[Snigdha is a 3rd year B.A., LL.B. student at Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar] The Supreme Court on 14 December 2023 in Shakti Yezdani v. Jayanand Jayant Salgaonkar settled the position of conflict between the rights of a nominee under section 109A of the Companies Act, 1956 (the “Act”) and that of a successor to the shares/securities of a company. The Court clarified the...
A Faster Track for Debt Financing: Examining India’s Proposed Public Issuance Framework
[Dhaval Bothra and Rajdeep Bhattacharjee are students at Symbiosis Law School, Pune] The Indian corporate debt market, while exhibiting notable dynamism, grapples with a critical challenge: the stark predominance of private placements. This overreliance on opaque transactions significantly restricts public participation and impedes overall market development. Recognizing this constraint, the...
Dodging Criminal Liability Through Mergers & Amalgamations
[Suraj Chaudhary and Ravishekhar Pandey are practising advocates at the Bombay High Court, and specialise in commercial disputes] Netflix’s Railway Men this November has refreshed the public memory of the Bhopal Gas Tragedy in 1984. In March this year, given its limited curative jurisdiction, the Supreme Court had no choice but to reject the application for enhancement of compensation to the...
Replacement of a Liquidator under the IBC: The End of Independence?
[Sannah Mudbidri is a 3rd year BA LLB (Hons.) student at National Law School of India University, Bangalore] The landscape of liquidator replacements under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (IBC) has witnessed a transformative journey, marked by the historical authority vested in the adjudicating authority and amendments to the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) regulations...
Group of Companies Doctrine: Judgments Implicitly Overruled in Cox & Kings
[Varun Srinivasan is an advocate practising in New Delhi and is a junior in the chambers of Mr. Gaurav Pachnanda SA] The five-judge decision of the Supreme Court in Cox & Kings Ltd v. SAP India Pvt Ltd 2023 INSC 1051 has already been well summarized here and some of its implications are discussed here. The focus of this post is to recognize some of Cox & Kings’ more subtle contributions...
Smaller Ticket Sizes: Decoding SEBI’s Corporate Bond Market Reform
[Shalin Ghosh is a 2nd year B.A.,LL.B. (Hons.) student at Maharashtra National Law University, Mumbai] The Securities and Exchange Board of India (“SEBI”), through a consultation paper released on 9 December 2023, proposed a slew of reforms to spur the growth of the Indian corporate bond market. One of those reforms concerns permitting companies to issue non-convertible debentures (“NCDs”) and...
Navigating the Waters of Change: SEBI’s Instant Settlement Plan and Foreign Investor Concerns
[Arihant Sethia is a student at the Gujarat National Law University] In the fast-paced world of financial markets, where time is often equated with value, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has set the stage for a groundbreaking transformation. The proposed shift from the T+1 settlement system to an instantaneous settlement framework represents a bold leap into the future...
Navigating the Labyrinth: Landowners’ Rights in Real Estate Insolvency
[Dhaval Bothra and Rajdeep Bhattacharjee are law students at Symbiosis Law School, Pune] The intricate realm of real estate development is governed by meticulous development agreements, fostering a collaborative relationship between landowners and developers. In this partnership, landowners contribute valuable land, while developers undertake construction responsibilities, potentially leading to...
Addressing Unstamped Arbitration Agreements: Novel Ways to Reinforce Arbitral Autonomy
[Akash Kumar Surya is a 3rd year B.A., LL.B. (Hons.) student at the National Law School of India University, Bengaluru] In the case of In Re: Interplay the Supreme Court recently delivered its verdict on the legal position of unstamped arbitration agreement in India. The judgement has settled the issue, bringing clarity on a matter whose jurisprudence has otherwise been marked by chequered...
The Dynamics of Digital Consent Acquisition: The TRAI Mandate
[Shreya Saswati is a third year B.A.LL.B. (Hons.) Student at National Law University, Odisha] In its pursuit to curb the dissemination of unsolicited commercial messages, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (“TRAI”) issued a direction on 2 October 2023 under the Telecom Commercial Communication Customer Preference Regulation, 2018 (“TCCCPR”). This directed all access providers (“APs”) to...
A Breath of Fresh Air for Stressed Debts? Demystifying SEBI’s Consultation Paper on SSFs
[Mahim Raval is a 3rd year B.Sc., LL.B. (Hons.) student at Gujarat National Law University in Gandhinagar] India’s financial landscape has been grappling with the persistent burden of stressed assets, hampering the flow of credit and impacting economic growth. While the Reserve Bank of India (“RBI”) has introduced multiple schemes to resolve the burgeoning non-performing assets of banks, the...
Unstamped Arbitration Agreements: Will the Wheels Stop Spinning?
On 13 December 2023, a seven-judge bench of the Supreme Court rendered its verdict in In Re: The Interplay between arbitration agreements under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, and the Indian Stamp Act, 1899 (“In Re: The Interplay”) on the validity and enforceability of unstamped arbitration agreements. This issue had become a matter of some consternation for the arbitration community...
Stamping Out Uncertainty: Resolving the Conundrum of Unstamped Arbitration Agreements
[Hrishikesh Goswami and Aryan Soni are 3rd year students at the Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar] The enforceability of arbitration clauses within inadequately stamped agreements has been a longstanding matter of legal scrutiny, with divergent opinions and decisions from various courts, including the Supreme Court. However, a significant resolution was achieved on December 13, 2023...
Unveiling the New LLP Rules on SBO Disclosure: Transparency or Ambiguity?
[Smruti Kulkarni and Manas Rohilla are 3rd year B.A., LL.B. (Hons.) students at the Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar] On 9th November 2023, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (“MCA”) notified the Limited Liability Partnership (Significant Beneficial Owners) Rules, 2023, which mandate all Limited Liability Partnerships (“LLPs”) to identify and disclose their Significant Beneficial...
Restricting Stock Brokers from Non-Securities Business: SEBI’s Approach
[Vaishnavi Srinivasan and Philip Oommen are lawyers based in Mumbai, and graduates of the National Institute of Securities Markets] Rule 8(3)(f) of the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Rules, 1957, (“SCRR”) is one of the lesser-known, yet crucial provisions in securities regulation. From the placing of restrictions on loans and advances to the prohibition of digital gold sales, rule 8(3)(f) is...
Call for Submissions: National Law School of India Review (NLSIR)
[Announcement on behalf of the National Law School of India Review] The National Law School of India Review (NLSIR) is the flagship student-edited law review published by the National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bengaluru. It is a bi-annual, peer reviewed journal and holds the unique distinction of being cited thrice by the Supreme Court of India. NLSIR has also been cited by courts...
SC Ruling on “Group of Companies” Doctrine: Viewed Through a Corporate Law Lens
On 6 December 2023, a five-judge bench of the Supreme Court in Cox & Kings Ltd. v. SAP India Pvt. Ltd. recognized the “group of companies” doctrine as being part of Indian arbitration law. By virtue of this doctrine, “an arbitration agreement which is entered into by a company within a group of companies may bind non-signatory affiliates, if the circumstances are such as to demonstrate the...
Group of Companies Doctrine: Apex Court’s Landmark Ruling in Cox and Kings
[Manas Rohilla and Smruti Kulkarni are 3rd year B.A., LL.B. (Hons.) students at the Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar] In the era of complex and multi-party transactions, the issue of whether non-signatories to an arbitration agreement can be bound by it has been largely relevant and contentious. On 6 December 2023, a five-judge constitution bench of the Supreme Court of India, in Cox...
Pre-Deposit Clauses in Arbitration Contracts: Analyzing the LombardiEngineering Case
[Suyash Pandey is a third year B.A., LL.B. (Hons.) student at the National Law School of India University, Bangalore] Recently, the Supreme Court (‘SC’) in Lombardi Engineering Limited v. Uttarakhand Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited has invoked Article 14 of the Constitution of India to test the validity of the pre-deposit arbitration agreement between Lombardi Engineering (‘LE’) and Uttarakhand Project...
SEBI’s Proposal to Link Voluntary Delisting to a Fixed Price is Meritorious
[Aadya Conjeevaram is a third-year undergraduate student at the West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata] The Securities and Exchange Board of India (“SEBI”) through a consultation paper (“Consultation Paper”) proposed significant changes to enhance the delisting process. A sub-group, led by Mr. Keki Mistry and comprising members from the Primary Market Advisory Committee...
Dematerialization Mandate for Private Companies: Navigating Transparency & Challenges
[Bhabesh Satapathy and Harsh Mittal are third year B.B.A. LL.B. (Hons.) students at National Law University, Odisha] On October 27, 2023, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (“MCA”) ushered in a significant change with the introduction of rule 9B through the Companies (Prospectus and Allotment of Securities) Second Amendment Rules, 2023 (“PAS Rules”) The amendment is in harmony with the overarching...
Inside SEBI’s Consultation Paper: Reshaping SSFs in Indian Finance
[Harsh Mittal and Sidhanth M K Majoo are 3rd year B.B.A. LL.B. (Hons.) students at National Law University, Odisha] The Indian financial system has long been burdened by the prevalence of stressed assets, necessitating substantial capital infusions into banks, non-banking financial companies (“NBFCs”), and other financial institutions. These stressed assets have constrained the ability of...
Small and Medium REITs: Debunking Fractional Ownership and the Way Forward
[Aayush Ambasht and Rajdeep Bhattacharjee are 3rd Year BBA LLB (Hons.) students at Symbiosis Law School, Pune] In its board meeting on November 25, 2023, the Securities Exchange Board of India (‘SEBI’) approved amendments to the SEBI (Real Estate Investment Trusts, Regulations, 2014) for facilitating a regulatory framework for Small and Medium Real Estate Investment Trusts (‘SM REITs’). Through...
Green Competition: Adopting A Flexible Regulatory Framework
[Oorja Newatia is a second-year law school student at NLSIU, Bengaluru. An earlier version of this post was first published with the Centre for Business and Commercial Laws] Recently, on the sidelines of the BRICS Competition Conference, the Competition Commission of India’s (‘CCI’) chairperson has declared that the CCI is looking at ways to integrate sustainability dimensions into the...
Scope of Judicial Interference in the CIRP: Rethinking the Commercial Wisdom Doctrine
[Rohan Srivastava and Priyanshu Mishra are III Year B.A. LL.B.(Hons.) students at the National Law School Of India University Bengaluru] Ever since the enactment of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code of 2016 (IBC), the corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP) has been at the heart of the ambitious legislation. This statutorily guided process, aimed at reviving the corporate debtor, entails...
Recent Comments