COLUMNS
Voluntary Liquidation: A Strategically Sound Exit For Dormant Companies
In the Indian corporate environment, dormancy is often misunderstood as harmless inactivity. In law, however, a dormant company remains very much alive subject to statutory filings, regulatory oversight, penalties for non-compliance, and exposure to historical liabilities. For promoters, what appears to be a sleeping entity frequently becomes a source of recurring compliance cost and long-term uncertainty. The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (IBC) addresses this reality through a carefully...
IBC Part Z And Cross-border Insolvency In A Fragmented Global Order
Cross-border insolvency was long imagined as a space governed by cooperation and mutual trust, where courts across jurisdictions would recognise each other's proceedings to preserve value and impose some order on corporate failure. The UNCITRAL Model Law, which underpins India's proposed Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) Part Z, rests on this assumption, that recognition and coordination ultimately serve everyone's interests. India's move in this direction, following the Insolvency Law...
Violations That Need No Passport: Borderless Nature Of Personality Rights Harm
In an era where digital communication has dissolved geographical borders, personal identity has become a free-floating asset capable of travelling globally without permission. A person's face, name, voice, movements, and behavioural traits now circulate with alarming ease, often appearing in contexts entirely divorced from reality. The disturbing truth of the twenty-first century is that personality rights violations do not require a passport or a confirmed travel ticket. They move instantly,...
Section 36 After 2015 Amendment: Security As Price Of A Stay
It has been a decade since the Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Act, 2015 (2015 Amendment) came into force and fundamentally altered arbitration in India. One of the most important changes the 2015 amendment brought in was the insertion of a new section 36, which removed automatic stays of awards upon the filing of a challenge under Section 34.Post the 2015 amendment, unconditional stays of arbitral awards are rare, especially when the award directs payment to the successful...
How 2025 Reshaped Boundaries Of Resolution Estate Under Insolvency And Bankruptcy Code 2016
November 2025, brought with it major advancements into the debt restructuring ecosystem of India that reshape the contours of India's resolution estate under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 ('the Code')[1].First is the circular dated 4th November 2025 ('the Circular') issued by the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India ('IBBI') which permits insolvency professionals to seek restoration of assets attached under the provision of Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 ('PMLA')[2],...
Name Clashes: Resolving Conflicts Between Corporate Identities And Trademarks
With the competitive corporate environment in India, disputes over identical or similar names have become increasingly common, as trademarks and company names frequently overlap. Confusion and disputes over ownership and resemblance with existing entities and goodwill have often seen the emergence of fresh startups pitted against long-standing businesses. This article looks at the development of Indian law over such disputes from the shift from Section 22 of the Companies Act, 1956, to Section...
Deepfakes And Dignity: The New Battle For Celebrity Rights In India
Enforcement of celebrity and personality rights has witnessed a marked upswing in India over the last decade, particularly between 2022 to 2025, driven by high-profile litigation and the rise of AI-enabled misuse of identity. The Delhi High Court has increasingly become the preferred forum for celebrities seeking urgent injunctions against unauthorised use of their name, image, voice, catchphrases, and AI-generated replicas of their personality in deep-fake videos, advertisements, etc. Recent...
Hidden Doctrine In Gayatri Balasamy: How Supreme Court Used Implied Powers To Transform Arbitration Law
When the Supreme Court ruled on Gayatri Balasamy v. ISG Novasoft Technologies Ltd[1] it made waves, earning the title of the “modification judgment.” Most discussions centered on a key takeaway: Indian courts can now, in certain situations, modify arbitral awards rather than just nullifying them. However, if you dig a little deeper into those 61 pages, you'll uncover a more subtle yet significant shift. For the first time, the Court tapped into the Doctrine of Implied Powers to broaden the...
Section 9 As An Eviction Shortcut? Why Mumbai's Re-Development Battles Keep Coming To Court
Re-development in Mumbai is both necessary and contentious – thousands of dilapidated buildings need re-building, but the viability of each project depends on residents vacating their homes. Most residents cooperate, but a few resist re-development. When that happens, in some cases, housing societies, with the support of a the majority, nevertheless enter into development agreements with developers. The developers then often rush to the Bombay High Court under Section 9 of the Arbitration and...
'Lawful' Patently Illegal International Commercial Arbitration Awards – A Dichotomy
Sub-Section 2A of Section 34 of the Arbitration & Conciliation Act, 1996, introduced on October 15, 2015, apparently on account of the presumed negative fallout of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd. v. Saw Pipes Ltd., (2003) 5 SCC 705 for foreign business entities in India and 246th Report of the Law Commission of India (August, 2014), makes a clear distinction between a Domestic Arbitration award and an International Commercial Arbitration award, when it comes to “Patent Illegality”,...
Tomorrow's Arbitration: Transparency, Efficiency and Trust
From the Past to the Present: The Story of ArbitrationSince the dawn of time, humans have engaged in some form of arbitration for resolving disputes. Thus, the private adjudicatory process of arbitration can be said to have a prehistoric origin. However, even after courts were established by the state and rules of procedure and evidence were designed and courts became the accepted method of resolving disputes, the practice of arbitration continued because parties to a dispute wanted to settle...