Corporate Law

On December 21, 2023, the Lok Sabha passed the Press and Registration of Periodicals Bill, 2023 ("PRP Bill"), revoking the colonial-era legislation of the Press and Registration of Books Act, 1867 ("PRB Act"). The PRB Act was designed to regulate the printing presses and newspapers and imposed strict penalties, including imprisonment, for non-compliance with its provisions. ......

The High Court of Delhi, in the case of Smaash Leisure Ltd. vs. Ambience Comemrcial Developers Private Limited has held that a statement made by a party's counsel before the Arbitrator withdrawing objection to unilateral appointment would not suffice the requirement of 'express agreement' under Section 12 (5) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 ("Act"). ......

A seven judge bench of the Supreme Court was called upon to resolve an issue which arose in the context of three statutes – the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 ("Arbitration Act"), the Indian Stamp Act, 1899 ("Stamp Act"), and the Indian Contract Act, 1872 ("Contract Act") - whether arbitration agreements would be non-existent, unenforceable, or invalid if the underlying contract is not stamped. ......

In 2015, Cox and Kings Limited (hereinafter referred to as “Petitioner”) entered into three agreements with SAP India Private Limited (hereinafter referred to as “Respondent No. 1”) for availing certain software services. One of the agreements executed between the Petitioner and Respondent No. 1 was the General Terms and Conditions (hereinafter referred to as “GTC”) containing the impugned arbitration clause. ......

'Dark Patterns' are deceptive online interface designs that are used to trick people into making decisions that are in the interests of the online business, but often at the expense of the user. Dark patterns are carefully crafted and can range from subtle omissions to outright lies, but what they all have in common is that they undermine users' intentions. ......

On November 10, 2023, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (“MIB”) released the draft Broadcasting Services (Regulation) Bill, 2023 (the “Bill”) seeking comments from the general public and/or any stakeholders. The Bill aims at consolidating the present regulatory guidelines that apply to the broadcasting industry in India under one legal framework and replace the long-standing Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995. ......

On November 9, 2023, in exercise of the powers conferred by section 79 of the Limited Liability Partnership Act, 2008 (“LLP Act”), the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (“MCA”) released the Limited Liability Partnership (Significant Beneficial Owners) Rules, 2023 (“LLB SBO Rules”). The LLP SBO Rules came into effect on November 10, 2023. ......

On October 27, 2023, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, notified the Companies (Prospectus and Allotment of Securities) Second Amendment Rules, 2023 ("Amended Prospectus Rules") to amend the Companies (Prospectus and Allotment of Securities) Rules, 2014 ("Prospectus Rules"). ......

An order passed by the Delhi High Court in Anil Kapoor vs Simply Life and Others CS (COMM) 652/2023 granted interim relief to Mr. Anil Kapoor for protection of his name, likeness, voice, persona, manner of speaking, dialogue delivery, and other attributes of his personality against unauthorized commercial use. ......