[Akash Kumar Surya is a 3rd year B.A., LL.B. (Hons.) student at the National Law School of India University, Bengaluru] In the case of In Re: Interplay the Supreme Court recently delivered its verdict on the legal position of unstamped arbitration agreement in India. The judgement has settled the issue, bringing clarity on a matter whose jurisprudence has otherwise been marked by chequered approaches. The key debate in this context has been this: how is the court expected to approach an application under section 11 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 when an objection regarding ..read more

[Hrishikesh Goswami and Aryan Soni are 3rd year students at the Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar] The enforceability of arbitration clauses within inadequately stamped agreements has been a longstanding matter of legal scrutiny, with divergent opinions and decisions from various courts, including the Supreme Court. However, a significant resolution was achieved on December 13, 2023, when a seven-judge bench of the Supreme Court addressed this matter in the case titled In Re: The Interplay between arbitration agreements under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, and the India ..read more

[Suyash Pandey is a third year B.A., LL.B. (Hons.) student at the National Law School of India University, Bangalore] Recently, the Supreme Court (‘SC’) in Lombardi Engineering Limited v. Uttarakhand Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited  has invoked Article 14 of the Constitution of India to test the validity of the pre-deposit arbitration agreement between Lombardi Engineering (‘LE’) and Uttarakhand Project Development and Construction Corporation Limited (‘UPDCC’). A pre-deposit arbitration agreement requires the claimant to deposit a certain percentage of the claimed amount to initiate arbitration ..read more

[Tanisha Gautam is a 4th year B.A. LL.B. (Hons.) student at the Institute of Law, Nirma University, Ahmedabad] The impact of a personal guarantee in relation to a corporate debtor undergoing insolvency proceedings under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (the “Code”) has raised interesting legal issues. A personal guarantee refers to a promise made by an individual (the guarantor) to assume responsibility for the repayment of a debt in the event that the borrower (corporate debtor) fails to fulfil its obligation to a creditor. The recent pronouncement of the Supreme Court in Surendr ..read more

[Shinoj Koshy and Radhika Malpani are with Luthra and Luthra Law Offices] Globalisation has led to a significant increase in the cross-border transactions and this in turn has led to “legal transplants” – a phenomenon where contracts memorializing cross-border transactions tend to include legal terms and concepts which are prevalent in other legal systems.  The term “legal transplant” was coined by Alan Watson in 1974 as the “moving of a rule or a system of law from one country to another, or from one people to another.” Simply put, it is transfer of rules, laws, legal principles and conc ..read more

[Mihir Modi is an Associate with PSL Advocates and Solicitors in Mumbai] According to the Limitation Act 1963 (‘the Limitation Act’), there is a set time limit for filing appeals and instituting lawsuits in various courts. The Limitation Act is based on the idea that there must be a strict time limit for bringing appropriate actions in the courts. In doing so, it protects only the diligent litigants, not those careless about their rights. The court does not show indulgence if a creditor seeks redress from the court after the stipulated statutory period of limitation has passed. Debt is covered ..read more

[Lavanya Pathak and Pallavi Mishra are advocates practicing at the Delhi High Court. This is a continuation from Part I] Position Taken by High Courts at Bombay, Delhi and Madras The recent judgements rendered by High Courts at Bombay, Delhi and Madras (discussed below) are instructive when it comes to offering clarity on the SC’s understanding of the law on liquidated damages and penalties. In Ultratech Cement Ltd. v. Sunfield Resources Pty. Ltd., the Division Bench of the Bombay High Court repelled the appellant’s argument that the stipulated sum was in terrorem. The Court carefully examined ..read more

[Lavanya Pathak and Pallavi Mishra are advocates practicing at the Delhi High Court.] The concept of ‘liquidated damages’ and ‘penalty’ was originally intended to be omitted from the realm of the Indian law by careful usage of the phrase “sum named in the contract” under section 74 of the Contract Act, 1872 (“Contract Act”). However, following the amendment brought about in 1899, the scope of section 74 was enlarged with the introduction of the phrase “or…any other stipulation by way of penalty”. While it appears that the intent of the amendment was to continue to refrain from introducing the ..read more

[Sri Janani S. is a 3rd year B.A., LL.B. (Hons.) student at National Law University, Jodhpur] In the recent years, public-private partnerships (“PPPs”) have been increasing manifold in India. The state is recognizing the private sector’s indispensable role in the infrastructure sector, urban water projects, healthcare and even in the development of electric vehicles. The Government is encouraging private investment by providing incentives, like the Viability Gap Fund and setting up of India Infrastructure Finance Company. It is important to note that India has no speci ..read more

[Kaustav Saha is a Lecturer at Jindal Global Law School. His research interests include private law and legal theory.] The doctrine of promissory estoppel has had a somewhat unprincipled evolution in Indian law, particularly in its relation to the doctrine of consideration and, more pertinently to this post, in its role and character as a public law remedy. In this context, the case of State of Jharkhand v. Brahmputra Metallics Ltd., Ranchi raises important questions regarding the doctrine’s applicability in a certain class of cases. While a substantial portion of the judgement attempts to art ..read more