Fair opportunity to a non-party affected by insolvency proceedings requires consideration of its pending intervention application before final adjudication of the Section 7 company petition. The application under Section 60(5) alleged collusive initiation of insolvency proceedings and asserted potential effects on the applicant's rights and property. In the stated circumstances, judicial fairness required the Tribunal to determine that application first because no compelling urgency justified finalising the insolvency petition while it remained pending. The Tribunal was directed to decide the application within three months, if not already decided, and thereafter determine the insolvency petition on merits.

Investigation statements relied upon for clandestine-clearance allegations require compliance with the statutory relevancy procedure, including examination-in-chief and an opportunity for cross-examination; untested statements cannot reliably support a duty demand. Computer-generated data and printouts from CPUs or pen drives require satisfaction of statutory evidentiary conditions and the prescribed certificate before admission. Clandestine manufacture and removal must also rest on tangible, independent corroboration, such as evidence relating to production capacity, raw-material procurement, buyers, transport, labour and electricity consumption. In the absence of admissible statements, compliant electronic records and corroborative material, the clandestine-clearance charge, duty demand and consequential penalties were set aside.

Anti-dumping duty on wind turbine gear boxes containing castings is confined to the castings, rather than the gear boxes as complete equipment. Notification No. 42/2017-Customs (ADD) covers castings in raw, finished or sub-assembled form, including castings forming part of a sub-assembly, equipment or component. The Tribunal's unchallenged interpretation that the levy applies only to the castings within such equipment bound Customs authorities. Consequently, anti-dumping duty could not be imposed on the gear boxes as a whole; the assessment was set aside to that extent, with acceptance of self-assessment and release of related securities.

Customs Broker licence revocation, security forfeiture and penalty require proof of established statutory breaches, rather than apprehension of future misconduct. An importer's authorisation and prescribed KYC records satisfy authorisation and verification duties where the broker files documents supplied by the importer. A discrepancy in goods or brand particulars that emerges only on physical examination does not establish a failure of due diligence. Speed-and-efficiency obligations do not require BIS certificate verification, and cooperation in the investigation defeats a non-cooperation allegation. As the alleged breaches were unproved, the revocation, forfeiture and penalty were set aside.

Customs valuation of imported rechargeable batteries requires stated grounds creating reasonable doubt before the declared transaction value can be rejected. Valuation must then proceed sequentially under the prescribed methods, supported by contemporaneous import data or valid comparison with identical or similar goods; retail market-inquiry prices alone do not justify enhancement. Payment of differential duty for provisional release does not constitute acceptance of the enhanced value or bar challenge. Where the declared invoice amount was remitted and no evidence showed additional payment, quantity or description discrepancies, misdeclaration, fraud, suppression or wilful misstatement, confiscation, redemption fine and penalty lack foundation. The valuation enhancement and consequential duty demand were unsustainable.

For insolvency appeals, statutory limitation remains strict and the Tribunal cannot condone delay beyond the prescribed outer period. Limitation does not run, however, while the filing forum is unavailable or incapable of receiving filings. A bona fide attempt to e-file within time that fails solely because the Tribunal's OTP delivery system malfunctioned warrants exclusion of the non-functional period under actus curiae neminem gravabit, with the initial attempt treated as the presentation date. The time-bar dismissal was set aside and the appeal, with its delay-condonation application, was restored for reconsideration, subject to sufficient cause.

Provident-fund and gratuity dues are excluded from the liquidation estate and cannot be distributed through the insolvency waterfall; a successful resolution applicant must discharge those dues, including statutory interest on arrears. Statutory interest compensates delayed contributions, whereas damages for delay are penal in nature. The expression "may recover" in Section 14B raises whether the authorised officer may decline to impose damages in extenuating circumstances, despite no requirement of mens rea or actus reus; that issue stands referred to a larger Bench. A successful resolution applicant may seek Central Board reduction or waiver of damages, treating resolution-plan implementation as comparable to rehabilitation.

Pre-existing dispute over an outcome-based professional fee may prevent Section 9 insolvency proceedings where contemporaneous correspondence shows a substantive contest about contractual success, fee entitlement, and finality of the underlying GST proceedings. Setting aside of the GST order relevant to fee computation, questions about the capacity in which representation was provided, and the enforceability of relief-linked remuneration under the applicable professional framework may require adjudication outside the limited Section 9 process. A bona fide dispute, rather than a patently feeble defence or later-created contention, leaves the contractual claim to other remedies.

Section 6(3) of FEMA continued to govern foreign-remittance contraventions committed while it was in force despite its subsequent omission. Delayed reporting of foreign investment and delayed share allotment constitute civil regulatory breaches for which liability does not require mens rea unless the statute so provides; later compliance and claimed bona fides do not make the defaults technical. Confiscation under FEMA is discretionary and additional to monetary penalty, requiring a fact-based judicial assessment, including misuse of remittances in a restricted real-estate sector. Director liability depends on responsibility for company affairs: liability does not attach without proof of control, but may attach where managerial responsibility, knowledge, or lack of due diligence is established.

Scheduled-offence status under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act depends on an underlying offence and is necessary to establish proceeds of crime and support a money-laundering investigation. Section 2(2) extends a Central enactment listed in the Schedule to its corresponding law applicable in Jammu and Kashmir. Although Section 13(1)(d) of the Central Prevention of Corruption Act was omitted, amended Section 7 continues to cover obtaining an undue advantage through abuse of official position or corrupt or illegal means. Criminal misconduct under Section 5(1)(d) of the J&K Act therefore remained a corresponding scheduled offence, sustaining Enforcement Directorate jurisdiction to register an ECIR and issue summons.

Contractual self-help repossession of a hypothecated vehicle remains subject to fair-recovery safeguards, including prior notice, an opportunity to cure default, peaceful possession and a transparent sale process. A repossession clause permitting possession without notice, unrestricted entry to locate the vehicle, unspecified recovery or sale procedures, and unilateral waiver of notice cannot validate recovery outside those safeguards. Night-time removal by breaking a steering lock without a possession memorandum, and without the stipulated notice, constitutes unauthorised and arbitrary recovery. Delay alone cannot defeat a challenge where criminal remedies were promptly pursued and no prejudice is shown. Arbitrary repossession of a livelihood vehicle may justify restorative and compensatory relief, although a completed sale may remain undisturbed.

United States sanctions bill concerning Russia would authorize the President to impose sanctions on Russia and punitive tariffs of up to 100 per cent on nations importing Russian crude oil. The tariff mechanism may affect oil and gas trading partners, bilateral relations and global energy markets, with concern expressed over its implications for energy trade.

Congressional legislation targeting Russia and Iran would authorise sanctions against Russia's leadership, energy sector, and vessels facilitating evasion of oil-delivery restrictions. It would also permit punitive tariffs of up to 100 per cent on leading trading partners continuing to import Russian oil and gas. India has identified possible effects on bilateral economic relations and the international energy market, while maintaining that diversified sourcing is necessary for energy security and that its trade and economic interests will be protected.

Validity of the reappointment is therefore contested under the company's internal governance framework despite the majority board vote, and the appointment is expected to be considered for ratification at the annual general meeting. The dispute also concerns the distinction between shareholder influence and directors' decision-making duties. A Trust sought to direct its nominee director to oppose a listing, but the director declined on the basis of independent director duties.

Tata Trusts has placed before the Tata Sons board a framework for the Shapoorji Pallonji Group to monetise part of its Tata Sons shareholding without requiring a public listing. The transaction would be valued under Rule 11UA principles, completed in two tranches over 18 months, and require Tata Sons to commence a selective capital reduction process before the National Company Law Tribunal. Completion remains contingent on financing capacity, regulatory and tribunal approvals, and scrutiny of valuation, shareholder treatment, and the legal validity of the capital-reduction structure.

GST treatment of site-supervision services performed at shipbuilding yards in Goa for a German company turns on the place of supply rather than the foreign recipient or receipt of consideration in convertible foreign exchange. As the supervision is physically performed in India, the place of supply is treated as Goa. The service consequently does not satisfy the export-of-services definition. Compulsory GST registration applies on the basis that the individual makes inter-State taxable supplies, overriding the general turnover-threshold exemption.

Tata Sons' board reappointed its executive chairman by majority vote, but Tata Trusts contend that the resolution is void under the Articles of Association because both Trust-nominated directors must approve a chairmanship resolution. The dispute also concerns the effect of the chairman's earlier decision to step aside, an ongoing successor-selection process, and uncertainty over a nominee director's status following a failed general meeting. Separately, the rejection of Tata Sons' deregistration request has revived questions over compliance with the listing requirement applicable to an upper-layer non-banking financial company.

Deep-sea fishing policy promotes expansion of fishing operations within India's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and on the high seas to increase fisherfolk income through exports of high-value species. High-seas catch classification has been altered so that fish caught on the high seas and offloaded at a foreign port are treated as exports rather than imports.

Rectification under Section 129B(2) is limited to a patent, self-evident error of fact or law apparent from the record and cannot be used to seek reargument or reconsideration. A daily order sheet merely recording that the matter was heard and orders were reserved, without any recorded or approved indication of remand, does not establish that remand was contemplated. Where merits submissions were addressed in the final order, an unrecorded expectation of remand does not justify rectification; no mistake apparent from the record exists.

Humanitarian interim bail was not warranted where the spouse's metastatic ovarian carcinoma was stable, showed mild lesion reduction, and was managed through periodic day-care maintenance chemotherapy without an immediate emergency or critical procedure. The applicant's presence was not shown to be medically indispensable, and available family support was not shown to be inadequate. Alleged offence gravity, the applicant's position, and risks of flight, witness influence, and evidence tampering outweighed humanitarian considerations absent emergent or exceptional circumstances. Interim bail was declined, while limited custody parole for three specified days enabled a meeting with the spouse.