Concessional Tax: Punjab & Haryana High Court

The Punjab and Haryana High Court, on 27 February, held that an additional VAT surcharge under Section 7A can be levied over and above the concessional tax payable under Section 7 on sales of declared goods made to registered dealers.A Division Bench comprising Justice Lisa Gill and Justice Parmod Goyal was dealing with a batch of appeals filed by Jyoti Strips Pvt. Ltd. challenging assessment and appellate orders passed under the Haryana Value Added Tax Act, 2003.The Bench held: "The...

Punjab & Haryana High Court Bars Higher Bank Guarantee Demand For Delay In Releasing Seized Jewellery

The Punjab and Haryana High Court on 18 February, directed the Income Tax Department to immediately release jewellery seized from the Sanjeet Singh and other petitioners, holding that the department cannot demand a higher bank guarantee due to an increase in gold prices when the delay in release was solely attributable to administrative lapses of the authorities. A Division Bench of Justice Deepak Sibal and Justice Lapita Banerji allowed a writ petition which sought the release of jewellery...

Punjab and Haryana High Court Sets Aside ₹5.18 Crore Arbitral Award Against Aditya Birla Fashion

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has set aside a Rs. 5.18 crore arbitral award passed in favour of landlord Dayanand and against Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Limited in a dispute arising from a 2018 warehouse fire, holding that the award was contrary to the express terms of the lease deed and suffered from patent illegality. “By awarding sum to compensate the losses arising from under valuation of the property, for the purposes of insurance, the Arbitrator has virtually re-written the...

LiveLawBiz Arbitration Cases Weekly Digest : February 9 - February 15, 2026

Nominal Index A2Z Infraservices Ltd & Anr vs Quippo Infrastructure Ltd & Ors 2026 LLBiz SC 60Ankhim Holdings Pvt. Ltd. & Anr. versus Zaveri Construction Pvt. Ltd. 2026 LLBiz SC 53Aggarwal Sons v. Union of India and Others 2026 LLBiz HC (PNH) 8Airports Authority of India v. URC Construction (P) Ltd 2026 LLBiz HC (DEL) 146E-City Real Estates Pvt Ltd & ANR vs IMAX Corporation & Ors 2026 LLBiz SC 22Fresh and Healthy Enterprise Ltd v. Global AgriSystem Pvt Ltd & connected...

Executing Court Cannot Impose Onerous Conditions For Release Of Arbitral Award Without Stay: Punjab & Haryana High Court

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has set aside a condition imposed by an executing court that required an award-holder to furnish a bank guarantee to obtain release of an arbitral award amount. The court held that no such condition can be imposed by the executing court in the absence of any interim stay. A bench of Justice Jasgurpreet Singh Puri held that once objections to an arbitral award are dismissed and no interim order is granted in appeal, the executing court is bound to execute 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.” ...

Trial Court Must Pause Trademark Infringement Suit Once Validity Plea Is Found Tenable: Punjab & Haryana High Court

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has recently reiterated that once a trial court comes to the conclusion that a plea challenging the validity of a registered trademark is prima facie tenable, it must not proceed with the infringement suit and is bound to grant time to the concerned party to approach the Registrar or the High Court for rectification. A single bench of Justice Pankaj Jain clarified that under section 124 of the Trade Marks Act, 1999, a trial court does not have the jurisdiction...

Fraud Allegations Against CA Not Exceptional Ground To Invoke Writ Jurisdiction Against GST Demands: Punjab & Haryana High Court

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has declined to entertain a writ petition challenging GST demand orders raised against a manpower services firm, holding that its allegation that a Chartered Accountant misappropriated tax payments raised disputed questions of fact and did not constitute an extraordinary circumstance to bypass the statutory appellate remedy available under the GST law. A Division Bench of Justice Lisa Gill and Justice Ramesh Chander Dimri noted that the petitioner had itself...

Garments Are Not Copyrightable Works: Punjab and Haryana High Court Quashes FIR Over Sale Of Fake Raymond

The Punjab and Haryana High Court recently quashed a criminal case registered against an Ambala-based garment trader for allegedly selling fake clothing branded as “Raymond,” holding that garments do not constitute a “work” protected under the Copyright Act, 1957.Justice Manisha Batra, in an order dated January 23, 2026, allowed a petition filed under Section 528 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, by Davinder Pal Bakshi, proprietor of Ambala-based garment business Bakshi...

Contractors Can't Be Made To Pay Past TDS Shortfall By Contracting Authority: Punjab & Haryana High Court

The Punjab and Haryana High Court recently held that Rail Coach Factory (RCF) cannot recover differential tax deducted at source (TDS) from contractors for past periods once the contractors' VAT liability has already been assessed and paid. A Bench of Justice Jagmohan Bansal and Justice Amarinder Singh Grewal was hearing writ petitions filed by G.S. Builders, Inderjit Bajaj and R. Tech Builders. The contractors had challenged recovery notices issued by RCF seeking to deduct additional amounts...