Delhi High Court
S.128A Customs Act | Six-Month Timeline To Decide Appeals Not Mandatory, But Must Apply Where Possible: Delhi High Court
The Delhi High Court has held that though Section 128A(4A) of the Customs Act, 1962 prescribes that appeals “shall” be decided within six months, the timeline is applicable only where it is possible to do so.Perusing the language in which the provision is couched, a division bench of Justices Prathiba M. Singh and Shail Jain observed,“...it uses the word 'shall'. However, the provision also stipulates that the said period is to be adhered where it is possible to do so.”The observation was made...
Delhi High Court Rejects Philips' Plea For Perjury Action Against Ex-Employee In Software Piracy Case
The Delhi High Court has refused to initiate perjury proceedings against a former Philips employee, holding that Philips had not produced the kind of clear and unquestionable evidence required for criminal action. The ruling came in a copyright and trade secret dispute involving Philips' medical imaging software “IntelliSpace Portal” (ISP). In a judgment dated November 24, 2025, Justice Tejas Karia said the statements made by the ex-employee in a February 2025 affidavit, submitted in response...
Settlement With Concessionaire Doesn't Erase NHAI's Role In Dispute: Delhi High Court Dismisses Substitution Petition
The Delhi High Court refused to interfere with an arbitral tribunal's order rejecting the plea of National Highways Authority of India's (NHAI) to substitute itself with a special purpose vehicle (SPV) in an ongoing arbitration initiated by CFM Asset Reconstruction Pvt. Ltd. (CFM ARC). The court held that the substitution could prejudice claimants' rights and that court's intervention under Article under 227 of the Indian Constitution is permitted only in exceptional rarity. Justice...
Delhi High Court Grants Relief To Tesla Inc, Extends Bar on Indian Company's Use of 'Tesla' Marks In EV Market
The Delhi High Court on Monday granted relief to the U.S.-based electric vehicle company Tesla Inc. by directing that the undertaking earlier given by the India-based Tesla Power India Pvt. Ltd., stating that it will not manufacture or market electric vehicles or use any mark deceptively similar to 'Tesla' for EVs, shall continue until the trademark infringement suit is finally decided.In its judgment dated November 24, 2025, the single bench of Justice Tejas Karia held that the dominant and...
Delhi High Court Slaps ₹1 Lakh Cost On Litigant For Misusing Writ Jurisdiction To Stall DRT, NCLT Proceedings
The Delhi High Court recently imposed costs of Rs 1 lakh on a litigant while dismissing his writ petition that sought to halt proceedings pending before two Debts Recovery Tribunals and the National Company Law Tribunal. The Court held that the petitioner, Sanjeev Krishan Sharma, had failed to show any violation of fundamental rights, statutory mandate or natural justice that could justify invoking the High Court's extraordinary writ jurisdiction. The Division Bench of Justices Anil...
Delhi High Court Slams GST Authorities For 'Mechanically' Cancelling Registration Of BoAt's Parent Company
The Delhi High Court has slammed the GST authorities for cancelling the registration of Imagine Marketing Ltd., the parent company of smart wearables brand boAt, without considering the company's replies.A division bench of Justices Prathiba M. Singh and Shail Jain further criticised the GST Appellate Authority, which upheld the cancellation in a 'cavalier' manner. The judges remarked,“The present petition reveals a sad situation where a reputed company is being made to deal with an unjustified...
GST Migration Not Taxpayer's Burden: Delhi HC Directs CESTAT To Hear Appeal After Pre-Deposit Was Made Under Excise Head Due To Portal Failure
The Delhi High Court has held that where the Service Tax portal had become non-functional after the migration to the GST regime, the taxpayer cannot be compelled to make the mandatory pre-deposit strictly under the Service Tax ledger for maintainability of an appeal. The Court observed that once the deposit has already gone to the Government exchequer under the Excise Head. A Division Bench comprising Justice Prathiba M. Singh and Justice Saurabh Banerjee was hearing a writ petition ...
Delhi High Court Imposes ₹50K Costs On Customs For “Harassing” Companies Importing Body Massagers
The Delhi High Court has slammed the Customs Department for “unnecessarily harassing” two entities involved in import of body massagers.Petitioners' import goods were confiscated for alleged mis-declaration of sex toys as body massagers. While ordering their provisional release, the Court had previously asked the Department to come up with a uniform policy permitting or prohibiting the import of such products.The Department however sought a review of this direction.A division bench of Justices...
Delhi High Court Finds No Similarity Between 'OPAL' and 'SHEOPAL'S' Mark, Denies Injunction to OPAL Cosmetics
The Delhi High Court has upheld a Commercial Court order refusing interim injunction to cosmetics brand OPAL, holding that its mark is not deceptively similar to “SHEOPAL'S,” a mark used by Sheopals Pvt. Ltd. (SPL), which also manufactures beauty and wellness products. Delivering judgment on November 26, 2025, a Division Bench of Justice C. Hari Shankar and Justice Om Prakash Shukla held that a consumer of average intelligence and imperfect recollection would not break the competing mark into...
Any Interpretation Diluting Commercial Courts Act Defeats Its Purpose; No Leniency For Litigants Who Protract Proceedings: Delhi High Court
The Delhi High Court has observed that the Commercial Courts Act was enacted with a specific aim of expediting commercial disputes and the processes adopted by them can't be in such a casual manner, so as to convert them into general civil suit.“Any interpretation of any legal provision that dilutes the provision would militate against the basic philosophy behind creation of commercial courts,” said Justice Girish Kathpalia.The observation was made while dealing with a plea challenging a...
Delhi High Court Protects Gaay Chhap Detergent, Restrains Use Of 'Gopal Gai Chhap' and 'Cow Brand' Marks
The Delhi High Court has granted an interim injunction in favour of Gaay Chhap, a Kanpur-based detergent brand, restraining a Uttar Pradesh trader from using the marks “Gopal Gai Chhap” , “Cow Brand,” and similar labels for detergent soaps, cakes, and washing powders. Justice Tejas Karia passed the order on November 24, 2025, after finding that Gaay Chhap had shown prior and continuous use of its marks and made out a strong prima facie case of trademark infringement and passing off.The order...
Delhi High Court Sets Aside Rejection Of Medilabo's Patent For Neurodegenerative-Disease Drug
The Delhi High Court has set aside a Patent Office order refusing Medilabo RFP's patent application for a pharmaceutical composition used in treating neurodegenerative diseases, holding that the authority rejected the application without examining the amended claims and without explaining how the invention fell within the bar on “methods of treatment” under Section 3(i) of the Patents Act, 1970. For context, Section 3(i) of the Patents Act excludes the patenting of methods of diagnosis and...