Nirav Modi, SEBI-Anil Ambai-Reliance Infra, Dignity and Rights for Animals & More

“The arc of justice must extend even to those who cannot approach the courts themselves.”

— Karnataka High Court while delivering its verdict on PETA’s plea against returning abused dogs to owner

UK Court's Nirav Modi Ruling Strengthens India's Cross-Border Recovery Efforts

The recent ruling by a London court holding Nirav Modi liable to pay ₹1 billion to Bank of India in a personal guarantee case is a good sign not only for lenders but also for Indian authorities pursuing legal action and accountability against various fugitives. 

The court’s ruling is a clear sign that contractual obligations, regardless of territorial jurisdiction, will be upheld and cannot be avoided through questions to jurisdiction or prolonged litigation. While this case is different from the pending extradition case against Modi, one which he is resisting heavily, it still builds a stronger case for Indian authorities not just in this case but also overall in their efforts to seek cross-border recoveries.

This development also signals that foreign courts are willing to identify and uphold legitimate claims against fugitives settled there arising from commercial transactions taking place in India. A significant positive for India’s wider campaign to seek accountability from economic offenders across jurisdictions.  

Courts: 

• Delhi High Court rejected pleas by electricity distributors BSES Rajdhani and BSES Yamuna against Delhi government’s proposed CAG audit

• In an interesting ruling, the Karnataka High Court has held that animals are not “chattels for human utility” but are entitled to dignity and rights; refuses to allow return of pet dog to abusive owners

• Delhi High Court restrains sale of whisky under “Godfather” brand name by a company backed by Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt

• Gauhati High Court has held that GST registrations cannot be cancelled through “cryptic” non speaking orders

• Bombay High Court has held that RERA registration revocation for a project doesn’t permit non-compliance with project completion orders

Quasi Courts: 

• SEBI rejects plea by Anil Ambani, Reliance Infra to settle 65.26 billion rupees fund diversion case

Others:

• A UK court has ruled that fugitive Nirav Modi is liable to pay over one billion rupees to Bank of India in relation to the personal guarantee furnished by him for loans 

The Big Listings:

• Supreme Court, Delhi High Court will be on summer break this week

• Jun 30: Securities Appellate Tribunal to hear appeal by Jane Street challenging SEBI’s move to allegedly refuse access to important documents to the firm in the case against it

• Jul 15: Delhi High Court to hear Apple Inc.’s plea against India’s competition law’s provisions on global turnover-based penalties on MNC

• July: Supreme Court to hear PIL petition seeking tighter probe into Anil Ambani’s fraud allegations

• Jul 27: Delhi High Court to hear Anil Ambani’s defamation lawsuit against NDTV

* The dates of hearing can change and a concrete list is prepared just a day before

Legal Moves: 

• Prateek Bhandari leaves Khaitan & Co. to join SAM as partner

• Rial Verma joins Sarvam AI as its General Counsel

• Anjana Potti leaves SAM to join Samvad:Partners as an equity partner

• Varun Kumar joins Anant Raj Limited as Head of Legal 

• Aashima Shrivastava appointed partner at Sagus Legal’s Gurgaon office

• Ankita Kumar leaves SAM to join Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas as partner