“There is actually something very familiar about a courtroom and cinema. Both are places where we listen to stories. The difference of course is that when we sit in a cinema, we know there is an ending in three hours and there is a message.”

— Supreme Court judge Justice V Mohana while inaugurating a seminar on music, cinema and law.

Warning Labels Won’t Fix India’s Packaged-Food Problem, But It’s a Good Start
The Supreme Court’s recent pressure on the FSSAI to devise and implement a mandatory front-of-pack warning-label regime for the processed-food industry could be an important step towards protecting Indians’ right to health. But it is only a beginning, not the overhaul that may ultimately be required in the world’s most populous country.

The Court’s pointed questions on why large food companies cannot adopt in India the same standards of warning labels they use in developed market as well as why the FSSAI cannot mandate them are questions that could force the industry to confront a regulatory reality it has conveniently avoided for long. Mandatory warnings may push companies to either change the nutritional make up of their products or risk losing consumers confronted with prominent disclosures about high levels of sugar, salt or fat.

But labelling alone cannot transform India’s food environment. The real test will be whether this becomes the starting point for greater transparency, stronger accountability and, eventually, regulation that addresses not just what consumers are told about processed food, but what they are being sold. And the Supreme Court may have just set the ball rolling for this.

Key Rulings:

• Resolution plan under IBC does not automatically fail upon the death of the person who submits it before approval of the plan, the NCLAT has held
• NCLAT says that NCLT president has the power to transfer cases across benches
• Delhi High Court holds biometric Aadhaar authentication is mandatory for GST registration across the country

Courts:

• Supreme Court refuses to revive a 3.63 billion rupees GST demand against VodafoneIdea; dismisses an appeal by centre against Bombay High Court ruling that quashed the tax demand against Vodafone which ceased to exist following its merger with Idea 
• A PIL filed in the Delhi High Court seeks a compensation of 10 million rupees for the victims of the Satya Niketan building collapse in the national capital; plea wants audit of PGs and hostels
• Film actors Ajay Devgn, Shah Rukh Khan and Tiger Shroff endorsing Vimal Elaichi receive FDA Maharashtra notice, the company moves Delhi High Court over it
• Supreme Court revives SEBI’s 2014 fraud case against Vedanta over share buyback
• Centre petitions Supreme Court to transfer Anil Ambani’s pleas over Black Money Act to Delhi High Court
• News agency ANI appeals before a division bench of the Delhi High Court after a single-judge passed an interim order in OpenAI’s favour
• Karnataka High Court quashes 4.8 billion rupees penalty on Adani’s ACC for mining in Kalaburagi in Karnataka
• No prima facie patent violation found in Xiaomi’s find phone tracking technology, the Delhi High court said while refusing to bar the company from using the feature
• Enforcement Directorate has told the Bombay High Court that despite the 141.31 billion rupees given to banks in Vijay Mallya case, he cannot be absolved from PMLA charges
• Supreme Court flags some gaps in FSSAI’s proposal for warning labels on front of packet of processed foods, seeks clarification
• Supreme Court seeks centre’s response on two separate pleas, one seeking safeguards of minors on social media platforms and another to curb child sexual content on online platforms
• Delhi High Court restrains Beco from attacking Hindustan Unilever’s Surf Excel and Vim in its ad campaigns

Quasi Courts:

• Competition Commission of India closes Winzo’s antitrust case against Google in the wake of ban on online gaming in India

The Big Listings:

• Sep 28: Supreme Court to hear case concerning front of pack labels for displaying warnings on processed foods
• Oct 5: Securities Appellate Tribunal to continue hearing 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:

• Promode Murugavelu leaves Khaitan & Co., to join Trilegal in Chennai
• Zeeshan Khan joins Fox Mandal & Associates as partner
• Vaibhavi Sharma elevated to partner at Prosoll Law
• Ishan Seth leaves S&R to join Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas as partner
• Vishali Sharma leaves Anand & Anand to join Aerion Legal in trademark practice