Commercial litigants in India face a familiar problem: disputes capable of resolution without a trial routinely end up trapped in years of litigation. Even where the facts are largely undisputed, parties are routinely required to endure a full trial, with all its attendant delays and costs. A recent Supreme Court judgment may begin to change that. In Reliance Eminent Trading and Commercial Private Limited v. Delhi Development Authority [2026 INSC 436], the Court has delivere

Prashant Mara and Parv Lodha The Decade-Long Shift Towards Costs on Actuals The Supreme Court of India, for several years, expressed its concerns regarding India’s ‘Meagre Costs,’ regime[i], under which courts awarded little to no attorney or legal costs to successful litigants.[ii] The Supreme Court particularly advocated for the elimination of this regime in matters that involved commercial interests[iii], and the adoption of a system where costs followed the result.[iv] Th

Priyanka Dixit Sibal and Suyash Sarvankar An accredited investor is a person SEBI recognises as having the financial capacity and sophistication to bear the risks of complex investment products. Accredited status acts as a gateway to SEBI-regulated products, including Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) and Portfolio Management Services (PMS), and relaxes minimum ticket sizes. To qualify, an investor must meet an income or net worth threshold and obtain certification from a S

Parveen Arora and Mukund Gupta India is unique in many ways and is accelerating its renewable energy build-out as it works towards achieving 500 GW of non-fossil fuel capacity by 2030. Amid evolving global tensions, border disputes, and rising domestic demand for clean energy, India has seen unprecedented growth in non-conventional energy projects over the last decade. As a peninsula, India has 15,106.7 km of land borders and a coastline of 7,516.6 km. The nodal minist

Prashant Mara and Sidharth S Kumar Corporate creditors and insolvency professionals already have their hands full running the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (IBC). Add the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) attaching a corporate debtor’s properties under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA), and what you get is a problematic turf war between two statutes. In a recent ruling, the National Company Law Ap

Aishwarya Kaushiq and Parv Lodha Imagine a customer looking specifically for your showroom, but before they reach it, they are shown a competitor’s offer because that competitor paid to use your name to get their attention. That is essentially what happened in the Hindware case, where competitors bid on the “HINDWARE” trademark as a Google advertising keyword. The Delhi High Court’s ruling on this practice has important implications not only for trademark owners, but also for

Arushi Mukherji and Parv Lodha What was the case about? ANI Media Private Limited (“ANI”) sued OpenAI, Inc. (“OpenAI”) before the Delhi High Court (“the Court”)[i], alleging that ChatGPT unlawfully used ANI’s copyrighted news content (“the Alleged Infringement”).[ii] ANI also applied to temporarily restrain OpenAI but the Court dismissed that application in July 2026 finding no infringement at first sight[iii], and noting that ANI had not shown lost subscribers or revenue.[iv

Sidharth S. Kumar and Mehak Modi For decades, private sector executives operated under a simple premise that criminal liability under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (“PC Act”) applied primarily to government officials, civil servants, and public sector employees. Corporate officers assumed that their legal liabilities were strictly confined to corporate law, tax compliance, and regulatory enforcement. The Delhi High Court's judgment in Chitra Ramkrishna v. Union

Xerxes Antia and Disha Dubey The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (“DPIIT”) has, on July 23, 2026, issued Press Note No. 3 (2026 Series) (“Press Note 3”)1 amending the foreign direct investment (“FDI”) policy applicable to the e-commerce sector. Under the Consolidated FDI Policy 20202 as amended from time to time (“FDI Policy”), FDI was not permitted in Indian entities that carried on an inventory-based model of e-commerce (where the inventory of goods

Ramesh Vaidyanathan and Sidharth Kumar The Reserve Bank of India’s latest amendment on digital fraud is a blunt intervention in a system that has long thrived on ambiguity. For years, fraud victims have been caught in a predictable loop-banks, fintechs and telecom providers each pointing fingers while the customer waited for relief. That system has now been decisively disrupted. For the first time, the RBI clearly defines “third-party breaches”, covering failures caused by in

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), vide General Circular No. 02/2026 dated 19 June 2026, has granted a one-time relaxation in the payment of additional fees for delayed filing of Form DPT-3 (Return of Deposits) for the financial year 2025–26. Normally, companies are required to file Form DPT-3 by 30 June 2026. However, following the fire incident at the MCA Data Centre on 5 June 2026, the MCA has been undertaking capacity enhancement and system restoration activities

Sidharth S Kumar and Prachi Rungta India's digital-economy boom has pulled millions of new retail investors into formal finance, and concurrently handed fraudsters a fresh pool of targets. Sophisticated scammers now impersonate banks, fintechs and investment firms across messaging platforms, weaponising trusted corporate identities. The fallout reaches far beyond individual victims: impersonated institutions face regulatory scrutiny, brand damage, eroded customer trust and an

Priyanka Dixit Sibal and Suyash Sarvankar Under the RBI's “principal business” or 50-50 test, any company is treated as a non-banking financial company (“NBFC”) if more than 50% of its total assets are financial assets and more than 50% of its income comes from those assets. A typical investment holding company may cross both limits, particularly in the event of exits, as its balance sheet is dominated by shares of group companies and its income is mostly dividends, interest,

Priyanka Dixit Sibal and Puneet Abrol The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has notified the Companies (Corporate Social Responsibility Policy) Amendment Rules, 2026 (“Amendment Rules”), introducing a significant change to the CSR framework under the Companies Act, 2013 (“Act”). Under the Amendment Rules, companies can now use a portion of their mandatory CSR spending to subscribe to Zero Coupon Zero Principal (“ZCZP”) instruments (described below), issued by eligible not-

Parveen Arora and Ishaan Chopra India is advancing towards an ambitious target of 500 gigawatts of installed non-fossil energy capacity by 2030, which requires the continuous deployment of solar, wind, and hybrid energy systems. As the nation scales this infrastructure, the contractual framework supporting it is evolving as part of a necessary and consequential process. For a long time in India, the Power Purchase Agreement (“PPA”) has been the standard instrument for long-te

Vikramjeet Singh and Prachi Rungta Algorithms designed to attract users can also attract liability. Two landmark US courts’ verdicts in March 2026 may signal a shift in the law relating to platform liability. It is quite possible that we have moved on from the position of "platforms are mere conduits" to "platforms are products, and their makers can be sued." For technology companies operating in India, the next, critical question is whether the Indian legal framework sup

(Harinie Seenivasan and Arjun Paleri) On April 15, 2026, the High Court of Karnataka, in a significant order1, directed the State Government to implement its Menstrual Leave Policy across all establishments, both organised and unorganised. The court’s ruling resolves the uncertainty that had surrounded the Policy since it was challenged in December 2025 and signals a clear direction for employers in Karnataka. This article outlines the background to the ruling, its implica

(Xerxes Antia and Agrima Choudhary) The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, Ministry of Finance had, in February 2026, issued Press Note 1 (2026 Series) (“Press Note 1”) which proposed increasing the foreign investment cap to 100% in the insurance sector. The Press Note 1 provided that the change would only take effect from the date of notification under the Indian foreign exchange control regulations. Subsequently the Ministry of Finance has issued the F

(Xerxes Antia and Agrima Choudhary) Background On March 10, 2026, following approval by the Union Cabinet, the Government of India, through a press release issued by the Press Information Bureau (“Press Release”), proposed certain changes to the Indian exchange control regulations restricting investments from countries sharing land borders with India originally introduced in 2020 under Press Note 3 (2020 Series) (“PN3”). The Press Release was followed by the issuance of Press

Priyanka Dixit Sibal and Suyash Sarvankar Market intermediaries such as stockbrokers, fund managers, merchant bankers and credit rating agencies must qualify as ‘fit and proper’ persons to obtain registration from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). Last month, SEBI introduced the SEBI (Intermediaries) (Amendment) Regulations, 2026 to revise the 'fit and proper' framework, with a view to (i) balance the regulatory objective of a principles based criteria in tha