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The Kerala High Court has ruled that disputes involving restructuring of companies, division of corporate assets and alteration of shareholder rights cannot be decided through private arbitration. Such matters fall within the exclusive jurisdiction of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) under the Companies Act, 2013. Justice Easwaran S. set aside an arbitrator's order that had rejected a jurisdictional objection under Section 16 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1

The Karnataka High Court has reiterated that the mere existence of a Hindu joint family does not automatically make every property owned by its members a joint family asset. The Court held that a person claiming a property to be part of the joint family estate must first prove that the family possessed sufficient surplus income, which was actually used for acquiring the property in question. The dispute arose from a partition suit in which the plaintiff sought a share in cert

The Bombay High Court has ruled that landowners are entitled to compensation even for portions of their land reserved for service roads and related public utility purposes during acquisition proceedings. Holding the denial of such compensation to be arbitrary, the Court directed the authorities to pay the amount determined under the acquisition award. The case arose from the acquisition of a landowner’s property for the widening of National Highway No. 211 (Dhule–Solapur Road

The Bombay High Court has declined a request by Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) to continue a bank guarantee worth USD 14.82 million after an arbitral tribunal ruled against it in a contractual dispute with Swiber Offshore Construction Pte. Ltd. The Court held that merely challenging an arbitral award under Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 does not automatically entitle an unsuccessful party to retain interim protections granted before t

The Bombay High Court has reaffirmed the importance of the Doctrine of Indoor Management by holding that a contractor was justified in assuming that a federation secretary had the authority to sign a commercial agreement on behalf of the organization. The Court observed that internal administrative lapses cannot be used to invalidate a contract entered into by a third party acting in good faith. The case arose from a dispute between an outdoor advertising agency and a coopera

A Delhi court has granted bail to a woman accused in an alleged conspiracy involving a fake Enforcement Directorate (ED) raid conducted at the residence of an 86-year-old retired architect in New Friends Colony. The court observed that the investigation against the accused had been completed and that her continued detention was not necessary at this stage of the proceedings. The case relates to an incident in which individuals allegedly impersonated ED officials and entered t

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has declined to grant anticipatory bail to a man accused in a narcotics case involving commercial quantity contraband, holding that his continued absence from the investigation and the possibility of further recovery weighed against granting him protection from arrest. Justice Rajendra Kumar Vani passed the order while dealing with an application filed by Dheeraj Vyas, who sought anticipatory bail in connection with a case registered at Harda Kot

The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has granted bail to a police Sub-Inspector accused of helping his son after an alleged honour killing, while using the occasion to make extensive observations on the continuing influence of caste in society and the need for long-term social reform. Justice B. Pugalendhi was hearing an appeal filed by Saravanan, who was arrested in August 2025 in connection with the murder of an engineering graduate allegedly killed because of his rel

The Canadian federal government has introduced Bill C-34, known as the Digital Safety Act, proposing a comprehensive regulatory framework for social media platforms and artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots. The legislation seeks to impose greater accountability on technology companies for harmful online content and establish a dedicated digital safety regulator. If enacted, the proposed law would require social media companies to identify and mitigate risks associated with h

The Allahabad High Court has strongly disapproved of the recent strike by lawyers in Lucknow, holding that the boycott of court proceedings between May 18 and May 26, 2026, was contrary to established law and adversely affected the administration of justice. The observations came during the hearing of a public interest litigation relating to the removal of alleged encroachments near Chakbast Crossing in Lucknow. While examining the matter, the Court was informed that a demoli

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has criticised the European Union’s new Migration and Asylum Pact, which is set to come into force on June 13, 2026, arguing that the reforms significantly weaken protections available to asylum seekers and migrants across the bloc. The pact, originally adopted in 2024, comprises ten binding legislative measures designed to reform the EU’s asylum and migration framework. Among other changes, it expands pre-entry screening procedures, increases health

The Kerala High Court has ruled that an order passed by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Delhi, under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) cannot be challenged before the Kerala High Court merely because the underlying credit facility was obtained in Kerala. The Court held that such a circumstance does not create a sufficient cause of action within the State for invoking writ jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution. The case involved a personal guarant

The Karnataka High Court has upheld the three-year blacklisting of a pharmaceutical company after laboratory testing found batches of drugs supplied by it to be “Not of Standard Quality” (NSQ). The Court ruled that the procurement agency was entitled to act on the basis of a valid government laboratory report and rejected the company's challenge to the blacklisting order. The dispute arose after Karnataka State Medical Supplies Corporation Limited (KSMSCL) procured iron and f

The Madras High Court has held that an accused person’s right to present oral arguments before a court is not merely a procedural safeguard under criminal law but an essential component of the constitutional guarantee of a fair trial under Article 21 of the Constitution. The Court ruled that a trial judge cannot pronounce a judgment without hearing the defence and must appoint an amicus curiae or legal aid counsel if the defence lawyer fails to appear or argue the case. The r

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has ruled that disputes involving alleged land encroachment and illegal activities by private individuals cannot ordinarily be resolved through writ proceedings and must instead be pursued before a competent civil court. The Court refused to grant interim protection to a farmer who claimed that illegal sand mining operations were damaging his agricultural land in Bhind district. A division bench comprising Justice G.S. Ahluwalia and Justice Deepa

The Allahabad High Court has ruled that an accused person generally cannot use a habeas corpus petition to challenge an allegedly illegal arrest once a court has taken cognizance of the case and criminal proceedings have substantially progressed. While dismissing such a petition in a dowry death and murder case, the Court also highlighted what it described as an apparent conflict between older and recent Supreme Court judgments dealing with illegal arrests and detention. A di

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has granted anticipatory bail to four individuals accused in an alleged online betting case, holding that their involvement was based solely on the statement of the main accused and that they were entitled to the same relief already granted to a similarly placed co-accused. Justice Vivek Jain passed the order while hearing separate bail applications filed by Matadin Rajak, Satish Dhakad and others, Naval Kishore Dhakad, and Raghav Dhakad. The app

Delhi court has denied bail to a man accused of allegedly defrauding a Haryana judicial officer of more than ₹52 lakh through what appears to be an online romance scam initiated on the dating application Tinder. While rejecting the bail plea, the court also raised serious concerns about the manner in which the complaint was filed and the shortcomings in the ongoing investigation. The case was registered on a complaint made by a domestic worker, who claimed she had been cheate

A federal court in the United States has struck down a series of immigration policies introduced by the Trump administration that affected applicants from 39 countries, ruling that the measures unlawfully delayed decisions on asylum claims, work permits, green cards and citizenship applications. The decision is being viewed as a major setback for the administration’s immigration enforcement agenda. Chief US District Judge John McConnell of Rhode Island held that the policies

The Gujarat High Court has ruled that freezing an individual's entire bank account over a disputed amount of just ₹1,100 is disproportionate and violates fundamental rights, directing a bank to restore full access to the account while retaining a lien only on the amount under investigation. Justice Niral R. Mehta passed the order while hearing a petition filed by Arjun Kuruveetil Peethambaran, whose savings account with HDFC Bank had been debit-frozen following communications