Anil Ambani, GST Show-Cause Issue Impasse, SEBI & More

“As a sitting judge, I would have declined Adhivakta Parishad’s invitation to events due to its political inclinations,”

-Justice (retd.) AS Oka amid controversy over Arvind Kejriwal seeking a judge’s recusal over attending alleged events of a religio-political group. 

GST Procedure Uncertainty Looms as Bombay High Court Split in its Decision

A division bench of the Bombay High Court could not agree on whether a consolidated single show cause notice for several years is valid under GST laws leaving the issue still undecided while a larger bench is now to be tasked with giving a decisive ruling.

While one judge ruled in favour of bundled notice citing efficiency, the other found that such bundling could violate timelines and procedural safeguards. And the issue is important because this is how the authorities function and lack of clarity on the correct procedure can throw off the system into disarray delaying assessments.

The referral to a larger bench turns the issue into a question of how strictly procedural rights constrain state power under GST. The eventual ruling will likely shape not just notice-drafting practices, but also determine whether GST enforcement evolves as a high-efficiency system or one anchored in strict word of the law.

Key Rulings:

• Supreme Court holds right to safe road travel is part of right to life, issues pan-India guidelines for ensuring road safety especially on highways

• Delhi High Court holds that Indian court are not bound by the interim relief awards passed by emergency arbitrators

Courts: 

• Supreme Court closes case on the issue after NIMHANS informs the court that testing tools to identify dyslexia among adults will be developed within three years

• Bombay High Court tells Republic TV “not to add embellishments” while reporting on Anil Ambani, no bar on reporting on facts

• Supreme Court refuses to interfere in case concerning Anil Ambani’s accounts classified as fraud, rejects Ambani’s plea for a stay on classification action by banks

• Gujarat High Court seeks response from tech companies like Meta, Google, X, Reddit and others on petition to curb AI deepfake content

• No ban on tiger safaris in the state, says Karnataka High Court  

• Sucheta Dalal moves the Delhi High Court against ban on reporting on links between Manoj Sandesara with Sterling Biotech fraud

• Bombay High Court refers the question of validity of bundling of GST show-cause notices of multiple years into one to a larger bench after split verdict

Quasi Courts:

• Competition Commission of India holds Adani Power not a dominant player in power generation sector, closes case against it

Others:

• Government notifies Women Reservation legislation, years after it was passed; makes it subject to delimitation

• Government tables constitution amendment bill in the parliament to increase the strength of Lok Sabha, bill fails to secure requisite majority

The Big Listings:

• Apr 20: NCLAT to hear Vedanta’s appeal against approval for Adani’s resolution plan for Jaiprakash Associates

• Apr 30: Supreme Court to hear PIL petition seeking tighter probe into Anil Ambani’s fraud allegations

• May 5: Supreme Court to hear challenge to Citizenship Amendment Act

• June 2026: Securities Appellate Tribunal to hear appeal by Jane Street challenging SEBI’s move to allegedly refuse access to important documents to the firm in the case against it

• Jul 15: Delhi High Court to hear Apple Inc.’s plea against India’s competition law’s provisions on global turnover-based penalties on MNC

* The dates of hearing can change and a concrete list is prepared just a day before

Legal Moves: 

• KVR Murty appointed Whole Time Member at SEBI

• Collegium recommends elevation of three judicial officers as judges at the Karnataka High Court

• Gaurav Lele joins Tavish Law Offices as partner

• Anshul Verma joins SKV Law Offices as partner

• Anchal Dhir and Shubhan Rastogi leave CAM to join Anagram Partners

• Bhishaan Shah made partner at A&O Shearman

• Five CAM partners leave to join AZB & Partners; North region head Ajay Sawhney also leaves CAM to join AZB 

• Ashish Kabra of Nishith Desai’s Internation disputes team joins Resolut Partners

• Mukul Agarwal of Khaitan joins CP Plus as General Counsel 

• Shweta Pandey moves on as Mercedes India VP Legal to join Wells Fargo