Including Dead Persons As Prosecution Witness Goes To Root Of Matter, Shows Non-Application Of Mind Rendering Probe Unreliable: Allahabad HC

The Allahabad High Court has held that investigation is rendered unreliable and legally unsustainable if dead persons are included as prosecution witnesses without any explanation.Justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav held “The inclusion of deceased persons as prosecution witnesses, without any explanation, goes to the root of the matter and reflects non-application of mind during investigation,...

Availability Of Civil Remedy Not Grounds To Quash Criminal Proceedings: J&K High Court Holds In Enso Tower Dispute

The High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh recently held that the mere existence of a civil or commercial dispute does not bar criminal prosecution, if the allegations in a complaint disclose the commission of a criminal offense. Noting that same facts might result in both civil and criminal remedies, the bench comprising of Justice Sanjay Dhar, on 26th December, 2025, rejected to quash...

Excise | Cutting/Slitting HR-CR Coils Not Manufacturing; Duty Paid On Non-Excisable Activity Cannot Make It Excisable: CESTAT Chennai

The Chennai Bench of Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) held that cutting and slitting of HR-CR coils does not amount to manufacture and therefore, payment of duty on such non-excisable activity cannot create a legal fiction to treat it as excisable. The bench further held that CENVAT (Central Value Added Tax) credit availed in respect of such activity...

Sorry State Of Sanitation In Uttar Pradesh's Courts For Women

Beneath the solemn domes and echoing corridors of Uttar Pradesh's district courts and tribunals, where the fundamental rights of citizens are passionately defended, lies a silent, shameful contradiction. While legal minds debate the finer points of Article 21 of the Constitution—the Right to Life and Personal Liberty—a stark violation of those very right festers within the court premises, i.e. the deplorable state of public toilets.For the women who serve and seek justice here—lawyers,...

Bank's Right To Recover Becomes Absolute Once Demand Notice Is Served In Borrower's Lifetime, Fresh Notice To Legal Heirs Not Needed: Kerala HC

The Kerala High Court, in a recent judgment, held that the statutory right of a bank to recover dues from a borrower under the SARFAESI Act becomes absolute once the demand notice is duly served during his lifetime and the mandatory 60-day period expires without the liability discharged.There was no need for the bank to issue fresh notices under the Act for the legal heirs of the...

Bail Is Rule, Jail Exception: High Court Grants Bail To J&K Bank Manager In Alleged Multi-Crore Loan Fraud Case

The Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court has granted bail to Jatinder Kumar, a Manager of Jammu & Kashmir Bank, who was arrested in connection with an alleged large-scale loan fraud case investigated by the Crime Branch, Economic Offences Wing (EOW), Jammu.While allowing the bail application, Justice Mohammad Yousuf Wani strongly reiterated the settled constitutional principle that...

Non-Signatory Developer Can Be Impleaded In Arbitration If Conduct Shows Intent To Be Bound: Karnataka High Court

The Karnataka High Court has refused to interfere with an arbitral tribunal's decision impleading a non signatory company in arbitration proceedings holding that where conduct, agreements and commercial involvement of a party demonstrates clear intent to be bound by the arbitration agreement, the Group of Companies would apply. A Division Bench of Justice Jayant Banerji and Justice...

Courts Must Not Stifle Corruption Probes At Threshold: J&K&L High Court Refuses To Quash FIR Against Former ARTO

Reiterating that courts must not stifle corruption investigations at the threshold, the Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court has dismissed a plea seeking quashment of an FIR registered against a former Assistant Regional Transport Officer, holding that the record discloses “sufficient grounds to suspect commission of offences” and that no case for exercise of inherent jurisdiction is...

Profit From Securitisation/Sell-Down Of Loan Receivables Not Taxable As Service: CESTAT Chennai

The Chennai Bench of Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) held that profit earned from securitisation or sell-down of loan receivables, including upfront fees and excess spread income, being in the nature of income arising from the sale of receivables, is not exigible to service tax. Ajayan T.V. (Judicial Member) and Vasa Seshagiri Rao (Technical Member)...

MahaRERA Orders Accord Builders To Refund ₹42.45 Lakh Illegally Forfeited From Homebuyer

The Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority (MahaRERA) has recently held that a builder who accepted more than 10% of the flat price without executing a registered Agreement for Sale and later resold the apartment cannot forfeit the homebuyer's money.Holding the forfeiture to be unlawful, the authority ordered Accord Builders to refund Rs 42.45 lakh to the homebuyer. In the order...

Delhi High Court Bars “Star Smith” Name And Domain For Infringing A.O. Smith Trademarks

The Delhi High Court has barred the use of the trade name “Star Smith” and the website “www.starsmith.in,” holding that they appear to infringe the registered trademarks and domain names of A.O. Smith Corporation, a global maker of geysers and water purification systems.Justice Tejas Karia, passed the interim order on December 24, 2025, observing that the disputed trade name and...

Bombay High Court Sets Aside Arbitral Award Against Investors, Says Participation In Regulatory Proceedings Is Not “Forum Shopping”

The Bombay High Court recently set aside an arbitral decision that had rejected investors' claims against Central Depository Services (India) Limited (CDSL), on the grounds of alleged forum shopping, by declaring that involvement in regulatory proceedings does not bar independent arbitration remedies. Allowing a petition under Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996,...