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The Companies Act, 2013 (“Act”) stands as a cornerstone of corporate regulation in India. It lays down a comprehensive compliance framework for body corporates as well as their officers to protect the rights and interests of shareholders and investors. In the first part of this two-part blog series, we seek to address the ambiguities pertaining to proactive rectifications of the non-compliances and contraventions under the Act. In the second blog, we will discuss the threshold for liability of “officers in default” under the Act.

Continue Reading Ambiguities in Regulatory Thresholds for Rectifying Breaches under the Companies Act, 2013
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Law Governing Arbitration Agreement: Which Way are Indian Courts Headed?

The process and outcome of arbitration is largely governed by the following laws: (a) law governing the contract referring to the substantive law that parties choose to govern the main contract and any disputes arising thereunder; (b) law governing the arbitration agreement referring to the law that parties choose to govern arbitration agreement (it governs issues like validity, arbitrability, etc.); (c) law governing conduct of arbitral proceedings and forum for related court proceedings (i.e. law of the seat) and (d) Institutional rules (if chosen), governing the form and procedure of arbitration.

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Blacklisting – A Proportionate Sanction or a Corporate Exile?

The Supreme Court on August 7, 2024, in The Blue Dreamz Advertising Pvt. Ltd. & Anr. v. Kolkata Municipal Corporation & Ors.[1] rendered a significant judgment in assessing the validity of a debarment or a blacklisting order. The court reiterated its position that invoking debarment in ordinary cases of breach of contract where there is a bona fide dispute, is not permissible.

Continue Reading Blacklisting – A Proportionate Sanction or a Corporate Exile?
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Can damages be awarded based on a guess?

A division bench of the Delhi High Court in Cobra Instalaciones Y Servicios, S.A. & Shyam Indus Power Solution Pvt Ltd. v. Haryana Vidyut Prasaran Nigam Ltd. (“HVPNL”)[1] (“Cobra Case”)upheld the quantification of damages by an arbitrator through “honest guesswork” or a “rough and ready method” since it was difficult to quantify the precise amount of loss suffered by the party.

In this blog, we examine the rough and ready approach under Indian law for quantifying damages.

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What is a Joint Venture?

A commercial arrangement entered into between two or more parties, who agree to pool their resources, to accomplish an intended project (or other business activity) is referred to as a Joint Venture (“JV”). Effectively, it is a collaboration between two companies. Such collaboration can be either purely financial or technical-cum-financial. In the Indian context, most of the JVs are between a foreign company and an Indian company and are primarily to bring in newer technologies to India.

Continue Reading Joint Ventures: Why do they break-up?
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Obligations placed on stockbrokers to curb fraud and money laundering

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (“SEBI”) has held that preventing and detecting fraud or market abuse is a key pillar of investor protection. Consequently, SEBI has been relentless in introducing and amending rules, regulations, and circulars to regulate practices tantamount to fraud or market abuse.

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Gujarat High Court: Upholding the validity of The Gujarat Land Grabbing (Prohibition) Act, 2020 – Part II

Introduction

To address the issue of land grabbing in Gujarat, the government introduced the Gujarat Land Grabbing (Prohibition) Bill, 2020, in the State Legislative Assembly. Upon approval, the Bill became the Gujarat Land Grabbing (Prohibition) Act, 2020, (“the Act”), effective August 29, 2020. However, the implementation of the Act was questioned on the grounds of it being overly harsh and its enactment being contrary to law.

Continue Reading Gujarat High Court: Upholding the validity of The Gujarat Land Grabbing (Prohibition) Act, 2020 – Part II
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Out on bail: Do not disturb?

OVERVIEW

A live location on your mobile phone, gets you a cab and instant food/grocery delivery, among myriad other things. On occasion, a live location could also get you bail!This is seen from several recent judicial orders including some passed by the Hon’ble Delhi High Court and the Hon’ble Supreme Court as well.

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Class Action Lawsuits: A New Horizon for Corporate Litigation?

Prologue

More than a decade after the Companies Act, 2013 (“Companies Act” or “the Act”) introduced class action lawsuit provisions, two major applications for initiating such suits have ingressed the halls of the National Company Law Tribunal (“NCLT”).

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Upholding the validity of The Gujarat Land Grabbing Prohibition Act 2020

Brief Background

In 2020, the Gujarat Government enacted the Gujarat Land Grabbing (Prohibition) Act, 2020 (“the Act”), to combat illegal encroachment and land grabbing of public and private land by land mafias in the state of Gujarat. The Act not only declared land grabbing as unlawful, but also brought it within the purview of crime. For trial of this new offence, the Act prescribed creation of Special Courts whose jurisdiction was not only limited to criminal cases of land grabbing, but also extended to providing civil remedies.

Continue Reading Gujarat High Court: Upholding the validity of The Gujarat Land Grabbing (Prohibition) Act, 2020 – Part I