Articles
NCLAT Bench Chennai - Some FAQ's
The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) in a very relevant measure has announced the setting up of a Bench of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) Bench at Chennai a few days ago. This was done by the Ministry's notification dated 13th March 2020, notifying this constitution of a NCLAT Bench at Chennai vide its notification with Ref No. MCA N/No/S.O. 1060(E). The first NCLAT Bench is situated at Delhi and has been functional for about three years. This move has been by and...
Protection Of Interests Of Suppliers Of Goods And Services To Corporate Debtor Under Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process
Scope of the Study: The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (Hereinafter referred to as "the Code") required the Resolution Professional to manage operations of the corporate debtor as a going concern during corporate insolvency resolution process[1] (Hereinafter referred to as "CIRP"). Receipt of supply of goods and services is imperative to maintain the corporate debtor as a going concern during CIRP. The business risk taken by such suppliers should be adequately protected. This...
CAA, Coronavirus, And Civil Rights At The Bar Of The High Courts
Amidst the continuing fall-out of the CAA/NRC/NPR protests, and the new fall-out of Covid-19, some of India's High Courts have delivered admirable judgments protecting civil rights in fraught times. In Kamil Siedczynski v Union of India, a single-judge bench of the Calcutta High Court set aside a "Leave India Notice" ["LIN"] issued by the government to the Petitioner, who was a Polish student studying in India. The ostensible basis of the Notice – issued under Section 3(2)(c) of the Foreigners...
Their Lordships Are "Also Humans"! : Justice Anand Venkatesh
Mental Health in common parlance includes our emotional, psychological and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel and act. It also determines how we handle stress, relate to others and make choices. Mental health is important at every stage of life. Positive mental health allows people to realize their potential at its fullest capacity, cope with the stresses of life, work productively and make meaningful contributions to the community. Judges, in particular, undertake the difficult...
Shreya Singhal v. Union Of India's Blindspot: Website Blocking
Shreya Singhal v. Union of India is perhaps best known for striking down Section 66A of the Information Technology Act, 2000 ('IT Act') as unconstitutional. In Part one of this three part series commemorating five years of the judgement, we focused on the Supreme Court's decision to strike down Section 66A as unconstitutional. However, in the same judgement, the Supreme Court also upheld the constitutionality of another tool of web censorship under the IT Act: Section 69A and the accompanying...
Raising Of IBC Threshold : Retrospective Or Prospective?
On 24th March 2020, a press conference was held by the Union Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitaraman, at which she set out various decisions that were to be taken by the Government to combat the economic crises that has arisen due to the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the decisions was to raise the threshold of loan default amounts that could trigger insolvency proceedings from Rs. 1 Lakh to Rs. 1 Crore.[1] The Finance Minister also stated that the government was "considering the suspension of...
Justice In The Time Of Covid-19: First-Hand Experience Of Videoconferencing At Supreme Court
After a self-imposed quarantine of more than 10 days, it was rather exciting to see the cause list on the website of the Supreme Court which showed that my matter was listed at 3 PM on 27.03.2020.What is rather commendable is that in times of complete lockdown due to Covid-19, the Apex Court has evolved an extra-ordinary process to ensure the listing and hearing of urgent matters. The method to get the matter listed is simple and, in my experience, far easier than getting the matter listed...
Ranjan Gogoi's Allegations Against Justice AP Shah: What Is The Truth?
Faced with a barrage of criticism from a number of former judges, many of whom had been his colleagues, such as, Justices A.K. Patnaik, J. Chelameswar, M. Lokur, K. Joseph and A.P. Shah, for accepting a Rajya Sabha seat from the government soon after his retirement, and after having delivered several important judgements like Ayodhya, Sabrimala, Rafale to the government, Justice Gogoi has defended himself by mounting an offensive against his former colleagues and judges and against what he...
Criminal Justice system Amid Corona Outbreak : Global Report
"The coronavirus requires a challenging balance of rights: the rights of the defendant to a speedy trial and a trial by a jury of their peers against the rights of courtroom actors and jury members to their health" - Theodore Wilson, University of Albany's School of Criminal Justice The rapid release of Novel Corona Virus around the globe has put the criminal justice system on a halt. Amid this global crisis, an interesting insight emerging from approximately all nations is the...