Changes To The Merger Control Regime In India – Competition Law Update

Recently the Indian Parliament approved the Competition (Amendment) Bill, 2022 (“Bill”) which introduces significant changes to the Competition Act, 2002 (“Act”). The Bill, inter alia, introduces changes to the merger control regime, seeks to broaden the scope of anti-competitive agreements and introduces a settlement and commitment framework to reduce litigation.The key changes in the merger control regime and their impact are as follows:Approval of the Competition Commission of India (CCI)...

Foreign Legal Firms In India? New Frontiers Or A Floodgate?

The BCI’s (Bar Council of India) latest announcement in the first week of March this year, has proverbially left the cat loose among the pigeons. While the learned have appreciated the announcement over its finer nuances, the discourse in the general press continues to baffle the average lawyer and commoner alike. It would be equally baffling to note that the law commission’s set of amendments in 2017 with a provision to allow entry of foreign law firms had ended in a strong nationwide...

No Escaping From Penal Liability By Citing Company’s Dissolution

On March 15, 2023, a three judge bench of the Supreme Court in the case of Ajay Kumar Radheyshyam Goenka vs Tourism Finance Corporation of India Limited[1] and other connected matters held that personal liability of a signatory/director of a company in a cheque dishonour case filed under the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 (“NI Act”) cannot be absolved pending corporate insolvency resolution proceedings (“CIRP”) against the company under the provisions of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy...

Conflict Of Laws : PMLA v. SARFAESI Act

Conflict of laws is as old as the legal system itself. One such conflict that litigators tend to face frequently is the conflict between Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (‘PMLA’) and Securitization and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act, 2002 (‘SARFAESI Act’.) To understand the objective behind enactment of the PMLA, first it is essential understand what “Money Laundering” means in general parlance. Money laundering is the process of...

Promotions Under The Garb Of Surrogacy Or Genuine Brand Extension? - Explained

In India, advertisements are regulated by a dual regulatory regime. One is a self-regulatory mechanism established by the Advertising Standards Council of India (“ASCI”), an independent body regulating advertisement, and the second is a statutory framework. Under the statutory framework, in addition to regulations which generally apply to advertisements like the Cable Television Network Rules, 1994 (“Rules”), a new consumer protection law was introduced through the Consumer Protection ...

Funding Matters: Inside The State Versus Union Conundrum

Any woman is equipped well to explain the perils of spending more than one’s earnings. We all have had our elders somehow explaining to us the importance of saving, but when the case involves a government and states the choices there are not too many choices. In a Country the Central Government may have the choice of handling excessive spending tackled by either printing more money, raising from markets, or rationalising the expenditure a gap. However, to a state there is the onus of...

Foreign Campuses For Higher Education In India – A Half-Baked Regulation?

In pursuance of the National Education Policy 2020 (“NEP”), on 5 January 2023, the University Grants Commission (“UGC”) unveiled the draft of ‘University Grants Commission (Setting up and Operation of Campuses of Foreign Higher Educational Institutions in India) Regulations, 2023’ (“Draft Regulation”), for the purposes of inviting public comments, with an aim to provide an international dimension to higher education, enabling Indian students to obtain foreign qualifications at affordable cost,...

To ‘Perkins’ Or Not To ‘Perkins’

Recently, a Single Bench of the High Court of Calcutta has delivered a judgment, McLeod Russel India Limited v. Aditya Birla Finance Limited (“McLeod Russel”)[1] in an application under Section 14 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996[2] (“Act”).In this matter, a challenge to the appointment of a Sole Arbitrator was made on the ground that such Arbitrator was appointed unilaterally by the ‘Investor’, as provided in the arbitration agreement between the parties, thus falling foul of the...

Wilful Default: A Local Solution For A Global Economic Menace

Searching ‘Wilful default’ is unlikely to land results from America, Singapore, United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, and even Australia. Does that imply wilful default as an Indian problem? Statistics suggest the country’s top 50 wilful defaulters owe Rs 92,570 crores to Indian banks. The bigger number is what banks wrote off in the last ten years - Rs 10.1 trillion (lakh crores). The absence of such big numbers or economic discourse in developed economies such as the US and Europe...

SEBI LODR Amendments: Stricter Disclosure Norms For Public Owned Entities

“The role of the financial regulator is threefold. First, to complete the reforms to repair the cracks in the system exposed by the global financial crisis. Second, to implement regulations consistently. And third, to monitor evolving markets and evolving risks.” It becomes imperative on the regulators to ensure greater transparency in the disclosure norms of public entities as such entities are ultimately accountable for the stakes/interests of the public. In this sense, high...

Embracing The Tectonic Shift: How Technology Is Transforming The Legal Profession

Technology today is an integral part of our lives. If somebody did Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs today for professionals, technology would be one of the physiological needs in place of food and clothing. It is a reality and a necessity. It is the spool for executing the companies' strategies. Forward-thinking and future-ready organizations can only do with a digital strategy if they want to engage with their customers and employees. Tech-enabled interactions and data-driven decisions are...

Intellectual Property Rights In The Gaming Industry

From a child to an adult, modern gaming has been an interest for most of the generations. In the present times, where recreational activities have been a focal point, the gaming industries like e-sports have been in the front foot. Since 1990’s, the gaming business has firmly established itself, and the digital gaming market in India is expanding at a rapid rate especially after 2000.[1] A video game essentially contains a collection of contractual and intellectual property rights. These...