In 2008 Satoshi Nakamoto, a pseudonym, released the legendary white paper[1] on a peer-to-peer electronic cash system supported by a secure, decentralized, immutable technology. The advent of blockchain was, in essence, a rebellion of technology against the established societal norms and rules, that have served as the foundational institutions of society. While it was created...

A corporation is a separate legal entity in law and exposed to liability, civil and criminal, for any wrongdoing. The latter is premised on the maxim actus non facit reum nisi mens sit rea which means an act is wrongful only when it is done with wrong intent. The question whether wrongdoing by a company...

September 2021 1. Introduction On July 17, 2021, Delhi’s Karkardooma Court Complex (a district court) witnessed a dramatic re-enactment of the iconic “Tareekh pe Tareekh” (literally meaning dates after dates) dialogue from a famous Indian movie.[1] The angry litigant allegedly vandalized[2] the dais, furniture and computers inside a courtroom because the magistrate was only giving adjournments! While...

August 2021 1. Introduction In 2007, UK-based Vodafone acquired a telecom services company Hutchison Essar, for a consideration of about USD 11 billion. It was a case of an indirect transfer of shares of a foreign company that derived substantial value from assets located in India and which is discussed further in the next section....

July 2021 1. Introduction The Ministry of Corporate Affairs issued a notification[1] (“Notification”) that categorised personal guarantors of a corporate debtor as a separate entity class to whom only certain provisions of Part III of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (“IBC”) applied. Part III provides for insolvency and bankruptcy for individuals and partnership firms. This...

June 2021 1. Introduction Both India and the United States consider freedom of speech and expression to be one of the preeminent rights in a free and democratic republic. Both nations acknowledged that priority by weaving it right into their constitutions, and each has acknowledged that the right to free speech and expression is not...

May 2021 1. Introduction Over the years, the dissatisfaction with litigation has bolstered arbitration as a preferred means of dispute resolution, and would be true even for two domestic contracting parties or in a cross-border transaction. The basis of any arbitration proceeding is the arbitration agreement. Under the Arbitration & Conciliation Act, 1996 (“Act”) this...

April 2021 1. Introduction In any M&A transaction between two (or more) parties, strong representations and warranties (“R&W”) are both essential and customary which, in turn, are usually backed by indemnities. The R&W statements relate to a period prior to a contemplated transaction, which are asserted to be true upon the date of contract execution...

February 2021 1. Introduction Corporate Social Responsibility or CSR has existed in some form since centuries. Historically, it manifested in community engagement backed by a belief that every company has a moral responsibility to play an active role in discharging its social obligations, provided it was economically viable. While it was never codified, but that...