Bombay High Court Quashes ₹173.72 Cr Arbitral Award Against Thermax, Holds Arbitrator's Findings To Be Based On Lack Of Evidence

The Bombay High Court has recently set aside an arbitral award that mandated engineering giant Thermax Limited to pay ₹173 crore in favor of Rashtriya Chemicals & Fertilizers Ltd. (RCF). The award primarily directed payments towards the additional costs RCF incurred for power due to failure of gas turbine generators. Considering a challenge under Section 34 of the Arbitration...

Mesne Profit Claims After IBC Resolution Can Proceed Only Against Former Management: Calcutta High Court

The Calcutta High Court has recently held that proceedings to calculate mesne profits can continue only against a company's former management once a resolution plan is approved under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.Mesne profits refer to the claim arising from unlawfully occupying someone else's property. The court clarified that such proceedings cannot continue against the company itself...

Intellectual Property Rights Weekly Round-Up: December 15-21, 2025

NOMINAL INDEXDPIIT Working Paper on Generative AI and CopyrightFrankfinn Aviation Services (Pvt.) Ltd. v. M/S Fly High Institute & Ors., 2025 LiveLaw (Del) 1713Lifestyle Equities C.V. & Anr. v. Priyanka Alpeshbhai Polara, 2025 LiveLaw (Del) 1715Au Naturel Beauty Private Limited v. Wet and Dry Personal Care Pvt. Ltd. & Anr., 2025 LiveLaw (Del) 1716Bhavesh Suresh Kataria v....

NCLT Delhi Cancels 9.84 lakh Neel Padam Shares After Finding Company Used Own Funds For Allotment

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) at Delhi has cancelled 9.84 lakh shares and restored promoter control of Neel Padam Builders after finding that the company used its own money to create a false impression of fresh share subscriptions. A coram of Judicial Member Ashok Kumar Bhardwaj and Technical Member Reena Sinha Puri held that Neel Padam Builders withdrew Rs 45 lakh from its own...

Termination Of Employee Solely For Being HIV-Positive Is Arbitrary & Unlawful: Delhi HC

A Division Bench of the Delhi High Court comprising Justice C. Hari Shankar and Justice Om Prakash Shukla held that termination of an HIV-positive employee without compliance with safeguards under the Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (Prevention and Control) Act, 2017 is unlawful. Background Facts The petitioner was appointed as a...

Allahabad High Court Directs Criminal Contempt Against GST Official For Filing Misleading Personal Affidavit

On Thursday, Allahabad High Court directed initiation of criminal contempt proceedings against Additional Commissioner, Grade-2(Appeal) First, State Tax, Meerut for filing a misleading personal affidavit before the Court despite being given 2 opportunities. Noting that the impugned order did not show any consideration of the circulars and only quoted a report signed by an...

Municipal Corporations Not Entitled To Unconditional Stay U/S 36 A&C Act; Treated At Par With Private Parties: P&H High Court

The Punjab and Haryana High Court Bench of Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Sanjiv Berry has observed that being a statutory body does not entitle a party to claim unconditional grant of stay under Section 36, Arbitration and Conciliation Act (“ACA”) as a matter of right. And if a conditional stay is granted, a statutory body is to be treated at par with a private...

Non-Filing Of ITR By Creditor Not Proof For Lack Of Creditworthiness: Patna High Court Deletes Income Tax Additions

The Patna High Court has held that the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal was not justified in restoring an addition of ₹1.91 crore under Section 68 of the Income Tax Act after reversing a reasoned order of the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals), where the assessee had produced documentary evidence and the Assessing Officer's remand report did not disclose any adverse material. A...

Levy Of Service Tax On 'Access To Amusement Facilities' Unconstitutional: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court held that the levy of service tax on 'access to amusement facilities' is unconstitutional, as the entire activity squarely falls within the State's taxing power under Entry 62 of List II (entertainments and amusements) of the Constitution of India.Justices A. Muhamed Mustaque and Harisankar V. Menon stated that the provisions of the Entertainments Tax Act also seek to...

Customs Act | Penalty Cannot Be Sustained Solely On S. 108 Statements Without Compliance Of S. 138B: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court held that statements recorded under S. 108 of the Customs Act cannot form the basis for imposing penalties unless the mandatory procedural safeguards under Section 138B are complied with.Justices A. Muhamed Mustaque and Harisankar V. Menon opined that Section 138B is essentially in the form of a procedural safeguard regarding the admission of statements under Section 108...

Ex-Director Cannot Be Compelled To Represent Company In PMLA Case: Calcutta High Court

The Calcutta High Court has recently held that a former director cannot be forced to represent a company in a money-laundering case after he has left the company. Allowing a criminal revision petition filed by the former director of Dish Pruduction and Media Ltd, a bench of Justice Ajoy Kumar Mukherjee ruled that the prosecution has no power to decide who should appear on behalf of a company...

Mozambique Coal Mine Dispute: Delhi High Court Refuses To Stay $10.53 Million Bank Guarantee Encashment

The Delhi High Court recently dismissed a petition filed by Black Gold Resources Private Limitada to prevent the termination of its coal mining contract in Mozambique as well as the invocation of a $10.5 million Performance Bank Guarantee (PBG) by International Coal Ventures Pvt. Ltd. and Minas De Benga Limitada. While withdrawing an earlier interim stay, Justice Jasmeet Singh on December...