The issue of the burden of proof of the securities regulator in insider trading cases has been a vexed one. This is particularly because direct evidence is often hard to come by, and the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has to resort to circumstantial evidence. The jurisprudence thus far has borne some recognition of the practical difficulties surrounding the regulator’s evidentiary...
Amazon – Future Group: Delhi High Court’s Intrusiveness in Staying Arbitral Proceedings
The arbitral proceedings initiated by Amazon against the Future Group before a Singapore arbitral tribunal has already received considerable judicial attention in the courts in India. In a recent turn of events, a division bench of the Delhi High Court on 5 January 2022 stayed the arbitral proceedings upon the request of the Future Group, and overturned the ruling of a single judge of the same...
A Comment on a Delhi High Court Ruling on Shareholder Derivative Actions
One of the age-old tenets of corporate law is the “proper plaintiff” rule laid down in the seminal case of Foss v Harbottle, (1843) 2 Hare 461. According to this rule, where a wrong has been done to a company, it is only the company and not an individual shareholder who may bring an action to seek redress. This represents a wholesome recognition of the separate legal personality of the company...
Bombay High Court Order in the Zee-Invesco Case: A Critical Analysis
Among the current wave of shareholder activism in Indian companies is the effort by Invesco, an investor in Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited, to replace members of the board of directors of Zee, including to remove the company’s managing director and CEO. In September, Invesco, which holds 17.88% of Zee’s equity shares, requisitioned the board to call for an extraordinary general meeting...
Directors’ Liability and Climate Risk in India
Climate change has garnered significant attention given that it poses a serious challenge to sustainable development. No longer is it merely within the domain of voluntary conduct on the part of corporations. Instead, it is a material financial risk that corporations encounter, thereby imposing duties on the boards of directors of corporations to recognise and address climate risk. In “Directors’...
Stalemate on the SAT in the PNB Housing Preferential Allotment Case
A two-member bench of the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) yesterday returned a split verdict on the legal issues surrounding the preferential allotment of shares by PNB Housing Finance Limited. The facts are relatively straightforward. Since PNB Housing’s controlling shareholder, Punjab National Bank, was unable to infuse funds due to the lack of regulatory approval from the Reserve Bank of...
Call for Blogs: Corporate Law Board of the All India Legal Forum
[Announcement on behalf of the Corporate Law Board of the All India Legal Forum] The Corporate Law Board is an autonomous board of the All India Legal Forum. It is an initiative to engage a discussion around corporate law and policy in India and across the globe. The Board adopts a cross-jurisdictional and multi-disciplinary approach in analysing the various corporate law issues, regulatory...
Call for Papers: Indian Journal of Law & Technology
[Announcement on behalf of the Indian Journal of Law & Technology] The Indian Journal of Law & Technology (IJLT) is now accepting submissions for Volume 18. Please send in your submissions before October 31, 2021 in order for them to be considered. About the Journal The Indian Journal of Law and Technology (IJLT) is a student-edited, peer-reviewed, open access law journal published...
Online Certificate Course on the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code
[Announcement on behalf of Fortitude Learning] Fortitude Learning is conducting an online certificate course on the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 from August 20 to August 23, 2021. About the Course This course is a 4 day course on the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 with an aim to provide the participants with an in-depth knowledge of the Insolvency Regime in India along with the...
The Proposed Single Securities Markets Code
In the Budget 2021 speech, the Finance Minister announced a proposal “to consolidate the provisions of SEBI Act, 1992, Depositories Act, 1996, Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1956 and Government Securities Act, 2007 into a rationalized single Securities Markets Code.” When implemented, this would represent a significant step in the modernization of securities regulation in India. In my...
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