[Velpula Audityaa is an Advocate practicing before the Madras High Court and trial courts in Chennai. He can be contacted at [email protected]] Recently, a division bench of the Punjab & Haryana High Court in Pal Alloys & Metal India Private Limited v. Allahabad Bank (2021 SCC OnLine P&H 2733) had an occasion to consider the effect of the 2016 amendment to section 13(8) of the...
Shadow Trading – An Indian Perspective
[Mihir Deshmukh is an Associate at Finsec Law Advisors, Mumbai and Bhavya Solanki is a 4th-year student at Maharashtra National Law University, Mumbai.] Coined by Mehta, Reeb, and Zhao, shadow trading is a theory of insider trading, which postulates that confidential information of a company could also be relevant for other economically-linked companies, and insiders could profit from trading in...
Algorithmic Collusion: Can the Competition Act Protect against Self-Learning Algorithms?
[Digvijay R. Singh is a 4th year BA LLB (Hons.) student at National Law School of India University, Bangalore] An algorithm is an application of reasoning by artificial intelligence (“AI”) for the finding of a probable solution to a problem. Algorithms are relied upon for the cost and efficiency benefits attributed to them. In the present day, algorithms contribute to an enterprise in multiple...
Oligopoly, Competition, Cartels and Beyond: Establishing the Need for ‘Collective Dominance’
[Swetha Somu is a 2nd year B.B.A. L.L.B (Hons.) student at Gujarat National Law University in Gandhinagar] ‘Collective dominance’ in competition law points to a scenario where two or more independent undertakings, possibly through established economic links, hold a dominant position in the market together while still being independent of each other. This concept was first recognized in the...
SEBI’s Takeover Amendment: Hit-and-Miss on Delisting
[Aryan Puri is a 4th-year BBA., LL.B. (Hons.) student at MIT-World Peace University, Faculty of Law, Pune, and Priya Maharishi is a 5th-year B.A., LL.B. (Hons.) student at Jindal Global Law School, Sonipat] On December 6, 2021, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (“SEBI”) amended the SEBI (Substantial Acquisition of Shares and Takeover) Regulation, 2011 (“Takeover Regulations”) to simplify...
Delhi High Court on the Overriding Effect of IBC over PMLA
[Pallavi Meena is a IV Year BSW, LL.B (Hons.) student and Ridhi Arora a IV Year B.A., LL.B (Hons.) student, both at Gujarat National Law University] In Nitin Jain, Liquidator, PSL Limited. v. Enforcement Directorate (15 December 2021), the Delhi High Court ruled that the power under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (“PMLA”) to attach properties ceases to exist when an order of...
SC Scrutinizes NCLT’s Powers Conferred under Section 7(5) of IBC
[Govind Gupta and Roshi Surele are 3rd Year BA. LL.B. students at the Institute of Law, Nirma University, Ahmedabad] The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (“IBC”) is a complete code in itself. Both the National Company Law Tribunal (“NCLT”) and the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (“NCLAT”) derive their powers in insolvency matters from the IBC itself while their jurisdiction is...
Supreme Court Rules on Intervening Claims Arising During Arbitration Proceedings
[Raghav Bhatia is an Advocate practicing at the Supreme Court of India and Devanshi Gupta is a IV year law student at Jindal Global Law School] Recently, in State of Haryana v M/s Shiv Shankar Construction (14 December 2021), the Supreme Court of India had the opportunity to answer, inter alia, whether a claim raised after the filing of a Statement of Claim (‘SOC’) could be awarded or not...
Government Allows FDI into the Indian Solar Energy Market
[Akshat Bhargava is an Associate at Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co and Nandini Shenai is a 4th Year BBA LLB (Hons) student at NMIMS School of Law, Mumbai] The Indian Constitution lists electricity in the concurrent list, and both the Union and State legislatures have simultaneous authority to enact legislation on the topic. In the case of a contradiction or conflict, nevertheless, the law...
CCI’s Penalty on Amazon: A Necessary Intervention
[Saikishan B Rathore is a 4th year BSW LLB (Business Corporate and Financial Law Hons.) student at Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar] In a first of its kind, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) on 17 December 2021 found Amazon NV Investment Holdings LLC (Amazon) guilty of contravening sections 43-A, 44 and 45 of the Competition Act, 2002 (Act). By way of its order dated 17...
Supreme Court on the Regularization of Temporary Employees
[Naman Keswani is a 3rd year B.A., LL.B. (Hons.) student at Hidayatullah National Law University, Raipur. The author would like to thank Dr. Balwinder Kaur for her valuable inputs on the post] In Union of India v. Ilmo Devi (7 October 2021), the Supreme Court reiterated the fact that a temporary or casual worker in a State-run authority cannot seek parity with the regular employees of the...
New Materiality Threshold for RPTs: Nagging Questions on Shareholder Approval
[Vinita Nair and Sikha Bansal are Partners at Vinod Kothari & Company, Practicing Company Secretaries] Related party transactions (RPTs) are perceived as potential tools for unjust enrichment of those in a fiduciary capacity. Hence, SEBI has recently revamped RPT norms (most of which are to take effect from 1 April 2022) intending to impose a greater scrutiny on RPTs. With the above, all...
Non-Fungible Tokens: An Indian Perspective
[Aiyushi Mehrotra is a 4th Year B.A., LLB. student at Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar] Non-fungible tokens (“NFTs”) are digital blockchain tokens that identify ownership or particulars of unique items, whether they be digital or real in form. They are traded and programmed in the same way as cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin or Ethereum, but that is where the similarities...
Supreme Court on NCLT’s Powers under IBC, 2016
[Swarnendu Chatterjee is a Principal Associate at Saraf and Partners, Law Offices in New Delhi and Sneha Rath is a 3rd year B.A., LL.B. (Hons.) student at National Law University Odisha] The Supreme Court in Gujarat Urja Vikas v. Amit Gupta had propounded that the residuary powers of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) under section 60(5)(c) of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (IBC)...
Rise of Low Cost Carriers: Reexploring the Traditional Market Definition
[Akshat Kothari is a 3rd year law student at Institute of Law, Nirma University] The Indian aviation industry is attracting customers by offering affordable services. However, the industry arguably suffers from its oligopolistic nature, since 90.5% of the market share vests with only few players. The interdependence in oligopoly allows the firms to operate in combinations and it gives rise to...
SAFE Notes: A Novel Funding and ‘Safe’ Method?
[Devansh Parekh and Tanishq Mohta are BLS. LL.B. students at the Government Law College, Mumbai] When early-stage companies set out to raise capital, they are often presented with multiple fundraising vehicles to accomplish their goal. Over the years, hybrid instruments for investments such as Convertible Compulsory Debentures (“CCD”) and Compulsory Convertible Preference Shares (“CCPS”) have...
Strict Timeline for Filing an Appeal Under the IBC Regime
[Megha Shaw is a final year law student at WBNUJS Kolkata] Section 61(2) of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016, (Code) provides a limitation period of 30 days from the date of the NCLT order to allow the aggrieved party to file an appeal in the NCLAT. The NCLAT has the power to condone further delay, not exceeding 15 days, in addition to the 30 days, if the appellate tribunal is satisfied...
Challenging the Jurisdiction of an Arbitral Tribunal
[The following post has been authored by Vasundhara Shankar, Founding and Managing Partner, Verum Legal, and Aastha Arora, Partner, Verum Legal] Arbitration is an alternative dispute mechanism process wherein the parties intend to resolve the dispute expeditiously without judicial intervention. With this intent, the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 was enacted and amended subsequently to...
Bringing State-Owned Electricity Companies within the IBC Ambit
[Aradhana Parmeshwar is a 4th year student pursuing her B.A. L.L.B (Hons.) at WBNUJS, Kolkata] On 8 November 2021, in a letter written to the Secretary, Department of Legal Affairs, the Ministry of Power clarifiedthat the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (‘CIRP’) can be initiated against state-owned electricity distribution and generation companies. The communication was in pursuance of a...
The Need for a “Right to Repair” in India
[Ganesh BL is an Associate at a law firm in Mumbai and Muskaan Ahuja is an Associate at a law firm in Delhi] The notion of the ‘right to repair’ is simple and effective: an individual purchasing a product must own it completely. Apart from being able to use the product in any way they wish to, consumers must also have the right to modify or repair the product whenever, however, and in whichever...
Journal on Governance: Call for Papers | Volume V Issue 1
[Announcement on behalf of the Journal on Governance] National Law University, Jodhpur is an institution of national prominence established under the National Law University, Jodhpur Act, 1999 by Rajasthan State Legislation. The University is established for the advancement of learning, teaching, research and diffusion of knowledge in the field of law. About the Journal The Centre for Corporate...
CCI’s Opaque Penalty Regime: Need for Perspicuous Penalty Guidelines?
[Naman Katyal is a 4th-year B.A., LL.B. (Hons.) student at Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar] Since its inception, the Competition Commission of India (‘CCI’) has faced criticism for not supporting its calculations of quantum of penalty with suitable justifications and, therefore, levying arbitrary penalties in a number of judgements by courts and tribunals alike. In fact, section...
Online Certificate Course on Competition Law: 27-28 November 2021
[Announcement on behalf of Fortitude Learning] Through this course we seek to provide the participants with an in-depth knowledge of various aspects of Competition Law practice used all around India and globally. This course is curated to provide the participants with a comprehensive understanding of various aspects of Competition Law. Topics to be covered Bid Rigging and Collusive Rigging Merger...
Scope of Section 9(3) of the Arbitration Act: The Supreme Court Clarifies
[Ameya Vikram Mishra is an Associate at the office of Justice AK Sikri (Retd.). Satya Jha is a graduate of NUJS, Kolkata.] The 2015 Amendment Act brought significant changes to Section 9 of the Arbitration & Conciliation Act, 1996 (“Act”), which deals with granting interim reliefs by courts. The 2015 Amendment Act curtailed the court’s powers to grant interim reliefs once the arbitral...
Appointment of Substitute Arbitrators in India
[Dhruv S. Patel is an advocate practising in Gujarat and is associated with the Chambers of Adv. Jaideep B. Verma.] The appointment of substitute arbitrators in India has not been as straightforward as one would like to imagine. Since the last two decades, the Supreme Court of India and several High Courts have focused on the interpretation of various aspects pertaining to such appointments by...
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