[Tanuj Sharma is a 5th year B.B.A. LL.B. (Hons.) student and Vanshika Sharma is a 4th year B.B.A. LL.B. (Hons.) student at National Law University Odisha] The Securities Appellate Tribunal (“SAT”) on 10 July 2023 upheld the decision of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (“SEBI”) barring Subhash Chandra, the then Chairman of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. (“ZEEL”), and Puneet Goenka...
Evaluating SEBI’s Fit & Proper Test: Striking the Right Balance
[Dhaval Bothra and Akshat Jain are law students at Symbiosis Law School Pune and National Law University Delhi, respectively] Trust remains the cornerstone in matters of public money, and the Securities and Exchange Board of India (“SEBI”) is the watchdog of this trust. In furtherance of this aim, almost two years ago, the SEBI introduced amendments to the “fit and proper rule” under the...
Digital Personal Data Protection Bill: Balancing Privacy and Innovation
[Ananya Karnwal and Astha Agarwal are 5th year B.A. LL.B (Hons.) students at National Law University Odisha in Cuttack, Odisha] Recently, on 5 July 2023 the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill (“The Bill”) received approval from the Central Cabinet. This Bill has been finalized after multiple attempts of the government to create a holistic legislation to govern digital data of individuals that...
Adducing Additional Evidence under Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act
[Raghav Bhatia is an Advocate practising at the Supreme Court and Delhi High Court. He can be contacted at [email protected].] Early this year, the Supreme Court of India in Alpine Housing Development Corporation Pvt. Ltd. v. Ashok S. Dhariwal reiterated that only in exceptional circumstances can a party adduce additional evidence under section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act...
Strengthening AIF Governance: SEBI’s Pro-Rata Proposal
[Sagun Modi is a 4th Year B.A. LL.B. (Hons.) student at National Law University, Odisha] Alternative investment funds (‘AIFs’) have emerged as vital investment vehicles in the global financial landscape. They provide investors with diversified investment opportunities beyond traditional asset classes. India witnessed a 30% increase in investment commitments into AIFs, from Rs. 6.41 trillion in...
Commercial Wisdom of the Committee of Creditors: An End to Excessive Deference?
[Mathanki Narayanan is a 4th year B.A. L.L.B. (Hons.) student at Jindal Global Law School] The conceptualization of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (IBC) was underpinned by the need to preserve economic value through expediency. However, its implementation has revealed asymmetries of power amongst the creditors. The Committee of Creditors (CoC) spearheads the Corporate Insolvency...
Game On, Taxes Doubled: Unraveling the Dual Taxation Conundrum in India’s Online Gaming Industry: Part II
[Rupam Dubey and Parth Kantak are 3rd-year B.A., LL.B. (Hons.) students at the National Law School of India University, Bangalore This is a continuation of Part I] The preceding segment of this post examined the taxation framework enforced upon the realm of online gaming in India and the dual taxation regime of the Union Government which leads to a situation of double taxation, imposing an unfair...
Game On, Taxes Doubled: Unraveling the Dual Taxation Conundrum in India’s Online Gaming Industry: Part I
[Rupam Dubey and Parth Kantak Mangrish are 3rd-year B.A., LL.B. (Hons.) students at the National Law School of India University, Bangalore] The emergence of affordable internet in India has had a profound impact on the country’s mobile gaming industry. With increased accessibility to the internet, more people have been able to engage in online gaming, resulting in India becoming one of the...
SEBI Circular on ESG Disclosures of Value Chains: A Double-Edged Sword
[Avani Hegde and Praneel Panchagavi are 3rd year B.A., LL.B. (Hons.) students at Symbiosis Law School, Pune] The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) issued a circular on July 12, 2023 notifying the mandate for environmental, social, and governance (ESG) disclosures and assurance requirements for value chains of the top 250 listed entities by market capitalization from the financial year...
Balancing Review and Recall: NCLAT on Correction of Procedural Errors
[Basil Gupta is a 4th year B.A., LL.B. (Hons.) student at National Law University, Jodhpur] The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) has clarified that it possesses the power to recall its judgments, asserting its inherent authority under Rule 11 of the NCLAT Rules, 2016. In a significant decision, a five-member bench of the NCLAT in Union Bank of India (Erstwhile Corporation Bank) v...
SEBI’s Sponsorship Shake-Up: Unravelling the Implications for Mutual Funds
[RS Sanjanaa is a third-year BA LLB (Hons.) student at Symbiosis Law School, Pune] A sponsor of a mutual fund refers to any bank, financial institution or a corporate who acts as the promoter of the mutual fund. The entity establishes the fund, obtains necessary approvals and funding, and incorporates an asset management company (“AMC”). On June 27, 2023, the Securities and Exchange Board of...
Identifying Senior Managers: Revisions to Listing Rules
[Pammy Jaiswal and Mahak Agarwal are with Vinod Kothari & Co] The concepts of senior management (‘SM’) and senior managerial person or personnel (‘SMP’ or ‘SMPs’) was not present under the regime established by the Companies Act, 1956, and it was first introduced in section 178 of the Companies Act, 2013 (the ‘Act, 2013’). The law requires the nomination and remuneration committee to...
Revival of Time-Barred Debts
[Mihir Modi is an Associate with PSL Advocates and Solicitors in Mumbai] According to the Limitation Act 1963 (‘the Limitation Act’), there is a set time limit for filing appeals and instituting lawsuits in various courts. The Limitation Act is based on the idea that there must be a strict time limit for bringing appropriate actions in the courts. In doing so, it protects only the diligent...
Corporate Climate Litigation: Comparing ClientEarth-Shell with the Indian Regulatory Framework
[Dhanshitha Ravi and Santosh S are third and final year law students respectively at Symbiosis Law School, Pune] The United Kingdom High Court (“UKHC”) on the 12 May 2023 delivered a landmark judgment in the realm of corporate jurisprudence in a first of its kind climate-change based derivative action in ClientEarth v. Shell plc. This action was brought by ClientEarth, a minority shareholder in...
Balancing Contractual Autonomy vis-à-vis Application of Section 74 of the Contract Act, 1872: Part II
[Lavanya Pathak and Pallavi Mishra are advocates practicing at the Delhi High Court. This is a continuation from Part I] Position Taken by High Courts at Bombay, Delhi and Madras The recent judgements rendered by High Courts at Bombay, Delhi and Madras (discussed below) are instructive when it comes to offering clarity on the SC’s understanding of the law on liquidated damages and penalties. In...
Balancing Contractual Autonomy vis-à-vis Application of Section 74 of the Contract Act, 1872: Part I
[Lavanya Pathak and Pallavi Mishra are advocates practicing at the Delhi High Court.] The concept of ‘liquidated damages’ and ‘penalty’ was originally intended to be omitted from the realm of the Indian law by careful usage of the phrase “sum named in the contract” under section 74 of the Contract Act, 1872 (“Contract Act”). However, following the amendment brought about in 1899, the scope of...
CCI’s Inconsistent Stance on Acquisition of Optionally Convertible Securities: Reconciling Control and Competition
[Arham Anwar and Ruby Agrawal are 4th year and 2nd year students of NLU Jodhpur and RGNUL Patiala] The scheme of arrangements contemplated under the Companies Act, 2013 generally requires the approval of the Competition Commission of India (hereinafter, “CCI”) in relation to asset size and turnover of the enterprise. This essentially underlines high level of dependability the company has on the...
Fine-Tuning the FLDG Framework: Sectoral Caps Reflecting Default Rate Variations
[Ritvij Ratn Tiwari is a 3rd-year B.A., LL.B. (Hons.) student at the National Law School of India University, Bangalore.] In June 2023, the Reserve Bank of India (“RBI”) issued guidelines regulating the arrangements for sharing the losses arising from defaulted loans, popularly called default loss guarantee (“DLG”), between regulated entities (“REs”) and lending service providers (“LSPs”). These...
Section 241 of the Companies Act, 2013: An Avenue for Derivative Actions
[Rakshit Agarwal is a 2nd Year Student at the National Law School of India University, Bangalore] The judgment of the Delhi High Court in ICP Investments v Uppal Housing Pvt Ltd has spurred the debate as to whether section 241 of the Companies Act 2013 (“Act”) is the appropriate provision under which derivative actions can be instituted. The decision in ICP Investments to include derivative...
SEBI’s Order on Spoofing – A Way Forward
[Shivangi Paliwal and Mahak Shinghal are final year B.A. LL.B. (IPR Hons.) and B.B.A. LL.B. (IPR Hons.) students at National Law University, Jodhpur] Section 12A of the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992 [“SEBI Act”] read along with Regulation 3 & 4 of SEBI (Prohibition of Fraudulent and Unfair Trade Practices relating to Securities Market) Regulations, 2003 [“PFUTP...
Regulating the Regulator: A Prohibited Territory for the CCI
[Shourya Mitra is a penultimate year law student at Jindal Global Law School, Sonipat] On 2 June 2023, the Delhi High Court, in the case of Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (“ICAI”) v. CCI, held that the Competition Commission of India (“CCI”) lacks jurisdiction to assess grievances arising from a statutory regulator’s decisions. It held that the CCI could not compel or outsource...
Put Options: Putting Up with Foreign Exchange Regulation
[Ryan Joseph is a 3rd year B.B.A., LL.B. (Hons.) student at Jindal Global Law School] A decision of the Madras High Court in January this year in GPE (India) Limited v. Twarit Consultancy has added to the controversial debate over the enforcement of put options that guarantee assured returns. The High Court toed the line with other courts and upheld an arbitral award, notwithstanding the...
Reimagining the Insolvency Process: A Case of Multiple Resolution Plans
[Piyush Kr. Choubey and Kaustubh Kumar are 4th year students at the National University of Study and Research in Law, Ranchi] The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (“MCA”) in January 2023 floated a discussion paper on possible changes to the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (the “Code”). One of the topics in the discussion paper was “Reimagining the consideration of the resolution plan and the...
Securing Borrowers, Shielding Lenders: RBI’s Default Loss Guarantee Regulations
[RS Sanjanaa is a 3rd year BA LLB (Hons.) student at Symbiosis Law School, Pune] The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has granted approval to and released guidelines (on June 8, 2023) on the much-contended topic of default loss guarantee (DLG). A DLG model according to this refers to the default loss cover provided to a bank or non-banking finance company (NBFC) by the fintech company that was the...
SEBI’s Reforms for REITs/InvITs: Assessing the Broader Corporate Governance Concerns
[Nikhil Javali is a 4th year B.B.A. LL.B. student at National Law University Odisha] As real estate investment trusts (‘REITs’) and infrastructure investment trusts (‘InvITs’) gain global recognition as a powerful investment vehicle, India is taking significant strides towards aligning its REIT/InvIT regulations with global best practices. Across the world, REITs have emerged as a dominant...
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