Corporate
NBFC Status Of Corporate Debtor And Insolvency Jurisdiction
In insolvency litigation, one of the most frequently raised preliminary objections is that the Corporate Debtor is a “Financial Service Provider” (“FSP”) and hence immune from the rigours of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (“IBC”). The exclusion under Section 3(7) for the FSP is frequently used as a jurisdictional shield to delay or defeat admission of insolvency petitions. The difficulty arises where an entity once held NBFC registration but had lost that status before initiation of...
Award Passed After Arbitrator's Mandate Expiry Not Void If Court Extends Time: Supreme Court
In a notable development, the Supreme Court on Tuesday (February 3) held that where an arbitral award is rendered beyond the statutory period prescribed under Section 29A, such an award, though rendered after the tribunal's mandate has technically terminated, can be given effect if an application is filed before the competent court under Section 29A seeking extension of the arbitral...
Supreme Court Asks NCLAT To Take Fresh Decision On Whether Probe Needed Against Flipkart Under Competition Act
The Supreme Court on Tuesday set aside the order passed by the National Company Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) in 2020 directing a probe by the Director General on whether there was any violation of the Competition Act 2000 by Flipkart.The Court remanded the matter to the NCLAT for fresh consideration, after considering Flipkart's argument that the NCLAT passed the order relying on the...
When Arbitration Agreement Is Alleged To Be Forged, Dispute Is Not Arbitrable : Supreme Court
The Supreme Court on Monday (February 2) observed that the parties cannot be compelled to arbitrate when the very existence of the contract containing the arbitration clause was alleged to be fake. “…in a case where plea is taken with regard to non-existence of an arbitration clause or agreement, the same would amount to serious allegation of fraud and would render the subject matter of...
Can Employer Claim Income Tax Deduction On Delayed PF-ESI Deposits? Supreme Court To Settle Conflicting Decisions
The Supreme Court agreed to examine the contentious issue under the tax law of whether an employer is entitled to claim income tax deductions for employees' Provident Fund (PF) and Employees' State Insurance (ESI) contributions that are deposited after the prescribed due date. A bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and Sandeep Mehta issued notice in an appeal filed against the Delhi High...
'Will US Authorities Cooperate If Indians Seek Information?' : Supreme Court Asks Pfizer On Plea To Access Indian Company's Docs
The Supreme Court today, while hearing a plea by US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, asked whether foreign courts and Western Authorities would cooperate in providing information to India, when it comes to abiding by the principle of reciprocity. The bench of CJI Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi was hearing the challenge to the Madras High Court order, which refused Pfizer to enforce...
Supreme Court Redraws The Tax Line On Amalgamations
The Supreme Court's judgment in Jindal Equipment Leasing Consultancy Services Ltd. v. Commissioner of Income Tax (2026) Livelaw (SC) 37 arrives with a seeming contradiction. It simultaneously widens the net of business-income taxation while raising the evidentiary drawbridge the Revenue must cross to haul it in. This is its defining feature. The decision performs a decisive...
SEBI's Merchant Banker Reforms: From Information Disclosure To Ex-Ante Discipline
Merchant Bankers (“MBs”) play a central role in India's capital market as intermediaries between the issuers and the investors. Their primary role and functions include but are not restricted to management of issues, compliance with laws, ensuring due diligence, and providing corporate advisory services, but over time, the absence of clearly demarcated boundaries governing the scope of activities to be undertaken by MBs resulted in a significant expansion of their roles, even in fields that did...
Supreme Court Dismisses JioStar's Challenge To CCI Probe On Alleged Abuse Of Dominance In Kerala Cable TV Market
The Supreme Court today(January 27) dismissed a challenge made by Jiostar Private Limited against the Kerala High Court's order holding that the allegations of abusing dominance in the Kerala television industry must be looked into by the Competition Commission of India. Asianet Digital Network Limited(ADNPL) has accused Jiostar of abusing its dominance in the television broadcasting space...
Double Jeopardy Bars Enhanced Departmental Penalty After Conviction In Criminal Appeal: Delhi High Court
A Division Bench of the Delhi High Court comprising Justice Navin Chawla and Justice Madhu Jain held that once a disciplinary authority has imposed a penalty based on a conviction, it cannot reopen the same incident to impose a harsher punishment merely because the criminal appeal results in a reduced sentence, as this violates the principle against double jeopardy. Background...
Supreme Court Seeks CBI, ED Status Reports On Probe Of Alleged Bank Fraud By Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group Companies
The Supreme Court on Friday called for status reports from the Central Bureau of Investigation(CBI) and the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) with respect to their ongoing investigation into the alleged bank frauds perpetauted by Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group companies and their promoter Anil Ambani.The reports have to be submitted in a sealed cover.A bench comprising Chief Justice of India...