Publications

Whistleblowers are integral to corporate governance, acting as sentinels who detect and report unethical practices, fraud, and corruption within organizations. India’s key legislation, the Whistle Blowers Protection Act of 2014, only provides a mechanism to receive complaints related to allegations of corruption or willful misuse of power by public servants. Although complaints against public servants employed in public sector undertakings can be made under this Act to the Central Vigilance Commission, it excludes from its ambit any other corporate entity. With respect to the corporate sector, only certain provisions of the Companies Act, 2013, and SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015, provide mechanisms for reporting and safeguarding whistleblowers.

By Siddharth Rao & Utkarsh Mishra

The Government of India recently proposed the creation of a fully digital platform for coal trading. This initiative aims to overhaul the existing coal trading system by introducing a transparent, efficient and competitive market, better able to meet the needs of consumers through greater competition among suppliers. By allowing real-time trading, the exchange will enable faster decision-making, ensuring that coal is available to consumers quicker and at more competitive prices.

By Abhishek Tripathi & Rahul Bangia

The Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission (TNERC) has issued the draft TNERC (Verification of Captive Status of Generating Plant/Consumers in Tamil Nadu) Regulations, 2024 (regulations) for the verification of captive generating plant (CGP) status. This follows the Supreme Court’s (SC) ruling in M/s Dakshin Gujarat Vij Company Limited v M/s Gayatri Shakti Paper and Board Limited and Anr, and the regulations build on existing directives from the TNERC, the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity and various provisions of the Electricity Act, 2003, and Electricity Rules, 2003 (rules).

By Abhishek Tripathi & Rahul Bangia

The Ministry of Finance on 3^rd June 2024 issued an Office Memorandum, where it has advised ministries and public sector undertakings to resort to arbitration in relatively low value matters and instead seek to adjudicate disputes through mediation or court litigation.

By Mani Gupta & Pranav Malhotra

Stamp Duty is a levy payable on instruments specified by statute. In India, the payment of Stamp Duty is governed by the provisions of the Indian Stamp Act, 1899 (ISA). The ISA also contains state specific amendments which specify the amount of stamp duty payable on instruments in various states. However, in Maharashtra, the law governing Stamp Duty is the Maharashtra Stamp Act, 1958 (MSA). Section 3 of the MSA, read with Schedule – I (Stamp Duty on Instruments) appended therein, speaks about the instruments chargeable with duty. The Maharashtra Stamp (Second Amendment) Act, 2017, modified the applicable rate of stamp duty in case of Conveyance (Article 25 therein, more specifically, Article 25(b)(ii) and 25(b)(iii)).

By Rahul Krishna

The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (“Act”) received Presidential assent on August 11, 2023. Although no rules have been formulated thereunder and the Act is yet to come into force, the applicability of this Act is imminent. The Act encompasses the processing of digital personal data, defined under the Act as data about an individual who is identifiable by or in relation to such data in digital form1, in a manner that recognizes both the right of individuals to protect their personal data and the need to process such personal data for lawful purposes

By Utkarsh Mishra

In a decision that will have far-reaching consequences for cogeneration plants, the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (APTEL) has held that a state electricity regulatory commission is empowered to fasten renewable purchase obligations (RPO) on cogeneration plants. In Tata Steel Limited v OERC and Anr, the APTEL upheld the OERC’s RPO regulations that imposed such a requirement.

By Abhishek Tripathi & Rahul Bangia

Recently, distribution companies (discoms) have sought to achieve short-term flexibility in their power purchase contracts. Short-term fluctuations in demand and supply, as well as in tariffs have made it important to optimise long-term contracts in a way that does not lead to adverse financial outcomes for the discoms.

By Abhishek Tripathi & Rahul Bangia

Legal profession is largely considered to be one of the oldest professions in the world. An advocate, in addition to being a professional, is also an officer of the court and plays a vital role in the administration of justice and in order to do so, an advocate has to take up cases, without any compulsion, restriction and / or favour and represent his or her clients to the best of his or her ability.

By Apoorva Chandra & Sweta Bhattacharya

A significant factor in deciding to invest funds in a foreign jurisdiction is the robustness of the court system in maintaining the rule of law and enforcing disputes. These parameters form part of the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business indicia. While it is not possible to discuss all nuances of India’s dispute resolution mechanisms in this piece, we will attempt to outline the major initiatives of the Government of India and/or the Indian judiciary to increase investor confidence.

By Mani Gupta & Pranav Malhotra

On October 27, 2023, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs amended the Companies (Prospectus and Allotment of Securities) Rules, 2014 vide the Companies (Prospectus and Allotment of Securities) Second Amendment Rules, 2023 by introducing Rule 9B. The said Rule necessitates all private companies to have all their securities in dematerialized form by September 30, 2024 in accordance with provisions of the Depositories Act, 1996, and regulations made thereunder.

By Aporva Chandra & Damini Chauhan

The Supreme Court recently held that the provisions of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (IBC), override those of the Electricity Act, 2003, so far as they relate to the recovery of electricity debts. The IBC brought about significant changes of attitude on the part of financial creditors and promoters.

By Mani Gupta & Aman Choudhary

The issue of under-representation of women in arbitration has been at the forefront of the international arbitration community for some time. Global calls to action such as Equal Representation in Arbitration Pledge hope to create the necessary momentum to improve gender diversity in arbitral tribunals.

By Mani Gupta & Sreemantini Mukherjee

An advocate, in addition to being a professional, is also an officer of the court and plays a vital role in the administration of justice and in order to do so, an advocate has to take up cases, without any compulsion, restriction and / or favour and represent his or her clients to the best of his or her ability.

By Aporva Chandra & Sweta Bhattarcharya

In order to develop home-grown space technology, promote private participation and facilitate additional funding, the Indian space sector has been evidencing varied policy interventions in recent times by GoI to bring our country’s space sector at par with other developed nations.

By Apoorva Chandra & Damini Chouhan

 

The Ministry of Power (MoP) recently introduced the Electricity (Amendment) Rules, 2023, amending the Electricity Rules, 2005 (rules), in particular rule 3 dealing with captive generating plants (CGP). While apparently innocuous, a careful reading of the amendment shows it may cause serious disruption.

By Abhishek Tripathi & Rahul Bangia

जब तक बड़ी संख्या में अन्य देश भी द्विपक्षीय लेन देन के निपटान के लिए रुपए को स्वीकार नहीं करते या भारत वस्तुओं एवं सेवाओं का शुद्ध निर्यातक नहीं बन जाता, तब तक रु पए के वास्तव में वैश्विक मुद्रा बनने की संभावना बहुत कम है।

By Abhishek Tripathi

Legal profession is largely considered to be one of the oldest professions in the world. An advocate, in addition to being a professional, is also an officer of the court and plays a vital role in the administration of justice and in order to do so, an advocate has to take up cases, without any compulsion, restriction and / or favour and represent his or her clients to the best of his or her ability.

By Apoorva Chandra & Sweta Bhattacharya

In light of the upcoming onsite review of India’s regulations and supervision by the international money laundering watchdog i.e. Financial Action Task Force [“FATF“] in November 2023, the Government of India has in the recent past, introduced…

By Pranav Malhotra

In Haryana Power Purchase Centre v Sasan Power Ltd and Ors, the Supreme Court held that neither regulatory commissions nor the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (APTEL) can use regulatory powers to…

By Mani Gupta & Aman Choudhary

Cryptocurrency is a decentralized system relying on encryption and blockchain technology to record and verify transactions and issue new units. This mechanism does not require any central issuing or regulating authority and rather…

By Utkarsh Mishra

India’s formal entry into space industry was largely in 1962 when Indian National Committee for Space Research (“INCOSPAR”) was established by Government of India (“GoI”) under the aegis of Dr. Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai. Later in 1969, to harness space technology…

By Apoorva Chandra & Damini Chouhan

In two judgments delivered earlier this year, the Supreme Court has settled disputes over the change in law clauses in power purchase agreements that have been on-going between generation companies and distribution companies (DISCOM) for many years…

By Mani Gupta & Saumya Upadhyay

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…

By Apoorva Chandra & Anil Khanna

The Code follows an evidence-based policy-making method for bringing amendments. This method is followed in most economic legislations, however, the IBBI has been the most successful after the Securities and Exchange Board of India and other such bodies in suggesting…

By Mani Gupta, Aman Choudhary & Saumya Upadhyay & Sakshi Tripathi

The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (“IBC”) was enacted in 2016 to provide a stimulus to the insolvency and bankruptcy process in India, which had not been performing as per the desired pace due to the lack of effective mechanism in the previous legislations. The IBC is a comprehensive legislation enacted with…

By Aman Choudhary

The Reserve Bank of India (“RBI”) in consultation with the Government of India (“GoI”), has recently revamped the regulatory framework governing the overseas direct investment (“ODI”) made by residents in India.
This article discusses key changes brought under the New ODI Framework.

By Avantika Shukla

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has unveiled a mechanism to settle cross-border trade transactions in Indian Rupees (INR). Under the new international trade settlement norms, invoicing, payment and settlement of exports/imports can take place in INR by using a special rupee Vostro account if parties decide to do so. Until now, all international trades were being done in respective foreign currencies mostly in US dollars.

By Avantika Shukla & Anil Khanna