OYO vs Jaipur Resort: Hospitality Giant Gets Breather as HC Flags Gaps in Samskara’s Case

A single judge bench of the Rajasthan High Court has issued a notice to Madan Singh Jain, Director of Samskara Resort, taking strong cognizance of misleading and factually incorrect claims made against OYO in a GST liability case that resulted in Rs 2.66 crore notice.

In its ruling, the court expressed concern over “vague and misleading” submissions made by the complainant and accordingly granted OYO protection from coercive action.

“The court also observed that Samskara Resort failed to furnish critical information such as check-out records, blocked room data, and a copy of the operational agreement—facts material to the case. It appears that the resort owner is attempting to deflect attention from tax-related concerns, particularly issues related to GST compliance,” OYO said in an official statement.

The court was hearing a petition filed by OYO seeking the quashing of an FIR lodged by Samskara Resorts (Saboo Sodium Chloro Limited), which alleged inflated booking revenues.

Justice Praveer Bhatnagar granted the stay while hearing a petition filed by the company and acknowledged that it was Samskara who has failed to provide the booking sale register, agreement, etc. showing lapses on their own part. The court has issued a detailed and self-explanatory order and directed the police to submit a status report within two weeks.

“The court also acknowledged that the FIR in question was unwarranted and unfair. This seems to be a deliberate move to divert attention from the GST liabilities of the complainant. OYO has not had any business association with this hotel for many years. OYO’s records clearly show that a significant portion of the bookings at the property were walk-ins, likely recorded directly by the hotel’s own staff during the contract term with OYO,” said senior advocate RB Mathur and Lipi Garg, who appeared for the hospitality giant.

“Additionally, we have initiated defamation proceedings against Madan Singh Jain, Director of Samskara Resort, in the Delhi High Court,” the advocates added.

The hospitality platform claimed that it has presented factual submissions establishing that the company has fully complied with all relevant requirements, including the submission of complete and accurate booking data along with supporting documentation.

The court took note of the fact that the GST department had directly sought data from Samskara Resort, not OYO, and confirmed that all necessary information had already been provided by OYO.

The matter is scheduled for further hearing in three weeks.