The Office of the Director General (DG), being the investigative arm of the Competition Commission of India (CCI), has conducted two search and seizure operations thus far. The first of these, more popularly known as dawn raids, was on the offices of JCB India Limited (JCB India) on 22 September 2014. More recently, the DG carried out a dawn raid on the premises of Eveready Industries Limited (Eveready), a leading dry cell manufacturer.

Dawn raids such as these signify the resolve of the CCI to actively conduct intrusive operations to enforce the provisions of the Competition Act, 2002 (Competition Act). In light of such a pro-active approach, and given that the DG enjoys wide (and mostly untested) powers whilst conducting such operations, companies in India must be aware of what they should do in the course of a dawn raid to contain the consequences and fallout. Continue Reading CCI Dawn Raids – How to Act and Contain Operations

On 31 August 2016, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) dismissed an information under Section 26(2) filed against M/s ANI Technologies Private Limited (Ola Cabs) in the case of Mr. Vilakshan Kr. Yadav and Ors v. M/s ANI Technologies Private Limited[1] alleging abuse of dominance, in contravention of Section 4 of the Competition Act, 2002 (Competition Act).

The information was filed with the CCI by a group of auto rickshaw and taxi drivers plying their trade in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR). The informants argued that the relevant product market should be defined as “paratransit services” comprising auto rickshaws, black-yellow taxis and city taxis given that all of these are used for point-to-point travel by passengers and, thus, compete within the same space. Further, according to the informants, the drivers for all these modes of transportation are drawn from the same pool. The informants asserted the relevant geographical market to be the NCR comprising Delhi and certain districts of three states namely, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. This was based on an agreement that was signed by the respective governments of these four states to issue permits for auto rickshaws and taxis providing unrestricted movement within the NCR. Continue Reading “Smooth” Driving For Ola – CCI Closes Investigation Under 26(2)

Through this short post, we seek to examine the current downtrend in oil prices, and what it means from an Indian context. As in any downtrend, the intent ought to be to maximise opportunities and isolate effects of any threats and the author accordingly seeks to analyse how these threats may be turned into opportunities. This short piece further examines how, despite the usual market rhetoric, India could position itself to take advantage of the current downturn.

 Global Response

In the wake of the downtrend, the immediate response of global exploration and production (E&P) companies was to hold off large capital investments in new projects and capital-intensive exploration activities. These decisions now stand vindicated as barrel prices have hovered around the US$45-50 mark. Several of the big companies made retrenchments and streamlined costs across the supply chain. Continue Reading Opportunities for India in Current Downtrend of Oil Prices

On August 11, 2016, the Government of India (GoI) introduced the Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Bill, 2016 (Bill) in the Parliament. The Bill was introduced to amend the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 (Act) – the Act, as many may be aware, is the legislation to provide certain benefits to women in the context of pregnancy. The Act is applicable to factories, mines and plantations as well as to every ‘shop and establishment’ (a statutory term that would ordinarily cover various organizations in the private sector with an office/place of business in India) in which ten or more persons, are/ were, employed, on any day over the preceding twelve months.

On September 11, 2008, the GoI introduced the recommendations of the Sixth Central Pay Commission relating to enhancement of the amount of maternity leave and introduced child care leave in respect of central government employees. Effectively this resulted in increase in maternity leave and child care leave. Separately, several companies in the private sector introduced more beneficial provisions for female employees including better maternity leave than the Act provided. However, the Act did not introduce any changes in line with the changing needs of working women /mothers which the Bill intends to address.
Continue Reading Maternity Benefit Law : Key Developments

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The power of judicial review enables the judiciary to determine the constitutional validity of legislative and/or executive actions, possibly making them subject to invalidation.

The power of judicial review by Tribunals was examined and decided by the Supreme Court in S.P. Sampath Kumar v. Union of India and in the subsequent case of L. Chandra Kumar v. Union of India. After the decision in Sampath Kumar case divergent views were taken by various benches of the Supreme Court. The matter was therefore referred to a seven judge bench of the Supreme Court in L. Chandra Kumar.

Continue Reading Power of Judicial Review by the National Green Tribunal

On July 11, 2016, the President of the Queen’s Bench accorded final approval to the second Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) entered into by the Serious Fraud Office of the UK (SFO). Through this short post, we seek to examine the DPA, what such approval of the DPA means and its significance for UK owned/based companies in India (Indco) that are subject to the provisions of the UK Bribery Act, 2010 (UKBA).

Continue Reading UK SFO’s Second DPA: Implications for Indian Companies

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The Law Commission of India’s report of August 2014 on the Indian Arbitration Act mentions that amendments are being suggested to the Arbitration Act to provide a “stable business environment and strong commitment to the rule of law, based on predictable and efficient systems of resolution of disputes.”

Amendments to the Indian Arbitration Act, 1996 were passed by both Houses of Parliament and assented to by the President on December 31, 2015. These amendments apply to all arbitral proceedings commenced on or after October 23, 2015 but parties can agree to even apply these amendments to proceedings commenced before the Amendment Act.

Continue Reading India and International Arbitration: Prospects

Offshore Drilling

The regulatory regime governing the exploration and production of hydrocarbons in India is a complex one that has undergone a plethora of change in recent times. This post examines the many developments as well as the past discourse that has set the context for change. .

Brief Background of the Regulatory Regime Governing the Hydrocarbon Sector

In post-1991 India, regulatory reforms in the hydrocarbon sector were implemented through a royalty-cost recovery regime initially under a set of Production Sharing Contracts (PSCs) (Pre-NELP PSCs) and thereafter under the New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP). Both regimes presented challenges for contractors as well as the Government. Cost recovery meant that the contractor would spend money upfront to explore and recover the same from the revenue generated from the block, then sharing any balance revenue, i.e. “profit”, with the Government.

Continue Reading The Search for Hydrocarbons – A Regulatory Conundrum

The Enforcement of Security Interest and Recovery of Debt Laws and Miscellaneous Provisions (Amendment) Act, 2016 (the Act) received assent of the President on August 12, 2016 and was  published in the Gazette on August 16, 2016. It will come into effect from such date(s) as may be notified by the Central Government. The Act makes far reaching changes to the way securitisation and reconstruction companies are regulated, as well as the category of financial assets and the secured creditors to whom non- judicial remedies and access to debt recovery tribunals are available. We try to examine this through this short post.

Continue Reading The Changing Landscape of Securitisation & Debt Recovery

The question of the enforceability of contractual restrictions on transfer of shares of Indian public limited companies (Companies) has been the subject matter of various decisions by Indian courts. The Indian legislature has also examined this aspect, which has resulted in a change in the relevant legislation. Through this post, we examine the position as it stands today.

The debate on the enforceability of shareholder agreements and joint venture agreements governing Companies garnered significant attention in early 2010 when a single judge of the Bombay High Court (Bombay HC) set aside an arbitral award in a 2010 decision in Western Maharashtra Development Corporation Ltd. v. Bajaj Auto Ltd. The judgment indicated that the shares of a Company could not be fettered, were freely transferable and as such, any restriction on free transferability would be a violation of section 111A of the erstwhile Companies Act, 1956 (1956 Act).

Continue Reading Enforceability of Contractual Restrictions on Transfer of Shares