LPG Supply Disruption, Jaiprakash Insolvency, Panel for NCERT-Judiciary Issue & More 

“The PMLA is a potent weapon. But like any weapon, if it is overused, it will lose its potency”

— Supreme Court judge Justice Ujjwal Bhuyan in a panel discussion on role of judiciary in Viksit Bharat

Indian Courts Begin to See the Impact of West Asia Crisis
It is not a new phenomenon anymore to see Indian courts flooded with petitions and lawsuits by the citizens and various groups for enforcement of their rights the moment there is a disturbance in status quo of any kind. The disruption to LPG supply in India because of the deteriorating geopolitical conditions in West Asia after US and Israel’s military offence in Iran is no exception to this rule.

Last week, various high courts, which are constitutional courts, dealt with different aspects of the reduced LPG supply, particularly for commercial use, in India. While one court disposed of the matter noting the government’s undertaking that it is taking all the necessary steps to assuage the situation, there were two others that proceeded with either passing orders or seeking government’s reply on the issues which are fundamentally administrative or under policy domain. 

This trend, however, is not new where the courts become the platform where distressed citizens seek executive action, accountability and of institutional redressal essentially for matters where the government has failed to arrest impact from trickling down. 

It’s not novel anymore for the courts to have to, on occasion, step in to fill gaps left by the policymakers that have immediate impact on the lives and livelihoods of the people. These systemic gaps in governance and policy will have to be addressed by someone after all and when the elected government shuts itself from public grievance, it’s the judiciary that provides that much needed institutional access. 

Key Rulings:

• Supreme Court holds that Air Force group insurance society is considered “state” under Article 12 of the Constitution of India

Courts: 

• CJI Surya Kant recuses himself from hearing a case concerning appointment of Election Commissioner

• Delhi High Court quashes look out circulars issued against media persons Dr. Pronnoy Roy and Radhika Roy

• Madras High Court directs arrest of a Panama-flagged ship MV Zhong Pengi You Yi at the Chennai port on a plea alleging that the owner of the vessel owes 2.6 million dollars to a Russian company for breaching a time charter agreement

• Supreme Court rejects a petition seeking probe into Reliance Industries’ Vantara over its wildlife imports

• Indian men’s cricket team coach Gautam Gambhir moves Delhi High Court for protection of his personality rights; Bombay High Court protects such rights of actor Shilpa Shetty and directs for taking down of her deepfake content

• Delhi High Court rejects plea by SpiceJet seeking attachment of assets of MD Ajay Singh instead of deposit of 14.4 billion rupees

•  A nine-judge constitution bench of the Supreme Court reserves its order on the issue of definition of “industry”

• Kerala High Court refuses to entertain a petition against BCCI challenging the use of name ‘Indian Premier League’  

• Andhra Pradesh High Court bars Confidence Petroleum from selling LPG to foreign markets in the wake of gas crisis in India at the back of the ongoing conflict in West Asia

• Karnataka High Court seeks response from the Centre and state governments on a petition by Bangalore Hotel Association seeking uninterrupted LPG supple to hotel and restaurant establishments

• The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court disposed of a petition relating to supply of LPG to dealerships after the centre assured the court that all possible steps are being taken

• Supreme Court upholds SEBI’s approval for WeWork’s IPO

Quasi Courts:

• Allahabad bench of the NCLT approves Adani’s resolution plan for Jaiprakash Associates, rejects objections raised by Vedanta

• Competition Commission of India rejects complaint against Rapido taxi aggregator service over use of private bikes 

Others:

• Government sets up a panel consisting former Attorney General for India KK Venugopal and retired Supreme Court judges Indu Malhotra and Aniruddha Bose to re-draft a chapter on judiciary for NCERT books

The Big Listings:

• Mar 23: Supreme Court to hear WhatsApp, Meta and CCI appeals in data sharing policy case 

• Mar 23: Supreme Court to hear PIL petition seeking tighter probe into Anil Ambani’s fraud allegations

• March 23: NCLAT to hear Vedanta’s appeal against approval for Adani’s resolution plan for Jaiprakash Associates

• Apr 7: Supreme Court constitution bench to hear Sabarimala temple reference case

• Apr 8: Delhi High Court to hear Indigo’s petition seeking 9 billion rupees in refund from customs over re-imports

• Apr 17: 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

• May 5: Supreme Court to hear challenge to Citizenship Amendment Act

• 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

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

Legal Moves: 

• Madhav Uppuluri moves on as Tata Motors General Counsel to join TCS

• Abhijeet Shinde made Head of legal at Muthoot group

• Vijayalakshmi Natarajan joins Lloyds Technology Centre as General Counsel

• Arijit Tiwari joins Ashurst as partner in Singapore

• Pranav Kumar Singh rejoins HSA Advocates and Partners