AQUILAW > Kolkata, India > Firm Profile
AQUILAW Offices
9, Old Post Office Street
8th Floor
Kolkata
India
AQUILAW > Firm Profile
AQUILAW is a leading full service law firm working at the intersection of corporates, governments, technology and business, and having offices in Kolkata, Delhi and Mumbai. Its office in Kolkata comprises a robust team of 5 partners, 1 executive director and 21 lawyers being a blend of junior, senior and principal associates and four consultants (including chartered accountants).
AQUILAW combines years of specialised experience with sound legal advice, and offers customised solutions to suit business challenges. We believe that understanding the business environment and overall objective of the client is pivotal towards providing effective legal services. We care about the quality of our services, the strategic interests of our clients, the eventual success of transactional objectives and above all, the lasting relationships that are forged through such successes.
AQUILAW specialises in industry sectors, as well as in corresponding practice areas for optimal utilisation of resources to design bespoke resolution packages driven towards long term goals of its clients. Our main practice areas include real estate, infrastructure, corporate and commercial, mergers and acquisition, capital markets, banking and finance, data privacy, mining laws, oil and gas laws, environmental laws, public policy and legislative affairs, international trade laws, arbitration and alternative dispute resolution, civil, criminal and general litigation, insolvency, restructuring and bankruptcy, taxation, securities law, technology, media and telecommunications, succession and trust law, consumer law, government and regulatory, intellectual property rights, administrative law, admiralty laws, competition laws, labour, industrial and employment laws, election laws, electricity laws and transactional and allied services.
AQUILAW’s mission and vision:
- To provide our clients with a focused approach to effectively resolve their issues in a timely manner to ensure more value for the clients as well as the business
- To keep ourselves acquainted with legal, commercial and technological developments for delivering efficient solutions
- To stay ahead with an innovative outlook to problem-solving for providing personalized and valuable service to our clients
- To strive to contribute and make ourselves accessible to the society, beyond our business
- To remain committed to our ideology of providing quality, world-class legal and client services
- To hire and retain exceptionally talented lawyers who possess outstanding academic and personal achievements
- To continually imbibe within ourselves the principles of strongest integrity, discipline, professionalism and respect for our work and our clients
Main Contacts
Department | Name | Telephone | |
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Corporate and Commercial | Sucharita Basu | sucharita.basu@aquilaw.com | 90073 88229 |
Mergers and Acquisition | Sucharita Basu | sucharita.basu@aquilaw.com | 90073 88229 |
Capital Markets | Sucharita Basu | sucharita.basu@aquilaw.com | 90073 88229 |
Data Privacy | Sucharita Basu | sucharita.basu@aquilaw.com | 90073 88229 |
International Trade Laws | Sucharita Basu | sucharita.basu@aquilaw.com | 90073 88229 |
Mining Laws | Sucharita Basu | sucharita.basu@aquilaw.com | 90073 88229 |
Oil and Gas Laws | Sucharita Basu | sucharita.basu@aquilaw.com | 90073 88229 |
Securities Law | Sucharita Basu | sucharita.basu@aquilaw.com | 90073 88229 |
Real Estate | Soumya Banerjee | soumya.banerjee@aquilaw.com | 98301 22493 |
Infrastructure | Soumya Banerjee | soumya.banerjee@aquilaw.com | 98301 22493 |
Transactional and Allied Services | Soumya Banerjee | soumya.banerjee@aquilaw.com | 98301 22493 |
Banking and Finance | Soumya Banerjee | soumya.banerjee@aquilaw.com | 98301 22493 |
Succession and Trust Law | Soumya Banerjee | soumya.banerjee@aquilaw.com | 98301 22493 |
Public Policy and Legislative Affairs | Sanjay Basu | sanjay.basu@aquilaw.com | 98315 70335 |
Election Laws | Sanjay Basu | sanjay.basu@aquilaw.com | 98315 70335 |
Environmental Laws | Sanjay Basu | sanjay.basu@aquilaw.com | 98315 70335 |
Civil and Criminal Litigation | Sanjay Basu | sanjay.basu@aquilaw.com | 98315 70335 |
Insolvency, Restructuring and Bankruptcy | Sanjay Basu | sanjay.basu@aquilaw.com | 98315 70335 |
Competition Law | Sanjay Basu | sanjay.basu@aquilaw.com | 98315 70335 |
General Litigation | Amit Kumar Nag | amit.nag@aquilaw.com | 98309 51404 |
Electricity Laws | Amit Kumar Nag | amit.nag@aquilaw.com | 98309 51404 |
Arbitration and Alternative Dispute Resolution | Amit Kumar Nag | amit.nag@aquilaw.com | 98309 51404 |
Labour, Industrial & Employment Laws | Amit Kumar Nag | amit.nag@aquilaw.com | 98309 51404 |
Admiralty Law | Amit Kumar Nag | mit.nag@aquilaw.com | 98309 51404 |
GST/Indirect Tax/GCC VAT | Rajarshi Dasgupta | rajarshi.dasgupta@aquilaw.com | 98300 14233 |
Corporate and Commercial | Suhana Islam Murshedd | suhana.islam@aquilaw.com | 98304 14217 |
Mergers and Acquisition | Suhana Islam Murshedd | suhana.islam@aquilaw.com | 98304 14217 |
Lawyer Profiles
Photo | Name | Position | Profile |
---|---|---|---|
Mr Soumya Banerjee | Soumya Banerjee is a Partner at AQUILAW, Kolkata. | View Profile | |
Mr Sanjay Basu | Sanjay Basu is a Partner at AQUILAW, Kolkata. | View Profile | |
Ms Sucharita Basu | Sucharita Basu is a Partner at AQUILAW, Kolkata and Mumbai. | View Profile | |
Ms Suhana Islam Murshedd | Suhana Islam Murshedd is a Partner at AQUILAW, Kolkata. | View Profile | |
Mr Amit Kumar Nag | Amit Kumar Nag is a Partner at AQUILAW, Kolkata. | View Profile |
Staff Figures
Lawyers : 45 Consultants : 6Languages
English regional languages including Bengali Hindi and other Indian languagesLegal Developments
Law on interim orders: An Analysis of the judgement of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in High Court Bar Association, Allahabad v. State of Uttar Pradesh
25th April 2024A. Introduction
An interim injunction or relief is often referred to as the “strong arm of the courts of equity” as its origin can be traced to the equity Jurisprudence of England from which we have inherited the present system for the administration of law.Shaping Investment Horizons: Liberalisation of FDI Policy in the Space Sector
8th March 2024 Foreign direct investment (FDI) in the space sector has so far been permitted only in respect of establishment and operation of satellites under the Government Approval route.Interim Budget FY 2024-25
6th February 2024 A. Setting the context The year 2024, being the year for the Lok Sabha Elections, the Hon’ble Union Finance Minister, Ms. Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Interim Budget of the Government of India for FY 2024-25.FINDING “CONSERVATION” IN FOREST (CONSERVATION) AMENDMENT BILL, 2023: AN ANALYSIS OF PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE PRINCIPAL ACT AND THEIR ECOLOGICAL IMPACT
11th August 2023 A. Introduction We couldn’t agree more with Franklin D. Roosevelt when he said, “A nation that destroys its soils destroys itself. Forests are the lungs of our land, purifying the air and giving fresh strength to our people.” The principles of conservation and forestry have been part of human civilization through the centuries and are embodied in ancient texts such as Aranyakas, Upanishads, and Smritis while also finding a place in modern international conventions such as Kyoto Protocol. These principles have been encoded by the Indian Parliament in the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 (“Principal Act”), which essentially regulates the use of forest land for non-forest purposes. Forwarding to the year 2023, the Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change (“MOEFCC”) proposes to amend the Principal Act, and the reasoning given by the Ministry is that the Act needs to be brought to speed with the changing ecological conditions, achieving net zero emission targets and matching the aspirations of the people. The Parliament, amidst the opposition clamour and unenthusiastic “ayes” passed the Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill, 2023 (“the Bill”), without any amendments. It is now imperative to analyze these amendments against the backdrop of overall environmental impact. B. Historical Timeline of Forest Legislations- Indian Forest Act, 1865- Authorised the Government to declare any forest land as Government land.
- Indian Forest Act, 1927- consolidates the laws regarding forests, to regulate timber and other forest produce.
- 42nd Constitutional Amendment,1976 - Transfers “forest” from State List to Concurrent List.
- The Forest Conservation Act, 1980- Act was enacted to prevent deforestation and diversion of forest land.
- 1996- Hon’ble Supreme Court pronounced its judgment in the case of N. Godavarman Thirumulpad v. Union of India[1] spelling out the applicability of the Forest Conservation Act, 1980
- Forest (Conservation) Rules, 2003- Rules enacted to regulate the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980.
- Forest (Conservation) Bill, 2023- A bill to amend the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980.
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- Enabling achievement of national targets of Net Zero Emission by 2070 to maintain/enhance the forest carbon stock for sustainable development;
- Creating a carbon sink of an additional 2.5 to 3.0 billion tons of CO2 ;
- Improving forest and their biodiversity, national and ecological security;
- Increasing forest and tree cover to 1/3rd of the country’s land;
- Providing livelihood to forest-dependent communities.
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- All forests irrespective of the ownership or classification thereof;
- The word forest must be understood according to its dictionary meaning, i.e. a large area of land covered with trees and plants;
- Any area recorded as forest in the Government record irrespective of the ownership;
- The Hon’ble Apex court had also set up an expert committee which identified the forests in the States and submitted its report in 1997.
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- Land which has been declared or notified as a forest under any law for the time being in force;
- Land which is recorded in the Government Records as forest as on or after 25th October 1980 (date of the enforcement of the Principal Act).
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- Land which has changed use for non-forest purposes on or before 12th December 1996 [date of the Hon’ble Supreme Court’s Judgment in T.N. Godavarman (supra)] in pursuance to any order by any authority;
- Forests situated alongside a rail line or a public road which provide access to a habitation, or to a road and roadside amenity up to a maximum size of 0.10 hectare in each case;
- Any tree and plantation which has not been raised in the forest land;
- Any forest land which is situated within a distance of 100 Kilometers along the international borders proposed to be used for security purposes;
- Any forest land, upto 10 hectares proposed to be used for defence infrastructure;
- Forest land not exceeding 5 hectares in Left Wing extremism affected areas which are proposed to be used for defence infrastructure, camp for paramilitary forces or public utility projects.
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- Exclusion of major forest land: The Bill proposes to limit the applicability of the Principal Act to areas which are notified or recorded as forest. As per the latest FSI’s “India State of Forest Report” (2021), out of the total forest area of 7,75,288 sq.km. of India, 1,20,753 sq.km. are categorized as Unclassed Forests. Thus, Unclassed Forests account for approximately 15% of India’s total forest cover, and in some States and Union Territories, Unclassed Forests are a massive portion of their total forest cover[10]. Further, in various states major forest lands are not recorded as forest and no proper land records are maintained, this will lead to unnecessary conversion of forest land which will ultimately lead to ecological imbalances.
- Large forest cover in the northeast region will fall under exemption: Total Forest cover in the North Eastern region is 1,69,521 sq km, which is 64.66% of its geographical area[11]. The region falls under Indo-Burma Biodiversity Hotspot which is one of the richest areas in terms of gene pool diversity in the entire world, it may no longer be considered a forest. The Bill exempts any forest land which is situated within 100 Kilometers along the international borders proposed to be used for security purposes, which will lead to heavy deforestation in the northeast region. Further, given the peculiar shape of the Northeast except Assam all states will be excluded.
- Non-consideration Forest Dweller’s Rights: The Forest Rights Act (“FRA”), 2006 was enacted to recognize the rights of the forest-dwelling tribal communities and other traditional forest dwellers to forest resources[12]. The definition of forest land under Forest Rights Act, 2006 includes unclassified forests, un-demarcated forests, existing or deemed forests, protected forests, reserved forests, sanctuaries, and national parks[13]. However, the present Bill fails to make any reference or exception to FRA, leaving room for possible conflict between the Rights of the Forest Dwellers and Rights of the Government to exploit forest land for economic and security activities.
- Legalizes diversion of forest lands between 1980 to 1996: Proviso given in Section 1(A)(1)(b) legalizes the diversion of forest lands between 1980 to 1996. Various stakeholders have objected to such legalization stating that in the past, forest land has been converted for several non-forest uses like plantation of cash crops, infrastructure development, mining leases, etc. The Principal Act mandates that any such diversion of forest lands or the extension of leases over such areas requires proper prior approval. Exempting the spectrum of these activities for obtaining forest clearances will not comply with the Principal Act's conservation objectives[14].
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- Dispensation to Zoos and Safari may lead to concrete structures and road networks in the forest areas;
- Privatisation of these activities will interest the private corporations which will prioritise profit generation over environmental protection;
- The proposed provision is likely to create a new system of commercial ecology;
- Inclusion of zoos, safaris, and ecotourism facilities can be potentially destructive and come at the cost of native vegetation and wildlife habitat because there are endemic species, which are very important and these have to be protected.
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- Central Government may exempt any activity to be carried out in the forest land relating to construction of defence related project or a camp for paramilitary forces or public utility projects in a Left-Wing Extremism affected area, which will also be notified by the Central Government[15];
- The Bill gives power to Central Government to exempt any activity in the forest land[16]
- The Central Government has power to issue direction to the State Government for the implementation of the Act[17]
Authors: Shreyas Awasthi and Ripul Swati Kumari 10th August 2023
Footnotes [1] T.N. Godavarman Thirumulpad v. Union of India, (1997) 2 SCC 267 [2] Report of Joint Committee on the Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill, 2023, Seventh Lok Sabha. [3]Lok Sabha passes Bill to let forest land be used for strategic needs, Indian Express, (Jul 27, 2023 05:12), https://indianexpress.com/article/india/lok-sabha-nod-forest-conservation-amendment-bill-8861270/ [4] Report, Supra Note 2 [5] Ibid [6] Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Minister of Environment an Forests’ statement regarding steps taken by the Government for regularizing forest land being cultivated by the farmers in Lok Sabha, Press Information Bureau, May 10, 2005 [7] Statement of Objects and Reasons, the Forest (Conservation) Bill, 1980 (Bill no. 201 of 1980). [8] Consultation Paper on Proposed amendments in the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Government of India, October 2021. [9] T.N. Godavarman Thirumulpad, Supra Note 1 [10] Report Of The High-Level Working Group On Forest (Conservation) Bill, 2023, VIDHI Centre for Legal Policy. [11] Forest Survey of India (Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change), Government of India, India State of Forest Report, 2021. [12] Preamble, The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006. [13] The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, Section 2(d), § 2(d), No. 2, Act of Parliament, 2007. [14] Report, Supra Note 2 [15] The Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill, 2003, Clause 4(2)(c)(iii). [16] The Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill, 2003, Clause 5(II)(viii). [17] The Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill, 2003, Clause 6.