AO Cannot Rely Solely On Sales Tax Dept Data To Add Bogus Purchases Without Granting Cross-Examination: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court has held that the Assessing Officer (AO) cannot rely solely on Sales Tax Department Data for an income tax addition without granting cross-examination.Justices G.S. Kulkarni and Aarti Sathe stated that, "when the VAT assessment was pending adjudication, merely relying on the information of the Sales Tax Department without granting an opportunity to the Assessee...

Once Defendant Demonstrates Triable Issue, No Overly Burdensome Deposit Can Be Imposed For Granting Leave To Defend: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court has held that once a defendant establishes a triable issue in a summary suit, he is entitled to unconditional leave to defend, and the Court cannot impose an onerous or excessive condition such as directing the deposit of a substantial part of the claim amount.Justice Prafulla S. Khubalkar was hearing a petition filed challenging the order of the Civil Judge, which...

Bombay High Court Sets Aside ₹75 Lakh Compensation Awarded Against Hersheys India In Jumpin Drink Manufacturing Dispute

The Bombay High Court has recently set aside a Rs 75 lakh compensation awarded to Kanti Beverages Pvt. Ltd. against Hersheys India Pvt. Ltd. in a dispute over the contract to manufacture and package the fruit drink brand Jumpin. The court said the compensation was “picked virtually out of the hat” and had no basis.A single bench of Justice Somasekhar Sundaresan, in an order made available...

Bombay High Court Quashes Murder Conviction Of Woman For Killing Rapist Who Harassed Her To Withdraw Her Complaint

The Bombay High Court recently commuted a woman's conviction to culpable homicide not amounting to murder after she allegedly killed a man who kept harassing her to withdraw her rape compliant against him.A division bench of Justices Urmila Joshi-Phalke and Nandesh Deshpande, sitting at the Nagpur seat, quashed and set aside a December 21, 2005 judgment of an Additional Sessions Court in...

'Forgery Of Documents Not Relevant When Deciding Interim Custody Of Vehicle In Cases Of Loan Default': Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court has held that issues relating to forgery of documents cannot be examined at the stage of deciding the interim custody of a vehicle. The Court observed that for the purpose of granting interim custody, the primary considerations are whether the applicant is the owner and whether the vehicle was seized from their possession.Justice M.M. Nerlikar was hearing a petition filed...

'Don't Blindly Trust AI'; Bombay High Court Quashes Income Tax Assessment Passed On Unverified AI-Generated Case Laws

The Bombay High Court has quashed an income tax assessment after noting that the Assessing Officer had relied upon non-existent, AI-generated case laws while passing the assessment order. The Court stated that in the era of Artificial Intelligence, the tax authorities cannot blindly rely on such AI-generated results. AI-generated case laws must be cross-verified before using them...

Bombay High Court Stays DGFT Notification Changing Classification Of Roasted Areca Nuts; DGFT Issues Fresh Notification

The Bombay High Court has granted a stay on the Notification issued by the DGFT (Directorate General of Foreign Trade) seeking to alter the classification of “Roasted Areca Nuts”. Subsequently, on 15th October, 2025, the DGFT, having realised the mistake, issued a fresh Notification rectifying the same. Justices B.P. Colabawalla and Amit S. Jamsandekar were addressing a...

Consumer Complaint Is Not Maintainable Against Corporate Debtor During Subsistence Of Moratorium: Bombay High Court

The Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court, comprising of Justice M.M. Nerkiar, has held that the consumer complaint before the District Consumer Dispute Redressal is not maintainable if the insolvency of the corporate debtor has been admitted during the continuance of the moratorium. The petition was filed against the order of the District Consumer Dispute Redressal. In the...

State Govt Took No Effective Steps For 30 Years: Bombay High Court Constitutes High Power Committee To Protect Sanjay Gandhi National Park

Considering that since last 30 years, the Maharashtra Government has failed to protect the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) at Mumbai's Borivli area, the Bombay High Court recently appointed a High Power Committee (HPC) under former Allahabad High Court Chief Justice (retd.) Dilip Bhosale, to suggest measures to the State to protect that forest region.A division bench of Chief Justice...

Banks Cannot Be Directed To Accept OTS Proposals Or Disclose Evaluation Criteria: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court recently affirmed that it cannot compel banks to accept One Time Settlement proposals or disclose the internal benchmarks used to evaluate such proposals, emphasizing that these decisions rest within the commercial wisdom of the bank.A division bench of Justices Anil S Kilor and Rajnish R Vyas in an order passed on October 17, 2025, observed, "It is clear that no...

Bombay High Court Allows Tata AIG Insurance's Appeal Against Compensation Award To Claimant With Income Exceeding ₹40,000

The Bombay High Court has held that an application for compensation under Section 163A of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, cannot be entertained without verifying that the annual income of the claimant does not exceed Rs. 40,000. The Court observed that the benefit of the structured formula under Section 163A is restricted to a specific class of victims and cannot be claimed by persons whose...

Order Terminating Proceedings For Non-Payment Of Arbitral Fees Can Be Challenged U/S 14 A&C Act, Not Through Writ Petition: Bombay HC

The Bombay High Court held that when the arbitration proceedings are terminated under section 38(2) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (Arbitration Act) for non-payment of arbitral fees, the proper remedy is to file application under section 14 of the Arbitration Act and not a writ petition. Justice Manish Pitale held that “in situations where the arbitral proceedings...