JSW-BPSL, X vs Govt, Air India Crash Probe, and More

The Week That Was

“From the orient to the occidant, the march of civilisation has borne witness to the inescapable truth that the spread and speed of information and communication has never been left unchecked or unregulated. It has always been subject to regulation”

 — Justice M Nagaprasanna while delivering judgment on X Corp’s plea against India’s IT rules

For JSW-BPSL, it’s all’s well that ends well
After months of uncertainty surrounding JSW’s acquisition of Bhushan Power and Steel, the Supreme Court has finally closed the chapter, bringing clarity to one of the most contentious cases under India’s insolvency framework.

The court upheld JSW’s resolution plan for BPSL in full, rejecting even the lenders’ committee’s fresh demands for additional payouts based on profits earned while the company was under the control of an administrator. It observed that entertaining such claims after a resolution plan had been approved would amount to “committing violence” on the provisions of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.

Had the earlier liquidation order been allowed to stand, it would have jolted JSW and created dangerous precedents that undermined the stability of the still-nascent IBC regime. By endorsing the resolution plan without alteration, the top court has not only safeguarded JSW’s hard-fought revival of BPSL into a profitable entity but also reinforced the sanctity and finality of resolution plans under the insolvency process.

The judgment brings the curtain down on one of the most dramatic and consequential legal battles in India’s insolvency landscape.

Key Rulings

• Supreme Court upholds JSW’s acquisition plan for Bhushan Power and Steel months after a two-judge bench of the court quashed the same with a direction for BPSL to be liquidated instead.
• Karnataka High Court rejects Elon Musk’s X Corp’s petition challenging the validity of the Indian government’s Sahyog portal for intermediaries. The court said that foreign entities cannot claim the right to free speech under Indian Constitution.

Courts

• Supreme Court dismisses PIL plea for a ban on Salman Rushdie’s Satanic Verses
• Manufacture of green crackers in Delhi NCR allowed by Supreme Court but sale remains barred
• Delhi court removes gag order on journalist Paranjay Guha Thakurta from reporting on Adani
• Deceased billionaire Sunjay Kapur’s widow Priya Sachdeva Kapur permitted to file list of his assets in a sealed cover while all parties involved agree to not make press statementsKerala High Courts asks MSC CA, shipping company, to deposit 12.27 billion rupees for release of its vessel MSC Akiteta-II
• Supreme Court agrees to hear bail plea by activists Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam and others accused in relation to Delhi riots case of 2020
• Supreme Court calls for response from DGCA and centre on plea seeking independent probe into the Air India crash of June this year

Quasi Courts

• NCLAT concludes hearing on appeal by Meta, WhatsApp against CCI in antitrust case over 2021 privacy policy

Others

• Centre notifies extension of Advocate R Venkataramani’s tenure as the Attorney General for India for two years

The Big Listings

• Oct 8: NCLT in Ahmedabad to hear petition for Vedanta’s demerge
  Oct 8: Supreme Court to hear VodafoneIdea’s fresh petition in relation to AGR dues
• Oct 9: Delhi High Court to hear partition suit filed in relation to Sunjay Kapur’s Will
• Nov 18: 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

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

Legal Moves

• Centre notifies appointment of:
  Fourteen judicial officers as judges of the Allahabad High Court
  Ten lawyers as judges of the Allahabad High Court
  Two additional judges of Madras High Court as permanent
  Justice Biswajit Palit as permanent judge at the Tripura High Court
  Vidhyavati Kowshik promoted to Head of Bengaluru office by Alpha Partners

• Sujoy Bhatia made Managing Partner at Chandhiok & Mahajan
• Ankur Arora leaves Reliance to join Argus Partners
• Richa Pandey joins CMS Induslaw as IP partner