Insights & Analysis
A Perpetual Lease Promised in 1976 Cannot Be Demanded in 2002: Delhi High Court on Renewal Covenants, Agreements to Agree and Limitation
A tenant who had held an 11-month tenancy of a Janpath floor since 1976 sued in 2004 for a perpetual lease and a declaration that his rent was Rs 221. The Delhi High Court upheld rejection of the plaint at the threshold, on three separate footings: uncertainty of the covenant, delay, and the limits of declaratory relief.
13 min readInterest Runs From Determination, Not From the Original Assessment: Delhi High Court on Customs Interest After Redemption of Confiscated Goods
After seven years of pending adjudication, the Customs EDI System showed interest running from May 2015. A Division Bench of the Delhi High Court holds that interest cannot be computed for a period during which the liability had itself not been determined, and directs recomputation from 28 February 2023.
13 min readNo Visible Signature, No Nullity: Telangana High Court Full Bench Holds Portal-Authenticated GST Show Cause Notices and Orders Valid
Ruling on a reference that resolved conflicting Division Bench decisions, the Full Bench holds that DRC-01 and DRC-07 notices and orders authenticated through the officer's digital signature certificate and uploaded on the GST portal are valid, are served on upload, and set limitation running from that date.
14 min readA Sale Needs a Sale Deed: Suraj Lamp & Industries v. State of Haryana on GPA Sales and SA/GPA/Will Transfers
An agreement to sell, an irrevocable power of attorney and a will, however carefully assembled, do not add up to a sale. The Supreme Court's 2011 reference judgment remains the starting point for any due-diligence review of a property held on such papers.
7 min readBid With Open Eyes, Pay on Time: Supreme Court on Forfeiture of Earnest Money and Part-Payments by a Defaulting Bidder in a Liquidation Auction of Land
A bidder for a Sonepat land parcel sold in IBC liquidation paid a quarter of its bid, then asked for the title deeds and missed the deadlines. The Supreme Court held that the auction notice's forfeiture clause governed, and that the Liquidation Process Regulations' silence on forfeiture did not help the bidder.
14 min readA GST Demand Raised After the Resolution Plan Is Approved: Calcutta High Court on Extinguishment of Unclaimed IGST Dues Under Section 31 of the IBC
A GST authority issued a Section 73 notice in September 2025 for 2021-22, two years after Srei Equipment Finance's resolution plan was approved. The Calcutta High Court held the dues extinguished and quashed the notice, the order-in-original and a separate interest notice.
13 min readA Refund Won on Appeal Can Still Be Withheld: Delhi High Court on Section 54(11) of the CGST Act and the Weight of a Pending Investigation
An exporter won five refund appeals, but the Commissioner withheld Rs. 3,15,30,605 under Section 54(11) of the CGST Act. The Delhi High Court dismissed the writ: a proposed appeal alone is not enough, but a pending investigation plus a reasoned opinion of malfeasance or fraud is.
14 min readSanctity Is the Reward of Legality: Supreme Court Quashes a SARFAESI Auction Sale of a Hill Resort Over Restraint-Order Bids, a Truncated Notice Period and a Nominee Purchaser
A mortgaged hill resort, a sale certificate issued to a firm that did not bid, and a bid received while a tribunal's restraint was in force: the Supreme Court held that the auction was illegal in its entirety, and that the finality attaching to auction sales is earned only by compliance with the statutory procedure.
14 min readPriority Is Not Purity: Madras High Court Holds a SARFAESI Auction Purchaser Must Clear a Known Excise Attachment Before the Encumbrance Entry Is Removed
A bank sold a mortgaged property under SARFAESI with a Central Excise attachment disclosed as a known encumbrance, then asked the High Court to have the entry struck from the encumbrance certificate. The Division Bench refused: priority over Crown dues is settled, but Rule 9 of the Security Interest (Enforcement) Rules, 2002 is mandatory.
15 min read