Photo of Kapil Arora

Partner in the Disputes Resolution Practice at the Delhi office of Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas. Kapil’s expertise in dispute resolution ranges from the matters that are subject to both domestic and international commercial arbitration and litigation before the Supreme Court of India and High Courts.

He has also successfully represented leading companies in corporate fraud and white-collar crimes. He can be reached  at kapil.arora@cyrilshroff.com

Arbitration and Conciliation Act

Background

Interim measures act as significant procedural safeguards in ensuring the efficacy of the arbitration process. They serve to protect the rights of parties from the inception of the dispute till the execution of the final award. In India, interim measures may be granted in three stages i.e. before the commencement of arbitration proceedings, during the pendency of arbitration proceedings and after the passing of the arbitral award, but before its enforcement.[1]Continue Reading Section 9(2) of The Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996: A Ticking Clock on Invocation of Arbitrations in India

Whatsapp Group Admin

The modern genesis of vicariously attributing culpability to a creator or administrator of a WhatsApp group for offensive, defamatory or objectionable content posted by a group member can be found in the recent decision of the High Court of Kerala on February 23, 2022, in the matter of Manual versus State of Kerala and another[1]. The High Court of Kerala has largely followed the bright line laid down by the High Court of Bombay[2], the High Court of Delhi[3] and the High Court of Madras[4] in their previous decisions on this subject. As a rule, most common law jurisdictions have traditionally applied vicarious liability by employing the common law doctrine of respondent superior. It is noteworthy that superior courts have also authoritatively held in successive judgments that vicarious criminal liability can be attributed only if a penal provision of such nature is specifically provided in the underlying statute.Continue Reading Can the admin of a WhatsApp group be held vicariously liable for an objectionable post by a group member?

Explaining the rudimentary principles of proving contradictions in a criminal trial

The craft of cross examination is often tested by the ingenuity of a trial lawyer in impeaching the credibility of a witness by extracting contradictions such that his previous testimony becomes unworthy of belief. The art of cross examination has always been deemed the surest test of truth and a better security than oath[1]. The method lies in introducing and proving an otherwise inadmissible evidence, with a masterful knowledge of the underlying laws of evidence. At a macro level, the broad contours of impeaching the credit of a witness is contemplated under Section 155 of the Evidence Act, 1872 (the “Act”), where under inter alia proving contradictions play a formidable part. Superior courts in India have time and again emphasised on the imperativeness of proving contradictions in consonance with the procedure prescribed under Section 145 the Act. Whilst, in a large measure, Section 145 of the Act is worded to take within its fold the procedure for proving contradictions in both criminal and civil trials by an adverse party, outlined below is an attempt at non-exhaustively analysing the procedure for extracting and proving contradictions in a criminal trial.Continue Reading Explaining the Rudimentary Principles of Proving Contradictions in a Criminal Trial

The Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2013 Impact on Decision Making in Banks

The Government of India and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) have brought about several measures to resolve non-performing assets (NPAs). Several NPAs may have arisen from credit facilities that were sanctioned by banks as a commercial decision taken in good faith and in the ordinary course of conducting banking business. Equally there could be cases where NPAs arise as a result of siphoning of funds by the borrower or promoters or other connected entities.

Several serving and retired bankers have recently been charged and/or arrested on suspicion of criminal misconduct over alleged loan fraud under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (Principal Act). There have been instances of arrest of bank officials without any proof of quid pro quo or wrongdoings.Continue Reading The Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2013: Impact on Decision Making in Banks