Corporate Law

On February 21, 2022, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) published the draft India Data Accessibility and Use Policy on its website. The draft of the policy was made available for the purpose of inviting public feedback till mid-March, 2022. Since then, the policy has garnered considerable attention and critical acclaim. ......

On March 14, 2022 the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (“DPIIT”) reviewed the Consolidated FDI Policy Circular of 2020 (“FDI Policy”) for the purpose of allowing foreign investment in the Life Insurance Corporation of India (“LIC”), along with providing clarity and consistency in other sections of the FDI Policy including those provisions relating to real estate businesses. ... ...

In its board meeting held on 15 February 2022, SEBI has decided to change the requirement for listed companies to separate the posts of Chairperson and MD/ CEO to voluntary from mandatory. This decision has been taken in view post multiple representations from corporates and industry bodies expressing difficulties in complying with the mandate. After multiple delays, this rule shall fully come into force on 1 April 2022. We analyse SEBI’s recent decision and its implications. ... ...

The laws that govern the provision of medical advice in India play a major role in ensuring that the healthcare machinery is robust and the best interests of the patients are always kept at the forefront. Broadly, these laws attempt to ensure that general medical practitioners are free to tailor their medical advice to fit the requirements of their patients, and limit certain conduct to prevent the aforesaid discretion from resulting in adversities for the patients. ......

Gift vouchers for salons and discounts for spa visits – these are the kinds of sops routinely offered to women come March 8. But is this really what women want? One day of the year dedicated to nominally “celebrating” the achievements of a gender that makes up half the population, wrapped in pinks and frills, is nothing short of being disrespectful of the achievements and the achievers themselves. ......

Under Indian law, defamation is both a criminal (punishable with imprisonment) as well as civil offence (punishable through the award of damages). Defamation as a civil offence is punishable under the law of torts, whereas, the criminal law on defamation is codified under the Indian Penal Code, 1860 ("IPC"). ......

In a recent judgment in the case titled Universal Petro Chemicals Ltd. Vs. BP PLC and Ors. , the Supreme Court, when considering an appeal relating to contractual disputes, refused to award Universal Petro Chemicals compensation in lieu of specific performance of a contract because the plaintiff did not claim for damages specifically in the plaint. ......

In an earlier article we wrote about how gambling in India faces a peculiar predicament. The blanket ban in India of any activity that constitutes ‘gambling’ has existed since the British-Era, and has not undergone significant modification since that century. ......

The Union Budget 2022-23 ("Budget") was presented by the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1, 2022, and undoubtedly has the thread of a digital, and an increasingly more digitised, India running through several of its proposals, which have been created with an emphasis on inclusion and the building a robust economy by leveraging digitisation in several spheres. ... ...