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The Supreme Court of India ruled that banks need not provide personal hearings before classifying loans as fraud, streamlining the process while ensuring procedural fairness through written responses and access to forensic reports. This decision aims to expedite fraud detection and reporting, addressing the significant scale of loan fraud in India. Hormuz Mehta, partner at JSA Advocates & Solicitors, said the ruling brings clarity for banks, enabling them to complete fraud classification within the prescribed timeline without the risk of HCs overturning decisions solely because a personal hearing was denied. “By this order, personal hearings are no longer mandated, ensuring there is no delay in the 180-day classification process. “This allows an expedited and efficient process while maintaining fairness,” he said. Read more

The Supreme Court ruled that banks can classify loans as fraud without personal hearings, provided borrowers receive forensic audit reports and can respond in writing. This decision aligns with RBI guidelines, resolving conflicting high court rulings and expediting fraud classification. Experts view the ruling as bank-friendly, emphasizing procedural fairness and regulatory efficiency. Hormuz Mehta, partner at JSA Advocates & Solicitors, said the ruling brings clarity for banks, enabling them to complete fraud classification within the prescribed timeline without the risk of HCs overturning decisions solely because a personal hearing was denied. “By this order, personal hearings are no longer mandated, ensuring there is no delay in the 180-day classification process. This allows an expedited and efficient process while maintaining fairness,” he said. Read more

SEBI plans to reintroduce the open market route for share buybacks, offering companies flexibility and liquidity. Recent tax amendments address past concerns, aligning buyback taxation with capital gains. Public feedback is sought by April 23. “Such (open market) buybacks not only enhance price discovery and liquidity but also offer more flexibility to companies in terms of timelines, pricing and overall administrative effort and costs,” Pulkit Sukhramani, partner at JSA Advocates & Solicitors, said. With taxation on shares tendered in a buyback being treated akin to sale of shares, it was only a matter of time that the open market route was re-introduced, he added. Read more

India is set to introduce new rules for group and cross-border insolvency, aiming to enhance creditor recoveries and align with international standards. The IBC (Amendment) Bill addresses challenges since 2016, focusing on efficient resolution of complex corporate structures and cross-border assets. Experts highlight the importance of a UNCITRAL-based framework for effective implementation. Soumitra Majumdar, Partner at JSA Advocates & Solicitors, argues that minimising inter-creditor disputes is essential for successful group insolvency and proposes a three-pronged strategy to achieve this. They are — due recognition and protection of pre-insolvency inter-creditor arrangements; disincentives for creditors who do not comply with obligations or strategies as approved by the specified majority of the Committee of Creditors (COCs); and proper coordination amongst the various COCs. Read more

AI is revolutionizing investment banking by automating routine tasks, enhancing productivity, and potentially increasing revenue. While AI handles process-driven tasks, human expertise remains essential for strategic decisions. The industry faces challenges around advisory fees, data security, and regulatory compliance as AI adoption expands. Meanwhile, India’s markets regulator is well aware of the use of AI and has established frameworks to manage the resulting compliance risks. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) introduced Regulation 16C in its intermediaries’ regulations in early 2025. Anant Mishra, a partner at law firm JSA, noted the rule dictates that intermediaries remain accountable for AI systems, whether developed internally or via third-party vendors. “Crucially, the provision eliminates any scope for deflecting liability onto technology providers or opaque algorithms,” he explained. “Irrespective of the technology used, the liability will squarely lie with the intermediary.” Read more

The Lok Sabha passed the IBC amendment Bill, incorporating suggestions for improved transparency and governance. Key changes include a new Creditors’ Initiated Insolvency Resolution Process and mandatory recording of reasons by the Committee of Creditors. The amendments aim to reduce delays and enhance accountability in insolvency proceedings. Soumitra Majumdar, Partner at JSA Advocates & Solicitors, felt that minimising litigation risks is also a coveted objective of the amendments — this shouldn’t open the door for an additional line of plan-related litigations. Selection of a plan is a matter of exercise of commercial wisdom of the CoC, with very limited scope for judicial scrutiny. “Commercial wisdom certainly needs to be exercised in a reasonable and reasoned manner, but the non-justiciability of commercial determinations by the COC should not be compromised,” he said. Read more

India’s AI landscape is evolving, with infrastructure growth and initiatives like the India AI Mission enhancing capabilities. A transformative “UPI moment” is needed for widespread AI adoption. Challenges persist in aligning AI solutions with business needs, but sectors like banking are seeing success with voice-first AI technologies. “The underlying factor for the government, even while attracting investment, is that innovation has to have human oversight. Companies are not yet at that stage where the machines will run themselves. And that human oversight and therefore the human responsibility and accountability need to be there,” said Nisha Uberoi, partner at JSA Advocates & Solicitors. Read more

India’s private equity sector is experiencing increased buyout opportunities, leveraging bolt-on acquisitions to drive growth. Founders are more receptive to institutional investors, and new fund structures are helping manage liquidity. The focus remains on capital protection and investing in downside-protected businesses. “I think while (buyouts in the) financial services, healthcare, will continue, we will see a lot of investments in the entire AI space going forward,” noted Vikram Raghani, partner, JSA. Read more

India’s slow dispute resolution system impacts its GDP by 1.5-2%, deterring investment due to weak contract enforcement and procedural delays. While alternative methods like arbitration exist, they face challenges. Experts call for improved efficiency and predictability to enhance investor confidence. “There is a study that it has cost us 1.5 to 2% of GDP. That’s how significant the failure… the failure to be able to enforce contract swiftly, efficiently, and in a predictable manner,” said Amar Gupta, joint managing partner at JSA. Read more

GIFT City, despite offering tax incentives, faces challenges like illiquidity, regulatory overlaps, and an underdeveloped ecosystem, deterring startups from listing. Compliance complexities arise from dual regulations by Sebi and IFSCA. The legal and operational frameworks are still evolving, impacting investor participation and confidence. IFSCA regulates everything that happens inside GIFT City. However, if a company is already listed under Sebi-regulated stock exchanges in India, they will have to follow the Indian regulator’s norms too. “This creates double compliance and confusion. This needs to be streamlined,” Rajul Bohra, partner at JSA Advocates & Solicitors, said. For already listed companies in India, Sebi is yet to finalise guidelines to fully operationalise direct or dual listing on IFSC exchanges. Though the IFSCA was established in 2020, it took even more years to crystallize the specific framework for listing of securities. It was in August 2024 that its Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements Regulations were notified. This means that for the better part of GIFT City’s existence, issuers had no clear, tested regulatory pathway to list equity on IFSC exchanges, Bohra added. Read more

India’s real estate market is shifting towards premiumization, driven by rising affluence and global standards. Residential and commercial spaces are focusing on quality to attract buyers and retain talent. Institutional growth and capital influx support this trend, with Global Capability Centres boosting demand for premium office environments. Vivek K. Chandy, joint managing partner, JSA Advocates & Solicitors, said it has a lot of money that’s there in the market. “It’s much easier to access funds today. Earlier, ECBs (external commercial borrowings) were not permitted in real estate. Today, you can get money from overseas in the form of ECBs,” Chandy said. The newfound availability of acquisition financing has brought more capital into the market, driving the development of higher-quality, premium residential and commercial real estate, he added. Read more

India’s transition to renewable energy faces regulatory challenges, requiring a national perspective for effective implementation. Achieving 500 GW of green energy by 2030 is feasible with unified efforts. Investments in green hydrogen and grid-interactive buildings are crucial for sustainability goals. India’s electricity consumption remains below the global average. “The substratum of energy, investment and future lies in the policy legal and regulatory framework. If you do not enforce properly, if contracts are not signed in time after the bid and if tariffs change, problems are bound to arise. We have instruments but we have nit utilised them fully. We are on a path which are overtaking the institutions but the institutions have to be brought up to speed. We have got three years to get the carbon market going. It took longer than what it should have. It should not have taken more than a year,” said Amit Kapur, partner, JSA Advocates & Solicitors. Read more