Cross-Border ESOPs in India: Legal, Tax and FEMA Considerations for Multinational Companies, GCCs and Global Workforces
Introduction Cross-border Employee Stock Option Plans (ESOPs) have become an increasingly important component of global compensation strategies. As multinational corporations, Global Capability Centres (GCCs), private equity-backed businesses and internationally expanding startups continue to grow their operations in India, employee participation in foreign equity incentive plans has become commonplace. Today, many Indian employees receive stock options, Restricted Stock …
The End of Piecemeal Challenges? Supreme Court Strengthens India’s Single-Challenge Approach to Arbitration
Introduction One of the principal advantages of arbitration is its ability to deliver a final and binding resolution without becoming entangled in the multiple layers of procedural litigation that often characterize traditional court proceedings. However, that objective can be undermined when parties repeatedly approach courts at various stages of the arbitral process, challenging interim decisions …
Supreme Court Takes Suo Motu Cognizance of NCLT Delays: What It Means for Resolution Plan Approvals Under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code
Introduction In a significant development for India’s insolvency regime, the Supreme Court has taken suo motu cognizance of systemic delays by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) in approving resolution plans under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (IBC). The Court observed that prolonged pendency of resolution plan approval applications threatens the very objective of the IBC, which was enacted to …
Supreme Court Clarifies That an Appointment “Until Further Orders” Does Not Create a Vested Right to Complete the Tenure
Introduction In an important judgment on service law and government employment, the Supreme Court has reaffirmed that an employee appointed for a fixed tenure subject to the condition “until further orders” cannot claim an enforceable right to continue for the entire tenure merely because the appointment order mentions a specified term.
Supreme Court Stays Bombay High Court Order Releasing Thane Land from “Private Forest” Acquisition: Implications for Forest Land Classification, TDR and Development Rights
Introduction In a significant interim order impacting forest land disputes, urban development, and Transferable Development Rights (TDR) in Maharashtra, the Supreme Court has stayed the operation of the Bombay High Court’s judgment directing the release of approximately 193 acres of land at Manpada, Thane from acquisition under the Maharashtra Private Forests (Acquisition) Act, 1975.
Supreme Court Clarifies Arrest in Private Complaint Cases: Why Police Cannot Arrest Without a Magistrate’s Non-Bailable Warrant
Introduction Can the police arrest an accused merely because a private criminal complaint has been filed before a Magistrate? Is anticipatory bail necessary after receiving summons in a complaint case? These questions have long created uncertainty among litigants and legal practitioners, particularly in jurisdictions where anticipatory bail applications became routine immediately after the institution of …
Autonomy over Oversight: Why Independent Cooperative Societies Are Not “State” Under Article 12 and Why Their Elections Fall Outside Writ Jurisdiction
Introduction The intersection of cooperative society governance, constitutional law, and writ jurisdiction has been a subject of enduring judicial discourse in India. A recurring question before courts is whether cooperative societies — particularly those that operate independently of Government control — can be classified as “State” under Article 12 of the Constitution of India, thereby …
Supreme Court Settles the Limitation Question in Post-Award Proceedings: Section 33 Exception to the Running of Limitation Under Section 34(3) Applies Regardless of Maintainability or Outcome.
I. Introduction What happens if a party files an application under Section 33 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (“the Act”) seeking correction of an arbitral award, does the limitation period for challenging the award under Section 34 run from the date of the original award, or from the date on which the Section …
FREEHOLD CONVERSION OF NAZUL LAND: LEGAL LOOPHOLES, ADMINISTRATIVE IRREGULARITIES AND THE GROWING THREAT OF LAND MAFIA
Abstract Nazul land constitutes one of the largest repositories of public property in India. Historically vested in the Government through escheat, confiscation, acquisition, lapse, or succession from colonial authorities, Nazul lands were intended to serve public purposes and governmental functions. However, the policy of converting leasehold Nazul land into freehold ownership, introduced in several States …
From Human Fault to Algorithmic Accountability: Tort Law in the AI Era
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming the way decisions are made across critical sectors worldwide. This shift from automation to autonomy presents significant challenges for traditional tort law, which has historically been built around concepts such as human fault, foreseeability and direct causation.