Blog Posts
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The Year That Was
[Posted by Umakanth Varottil] A year ago, while ushering in 2008, there were strong signals that suggested challenging times were in the offing for the corporate sector. The global financial markets were reeling from the effects of the sub-prime crisis, and pundits had predicted the effect would be devastating. Those predictions, alas, turned out to…
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Pyramid Saimira: SEBI Investigation
[Posted by Umakanth Varottil] A couple of days ago, the media carried reports of SEBI having directed one of the promoters to make an open offer to the shareholders of Pyramid Saimira Theatres Limited at a price that is at a substantial premium to current market price. However, just a day later, SEBI put out…
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FIPB Overrules Press Note 1 Objections
[Posted by Umakanth Varottil] Press Note 1 of 2005 issued by the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP) requires foreign companies to obtain the prior permission of the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (and thereby making the automatic route for investment inapplicable) if they had a joint venture with another Indian partner in the same…
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Analysis of Recent SAT Rulings on Insider Trading and FUTP Against Dilip Pendse
[Posted by Umakanth Varottil] (The following post is contributed by Bhushan Shah, an Indian lawyer currently pursuing a dual degree LL.M from New York University School of Law and National University of Singapore) The Securities Appellate Tribunal (‘SAT’ or ‘Tribunal’ ) recently set aside two orders (collectively referred as ‘Impugned Orders’ ) passed by market…
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The “Madoff Scheme” and Failure of Regulation
[Posted by Umakanth Varottil] The expression “Ponzi scheme” is not something we are terribly familiar with in India. To be honest, I heard of this concept only a couple of years ago. But now, these words are resonating in the media after the alleged fraud by Bernard Madoff came to light last week. New York…
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Companies Bill, 2008: No advisory services by auditors
[Posted by Mihir Naniwadekar] One of the important measures taken in the Companies Bill, 2008 is to prevent Chartered Accountants from offering actuarial, advisory and management services to companies which have engaged them as statutory auditors. Section 127 of the Bill provides: An auditor appointed under this Act shall provide the company only such other…
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ARBITRAL PROCEEDINGS AND THE JURISDICTION OF COURTS
[Posted by Venugopal Mahapatra] The case of Vijay Kumar Gupta v. Renu Malhotra, recently decided by the Delhi High Court, deals with the important issue of the definition of the word “Court” in the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, as well as the pecuniary jurisdiction of the High Court. In 1998, the decree-holder filed a petition…
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LLP Bill Passed in Parliament
[Posted by Umakanth Varottil] Media reports (here and here) indicate that the Limited Liability Partnership Bill, 2008 has been passed by Parliament. It was passed in the Lok Sabha on December 12, 2008, while the Rajya Sabha had already approved the Bill on October 24, 2008. The Ministry of Company Affairs has also published on…
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Shares and Stocks: India and Delaware
[Posted by Umakanth Varottil] India has largely followed the scheme of the erstwhile British company law in enacting the Companies Act, 1956. This is true even in the case of share capital structures that companies can have, such as only two types of shares, preference shares and equity shares for public limited companies, and also…
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The Fallout of Daga Capital
[Posted by V. Niranjan] An earlier post had noted that a recent decision of the Bombay ITAT could significantly affect the taxation of shares and securities, and group companies generally. To briefly summarise, it was a case involving a company dealing in shares and securities. It claimed that the interest it incurred on loans taken…