Blog Posts
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Disclosures on Management Changes
[Posted by Umakanth Varottil] The saga involving the removal of SKS Microfinance’s chief executive raises a number of issues relating to corporate governance as well as securities regulation. One such issue pertains to the nature of public disclosures made regarding the removal of the chief executive, which acquires prominence considering SKS is a public listed…
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UK Court of Appeal holds that legal professional privilege reserved for lawyers
[Posted by Satyajit Gupta] In the matter of Prudential PLC and Prudential (Gibraltar) Limited v Special Commissioner of Income Tax and Philip Pandolfo (HM Inspector of Taxes), the UK Court of Appeal has unanimously confirmed that legal professional privilege (LPP) does not apply to any other professional except qualified lawyers – solicitors, barristers and “appropriately…
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Legality of Sale of NPAs Between Banks
[Posted by Umakanth Varottil] Last week, the Supreme Court issued its ruling on whether non-performing assets/loans (NPAs) can be transferred between banks without the concurrence of the borrowers. The case involved a transfer of NPAs (relating to the borrower, APS Star Industries Ltd.) from ICICI Bank to Kotak Mahindra Bank. The borrower was in liquidation.…
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The Supreme Court on the scope of winding-up jurisdiction
[Posted by V. Niranjan] It is well-known that one of the grounds for winding up a company under Indian company law is its inability to pay “debts”. S. 433(e) explicitly provides that a company may be wound up by the company court if it is “unable to pay its debts” and s. 434(1)(a) lists three…
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Corporate Governance: India and China Compared
[Posted by Umakanth Varottil] While a fairly extensive body of literature that compares India and China has developed in the economics and business spheres, comparative analyses of the legal regime in these two countries is somewhat nascent. In that regard, a new book China, India and the International Economic Order, edited by Professors M. Sornarajah…
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Arbitration: MSM Satellite v. World Sport Group – Part 2
[Posted by Umakanth Varottil] (The following is the continuation of this previous post, and has been contributed by Vijay Kumar, a lawyer and a company secretary by qualification, who is practising as an Advocate in the Chennai High Court with the law firm of Iyer and Thomas) Comments a. The Dispute in reality is between…
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Arbitration: MSM Satellite v. World Sport Group – Part 1
[Posted by Umakanth Varottil] (The following post has been contributed by Vijay Kumar, a lawyer and a company secretary by qualification, who is practising as an Advocate in the Chennai High Court with the law firm of Iyer and Thomas) Appeal in the Bombay High Court MSM Satellite (Singapore) Ltd (MSM) had filed a suit…
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Bombay High Court on the Appointment of Arbitrators
[Posted by Shantanu Naravane] Section 11 of the Indian Arbitration Act, 1996, has been subject of much controversy; primarily on the issue of whether the power of Chief Justice to appoint arbitrators provided therein, is judicial or administrative in nature. While that question gave rise to many issues of policy and the scheme of the…
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A New Edition of the Consolidated FDI Policy
[Posted by Umakanth Varottil] On April 1 this year, the Government gave effect to a consolidation exercise by locating all policies relating to FDI in a single document known as the Consolidated FDI Policy (as discussed here). That was not meant to be a static policy, but something that was to be reviewed every six…
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FDI: Shares for Consideration Other than Cash
[Posted by Umakanth Varottil] In another of a series of discussion papers, the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP) has issued one on issue of shares for consideration other than cash. In the past, foreign investment policy has mandated that shares be issued by Indian companies to foreign investors under the automatic route only…