Dentons Link Legal

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has brought within the realm of reality, what was once a mere figment of imagination – a page from a science fiction novel[1] or a scene from Star Wars! Of course,

Introduction: The Hon'ble Delhi High Court (“Delhi HC”), in a recent judgment titled Lily Packers Private Limited Vs. Vaishnavi Vijay Umak and connected matters [1] delivered an interesting opinion on the arbitrability of employment disputes pertaining to negative covenants in employment agreements.

Dentons Link Legal is pleased to announce that Nayona Roy has joined as a Partner in the Firm’s Technology, Media and Telecommunications practice in the Mumbai office.

Dentons Link Legal has successfully assisted GMR’s Utility Platform,

Dentons, the world’s largest global law firm, today announced that its Global Board of Directors and Global Advisory Committee have elected Kate Barton as the Firm’s next Global CEO.

The Hon’ble Supreme Court (“H SC”) in the matter of Global Credit Capital Limited & Anr v. Sach Marketing Private Limited & Anr[i]

A Booming Market Beckons The Indian healthcare sector presents a tantalizing prospect for foreign Multinational Corporations (MNCs).

Flexible Working Arrangements In recent years, the workspace has undergone a seismic shift due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dentons Link Legal is pleased to announce that Rohitashwa Prasad has joined as a Partner in the Firm’s Corporate Commercial practice in the New Delhi office. 

Asset Reconstruction Company (India) Limited representing Committee of Creditors of Viceroy Limited has filed an appeal before Hon’ble NCLAT,

Dentons Link Legal is pleased to announce that Gyanendra Mishra has joined as a Partner in the Firm’s Employment Law and White-Collar Crime practice areas in the New Delhi office. 

The Hon’ble National Company Law, New Delhi Bench II passed an order yesterday approving the Resolution Plan of Ebix Singapore Pte. Limited for Educomp Solutions Ltd. (an ed-tech company) which has been undergoing corporate insolvency resolution process since 2017.

Dentons Link Legal is pleased to announce that Abhijit Mukherjee has joined as an Associate Partner in the Firm’s Corporate (Infra M&A) and Projects team in Mumbai.

Aditya Bhardwaj, Aditya Singh, Ambuj Sonal, Pradnesh Warke, Pushkar Bavare and Vinu Peter Immanuel have been promoted as Partners.

Dentons Link Legal acted as the Legal counsel to Intensive Fiscal Services Private Limited,

Dentons Link Legal is pleased to announce that Shravan Yammanur has joined as a Partner in the Firm’s Dispute Resolution practice in Delhi.

Abstract The insolvency laws in India are in its empirical stage, however they fail to mitigate a lot of issues including and not limited to low recovery rates, huge haircuts, prolonged delays, digitalisation of insolvency ecosystem, shortage of resources etc. Since India is a developing nation, real estate is one of those sectors which is on its peak and has the maximum number of disputes arising out of it. There are various laws and amendments which are constantly being implemented to resolve these disputes in the most efficient manner. However, the homebuyers remain stuck in long legal battles which keep on draining their hard-earned money and their dream of owning a house for which they had spent their lifetime savings becomes a hard nut to crack.

The Delhi High Court dismissed a contempt petition filed by Dr. RK Pachauri alleging violation of a John Doe injunction order passed by the High Court restraining media houses from publishing any stories pertaining to sexual harassment allegations made against Dr. Pachauri.

Dentons Link Legal is advising and assisting the lenders with the restructuring of the outstanding debt on and around INR 2000 Crores of M/s. Pune Sholapur Road Development Company Limited (PSRDCL) under Reserve Bank India’s Prudential Framework and Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Limited (IL&FS) Resolution Framework proposed by Government of India.

Dentons becomes the first global law firm to combine with a law firm in India

Link Legal is pleased to announce that Rajeev Mishra has joined as a Partner in the Firm’s Dispute Resolution practice in Delhi.

Link Legal is advising and assisting Medeor Hospital Limited and VPS Healthcare Group in its sale of 350 bedded Multi-Speciality Hospital in Manesar, Gurugram, Haryana to Fortis Group for an overall purchase consideration of INR 225 Crore.

In this article, we have attempted to provide some respite to the age-old debate between the legal and marketing heads of the MedTech companies in respect of how to classify the activities /interactions with healthcare professionals (HCPs), whether these are awareness or advertisement activities. For MedTech companies, their consumers are either hospitals or the retail end-users, and this element makes it quintessential for them to approach, partner, and collaborate with the HCPs for any activity in relation to their products, services, and usage.

The maxim “Vigilantibus non dormientibus jura subveniunt” literally means that “the law aids the vigilant, not those who sleep over their rights”.

At some point in every person's life, you will need an assisted medical device - whether it's your glasses, your contacts, or as you age and you have a hip replacement or a knee replacement or a pacemaker. The prosthetic generation is all around us. - Aimee Mullins (American athlete who was born with a medical condition that resulted in the amputation of both of her legs beneath the knee)

On December 23, 2022, the Government of India (Allocation of Business) Rules, 1961 was amended by virtue of which ‘matters relating online gaming’ was brought under the purview of Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (“MeiTY”). Later, on January 2, 2023, MeiTY published draft amendments to the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 (“IT Intermediary Rules”) in relation to online gaming to safeguard the users of online games against potential harm (“Draft Online Gaming Rules”).

Corporate generalist attorney Prashanth Sabeshan has joined Link Legal as Partner at its Bangalore Office.

Corporate generalist attorney Dr. Rajesh K Sehgal has joined Link Legal as Partner at its New Delhi Office.

Link Legal represented and advised Auctus Advisors Private Limited (“Auctus”) and its shareholders in its 100% acquisition by YCP Solidiance International B.V. (“YCP Solidiance”), a subsidiary of YCP Holdings (Global) Limited which is a company listed on Tokyo Stock Exchange.

With a view to accelerate its growth and in light of the recent announcement regarding the Firm’s combination with the world’s largest law firm Dentons, Link Legal is pleased to announce the evolution of its Leadership team. 

Link Legal represented and advised BeyondSeed, a Singapore based fund, in its seed investment in Goofy Tails Private Limited. The Firm also worked alongside Chennai Angels, an angel investment group based in Chennai, for its investment in Goofy Tails in the same seed round. The ticket size of the entire deal is approximately INR 30.3 million.

Dentons, the world's largest global law firm, has announced a combination with leading Indian law firm, Link Legal. Dentons would become the first global law firm to combine with a law firm in India giving the combined firm first mover advantage and a competitive edge in international panel competitions. This is not a joint venture, not a best-friends relationship or a liaison license, nor a merger or an acquisition, but a combination like Dentons has done around the world, building one, integrated global firm.

Recently, the Hon’ble Supreme Court in the case of Kotak Mahinda Bank Limited vs A. Balakrishnan & another (Civil Appeal No.689 of 2021) has held that any liability arising out of a recovery certificate needs to be treated as financial debt within vis-à-vis clause (8) of Section 5 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016[1] and the holder of recovery certificate would be a financial creditor within the meaning of clause (7) of Section 5 of IBC. As such, the holder of such a certificate would be entitled to initiate the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process if initiated within a period of three years from the date of issuance of the Recovery Certificate.

With an aim to improve the ‘ease of doing business’ and simplifying/ liberalising the investment regime, the Government of India in consultation with the Reserve Bank of India (“RBI”), amongst others, has been progressively revamping and liberalizing the foreign exchange regime in India. In view of the foregoing, the Government of India vide Notification No. G.S.R 646(E), dated August 22, 2022, issued the Foreign Exchange Management (Overseas Investment) Rules, 2022 (“OI Rules”) and the RBI issued the Foreign Exchange Management (Overseas Investment) Regulations, 2022 (“OI Regulations”) and Foreign Exchange Management (Overseas Investment) Directions, 2022 (“OI Directions”; collectively with the OI Rules and OI Regulations, the “OI Regime”).

With the rising need to accommodate the new requirements and adaptation of modern technology in the pharmaceutical sector, the draft of the ‘Drugs, Medical Devices and Cosmetics Bill, 2022’ (the “Bill”) has been released by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) on July 8, 2022, which seeks to replace the existing archaic law under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act of 1940 (“Act”) and the Drugs and Cosmetic Rules 1945 (“Rules”).

INTRODUCTION The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (‘IBC’) enables financial creditors and operational creditors of a corporate debtor to initiate the corporate insolvency resolution process (‘CIRP’), under Section 7 and Section 9 of the IBC, respectively.

INTRODUCTION Reserve Bank of India (“RBI”) issued Master Directions on Credit Card and Debit Card – Issuance and Conduct Directions, 2022 (“Master Directions”)[1] dated April 21, 2022, effective from July 01, 2022 (except a few provisions which will be effective from October 01, 2022). These Master Directions were brought in to regulate the conduct of credit/debit payments in Banks and Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs). These Master Directions provide a thorough set of instructions majorly regarding issue of credit cards and debit cards, co-branded cards, telemarketing, billing, etc. to be followed by card-issuers. These Master Directions should be read along with prudential, payment and technology & cyber security related directions applicable to credit, debit and co-branded cards, as issued by the RBI.

Link Legal represented and advised Doncasters Group of Companies (“Doncasters”) in relation to the Indian element of its acquisition of Uni-Pol Group of Companies (“Uni-Pol”).

The Competition Commission of India (CCI/ Commission), vide its order dated 16th June 2022, dismissed the allegations of ‘refusal to deal’ filed by Hiveloop Technologies Pvt. Ltd., Bengaluru (Informant) against Britannia Industries Ltd.(Britannia) because the Commission did not find any merit in the submissions on the aspect of ‘discrimination’. The Competition Act, 2002 (Act) guarantees freedom of trade by all market participants. This also includes the manufacturer’s freedom to choose, not only its distributors but also the mode of distribution of its products. In a recent judgement, India’s Fair Market Regulator, CCI had reaffirmed this fundamental tenet as discussed here.

Link Legal advised the Malpani Group, an acclaimed name in the FMCG & Hospitality industry in the Country, on structuring and acquisition of Imagicaaworld Entertainment Limited (IEL), an entity promoted by Mr. Manmohan Shetty and listed on the Indian stock exchanges.

Link Legal advised and assisted Indorama Group in the acquisition of a renewable energy company having a permit to construct a mini hydroelectric power plant in Himachal Pradesh, India.

Link Legal, as Indian counsels advised and assisted in acquisition of the holding company of Bengaluru-based Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform, Wingman by US-based revenue operations platform, Clari.

Introduction: Recently, the Hon’ble Supreme Court in the case of PTC India Financial Services Limited (hereinafter referred as PIFSL) v. Venkateswarlu Karu & Ors. (Civil Appeal No.5443 of 2019 has held that Contract Act does not conceive of sale of the pawn to self and consequently, the pawnor’s right to redemption in terms of Section 177[1] of the Contract Act survives till ‘actual sale’.

A significant judgement was passed by Hon’ble Supreme Court on 19th April 2022 in matter of Sunil Kumar Jain and others versus Sundaresh Bhatt and others[1] wherein Supreme Court has clarified the intricacies that arose on the claim for payment of wages/salaries before Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP); during CIRP and in liquidation of a Corporate Debtor.

Introduction The Online Gaming (Regulation) Bill, 2022 (“Bill”) was introduced in the Lok Sabha on April 1, 2022 to establish an effective regime for regulating online gaming industry to prevent fraud and misuse. Acknowledging the effects of addictive features of online gaming and noting the profound impact of the gaming industry on the nation, the Bill calls for institution of a regulatory commission to regulate the online gaming industry.

The Competition Commission of India’s (CCI) recent investigation into the Trustee Association of India (TAI) and debenture trustee units of State Bank of India, Axis Bank and IDBI Bank for collusion in respect of charging high fees for issuing debt and due-diligence checks has raised jurisdictional conflicts over the sectoral regulator -SEBI, and the market regulator - CCI.  The CCI, in its prima facie confidential order, noted that the TAI and SBICAP Trustee Company Ltd, Axis Trustee Services Ltd and IDBI Trusteeship Services Ltd had substantially increased the fee for assisting companies in raising debt and prevented members from charging below a floor price, and hence, impacting competition.  Such collective decision making by the association affected competition in the relevant market. The CCI commenced its investigation on information filed by Muthoot Finance alleging the said parties had raised the cost proposal to 300% higher than previous rates for raising debts.

Link Legal represented and advised SarvaGram Fincare Private Limited (“SarvaGram”) and its founders, in raising INR 30 crore, via debt fund, through issuance of Series B Debentures in favour of (i) Vivriti India Impact Bond Fund; and (ii) Vivriti Emerging Corporate Bond Fund (funds of Vivriti Asset Management).

Link Legal represented and advised JSW Foundation in participating as a member of the Skill India Impact Bond, a first of its kind and India’s largest impact bond, launched by the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC).

Yet again, the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India in the case of CCI v. State of Mizoram dated 19.01.2022 has set aside the impugned judgment of the Guwahati High Court that restricted the Competition Commission of India (hereinafter referred to as the CCI) to pursue its investigation. The Apex Court upheld the authority of the CCI and in its order stated that ‘if the tendering process attracts provisions of competition, the CCI cannot be barred from acting upon it’. The case was related to an inquiry by the CCI into allegations of cartelization and bid-rigging in the tender process announced by the State of Mizoram through its functionary, the Director, Institutional Finance and State Lottery (IF&SL), for appointment of lotteries selling agents and distributors in terms of the Mizoram Lotteries (Regulation) Rules, 2011 framed under the Lotteries (Regulation) Act, 1998.

Link Legal represented and advised InYantra Technologies Private Limited (“InYantra”) and its shareholders, in acquisition of (i) 51% shares of InYantra by Volex Interconnect Indian Private Limited, the Indian subsidiary of Volex PLC (“Volex”); and (ii) 4% shares of InYantra by Boundary Holdings India Private Limited, a subsidiary of Boundary Holdings, a UK based firm (“Boundary”). The ticket size of the deal is approximately USD 8 million consisting of both primary and secondary investments. The deal also involved sale of land and building from one of the shareholders of InYantra to the Indian subsidiary of Volex for a total price of USD 5 million.

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) passed its final order on January 20, 2022, in a sou motu Case No. 10 of 2014 [available on: https://www.cci.gov.in/sites/default/files/10-of-2014.pdf] imposing penalties against four (4) maritime motor transport companies and their employees (those that were responsible) - Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK Line), Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (K-Line), Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) and Nissan Motor Car Carrier Co (NMCC), for cartelizing in the market of maritime motor transport services on Pure Car Carrier vessels (PCCs) provided to automobile Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs). The OEMs have been manufacturing automobiles in India and hiring the maritime transport services of the impugned enterprises for transporting their vehicles at various trade routes abroad from 2009 to 2012.

International Workshop on Laws Governing Aviation in India – 2022, held on February 22 and 23 is an initiative by Link Legal in collaboration with Campus Law Centre, University of Delhi and is first of a series of events that we plan to do in years to come (Brochure - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1H4Uj2lFGjw0kLchvR_CpMHkZG2IB4AlR/view). We believe, based on the feedback we have been receiving, that the session has effectively contributed to generating necessary interest amongst the law students, law graduate and the law faculties alike. We are quite positive that a continuous effort in this direction can help achieve the objective of skilling by creating an industry academia connect.

A significant amendment by Act No. 26 of 2018 (w.e.f. 6-6-2018) was brought in the form of insertion of Section 12A which provided for withdrawal of applications admitted under Section 7, 9 or 10 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (“Code”) with the approval of creditors representing 90% (ninety percent) of the voting share of the committee of creditors. Before this amendment, once the CIRP was initiated by admitting the application, there was no scope for withdrawal except for illegality to be shown or if it is without jurisdiction or for some other valid reason. The Hon’ble Supreme Court in exercise of its powers under Article 142 of the Constitution used to intervened, taking into consideration the settlement reached between the parties.

Central Consumer Protection Authority The Consumer Protection Act, 2019 (“CPA”) defines misleading advertisements as advertisements which “falsely describe the product or service; give a false guarantee or is likely to mislead the consumers as to the nature, substance, quality or quantity of such productor service; or deliberately conceals important information about the product or service.”[1]

The Maze: The Sports (Online Gaming and Prevention of Fraud) Bill, 2018 (“Sports Bill”) was introduced in Lok Sabha on December 28, 2018, with an aim to prevent and penalize sports fraud, and establish regulatory mechanism for the online gaming sector, which has thereafter lapsed. Meanwhile, the ambiguities with respect to the legal framework of online gaming continues to persist.

Link Legal advised and assisted Slintel Inc., in its acquisition of equity by 6Sense, through a 2-step merger process. In October 2021, a USA based entity Slintel Inc., along with its wholly-owned India subsidiary Slintel India Private Limited (collectively “Slintel”), was acquired by another USA based entity 6Sense (“6Sense”), by way of a two-step merger process (“Merger”). As part of this Merger, the existing shareholders of Slintel were offered part cash and part shares in another existing offshore group entity of 6Sense, in lieu of their shares in Slintel. The shareholders of Slintel also included certain resident Indian shareholders employed with the Indian subsidiary of Slintel.

The Hon’ble Supreme Court recently delivered the judgement on three (3) petitions[1] that involved questions of withdrawal or modifications after the approval of resolution plan by the Committee of Creditors and filed with NCLT for its approval. The Court held that once the resolution plan is approved by Committee of Creditors and submitted to NCLT; the successful resolution applicant cannot withdraw or modify the resolution plan. The present case analysis aims to probe the various modalities of the judgement and bring to fore the key facets of the facts, issues, and ruling. Further, the article will conclude with the author’s opinion on the legal position outlined in the judgement.

The layman’s perspective During the past three months, several media houses reported that almost one thousand notices have been issued by the Enforcement Directorate (“ED”) to individuals for using international credit and debit cards to bet on football league matches, remitting funds for real money gaming to overseas platforms in foreign currencies and not surrendering the pre-loaded forex cards which are often used during tours abroad. Such action by the ED came as a surprise to many, as these individuals wondered whether merely participating in online games and betting in a sports league, through a simple mobile app, could amount to violation of laws, more particularly, violations under foreign exchange laws which attract investigations by the ED.

Construction contracts, in infrastructure projects mainly refer to airports, structures, bridges, roads, dams, ports, and other civil engineering activities. Historical data suggests that in most government awarded contracts, particularly of high value, the bidders tend to underbid so as to achieve the status of “L-1” with an ultimate aim of subsequently claiming additional costs from the government.

Link Legal advised and assisted Classklap Private Limited (“Classklap”) and its promoters in its acquisition by Proficiency Learning Solutions Private Limited (brand name “Eupheus”).

Link Legal advised and assisted Twin Technology SE (‘Twin Tech’) in acquisition of equity stake in Audiencetech India Solutions Private Limited (‘Audience Tech’), by way of a primary transfer of equity shares held by the existing shareholders of Audience Tech and subsequent issuance of additional equity by Audience Tech through preferential allotment. Pursuant to the closure of the transaction, Twin Tech holds a 25% stake in Audience Tech.

Link Legal advised and assisted RIB International in acquisition and increase in stake from 60% to 100% of Levtech Consulting Group through acquisition of remaining 40% stake in Dubai headquartered parent entity.

The National Pharmaceuticals Pricing Authority (NPPA) invoked its extraordinary powers under Paragraph 19 of the Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 2013 (DPCO), to put a cap on the trade margin of the following medical devices — oxygen concentrators, pulse oximeters, glucometers, BP monitors, nebulizers and digital thermometers with an aim to make these medical devices affordable during the evolving situation of the COVID pandemic and to regulate the trade margin on these medical devices. NPPA is formed under the Department of Pharmaceuticals which is a division of the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers to regulate and monitor prices of drugs/formulations and oversee the implementation of the DPCO.

Link Legal represented The One Off India Limited based in UK on its 50: 50 joint venture with Bentel Associates LLP for setting up a joint venture company in India i.e., The One Off Bentel Private Limited.

In the matter titled Rapid MetroRail Gurgaon Limited v. Haryana Mass Rapid Transport Corporation Limited and Ors[1] (“Instant Matter”), the Hon’ble Supreme Court bench comprising of Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, Justice Sanjiv Khanna, and Justice M.R. Shah delved into the controversy as to whether public law remedy under Article 226 of Constitution of India can be availed in arbitrable matters. This article explores and dissects the intricacies pertaining to the factual pattern and the rationale for the Supreme Court’s holding on the issue.

Introduction The Hon’ble Supreme Court in its order dated 08.03.2021 in matter titled Gujarat Vikas Nigam Limited Vs. Mr. Amit Gupta & Ors. (“Instant Matter”), while upholding order of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (“NCLAT”) held that National Company Law Tribunal (“NCLT”) has jurisdiction to adjudicate contractual disputes which arise solely from or which relate to corporate debtor’s insolvency.  In the Instant Matter, the Hon’ble Court has dealt with the role/power of NCLT to determine party’s right to terminate the Power Purchase Agreement (“PPA”) owing to initiation of insolvency proceedings under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (“IBC”), and the intersection of a party’s right to terminate such agreement and its regulation under IBC.

Sarvagram, a company providing financial services and allied interventions to improve the productivity of individuals and small enterprises in rural and semi-urban India using technology, has raised its second round of funding of INR 77 Crores led by Elevation Capital along with pro-rata participation from existing investor Elevar Equity.