Insights & Resources

In a landmark judgment, the Supreme Court affirmed that accused persons under the PMLA are entitled to access all documents seized or filed with the prosecution, regardless of reliance by the ED. The Court ruled this disclosure is essential to uphold Article 21 and harmonised CrPC procedures with PMLA's special framework, reinforcing procedural fairness even in economic offences involving reverse burden clauses.

Does every procedural lapse under the Income-tax Act deserve a penalty? Not quite. In a notable judgment, the Chhattisgarh High Court held that Section 273B offers a crucial safeguard—reasonable cause can shield genuine transactions from automatic penalty under Section 271E. The Court set aside a penalty where the cash repayment of a loan was made under the financier’s insistence, affirming that law must balance compliance with fairness.

The RBI has released the Draft Co-Lending Arrangements Directions, 2025, proposing a unified, market-enabling framework for regulated entities. The draft aims to streamline risk-sharing, pricing, and borrower protections across digital and traditional lending partnerships while replacing fragmented earlier guidelines. This explainer highlights key provisions, compliance expectations, and systemic implications.

The RBI has issued draft directions to regulate Non-Fund Based Credit Facilities such as guarantees, letters of credit, and partial credit enhancements. This write-up provides a detailed overview of the framework, its applicability to banks and NBFCs, the proposed exposure caps, and disclosure requirements, while highlighting the shift towards electronic guarantees and risk-based credit appraisals.

The RBI has released its draft 2025 Directions on lending against gold collateral, proposing a unified, principle-based framework for all regulated entities. These Directions aim to streamline prudential norms, standardise conduct practices, and strengthen consumer protection, while ensuring fair treatment and systemic stability in gold-backed credit markets.

the US Supreme Court has overruled the four-decade-old Chevron doctrine, reasserting that courts—not agencies—hold the ultimate authority to interpret ambiguous statutes. This decision reshapes administrative law, restoring judicial independence under Article III of the US Constitution and carrying persuasive relevance for jurisdictions like India that value a strict separation of powers.

The ITAT Nagpur Bench has held that Section 56(2)(vii)(b) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 cannot be retrospectively applied to property transactions based on agreements executed prior to its commencement. In allowing the assessee’s appeal, the Tribunal reaffirmed that taxing provisions must apply prospectively unless explicitly stated otherwise, protecting pre-amendment transactions from adverse retrospective tax consequences.

SEBI’s 2025 amendments to the LODR Regulations introduce a new governance framework for High-Value Debt Listed Entities (HVDLEs) with ₹1,000 crore+ in listed NCDs. These norms align debt entities with equity governance standards, mandating board independence, committee oversight, and compliance timelines. This post unpacks key obligations, implications, and what debt-heavy issuers must do to remain compliant.

The Supreme Court’s latest ruling in Piramal Capital v. 63 Moons offers critical jurisprudential clarity under the IBC. It distinguishes PUFE transactions from fraudulent trading, affirms the finality of CoC-approved resolution plans, and decisively holds that superseded directors have no participatory rights in CIRP. This judgment reaffirms the limited scope of judicial intervention and strengthens the commercial sanctity of insolvency resolution processes.

This judgment by the Calcutta High Court settles a critical question under FEMA: can compounding be sought after an adjudication order is passed? The Court held that compounding is a pre-adjudication remedy and rejected the petitioner’s attempt to revive the option post-penalty. The decision reinforces the procedural integrity of FEMA and clarifies that contraveners must elect remedies in a time-bound and disciplined manner.

The Supreme Court set aside the High Court’s grant of anticipatory bail to accused persons declared proclaimed offenders for evading summons in a major economic fraud. Reaffirming that anticipatory bail is a discretionary relief, the Court held that wilful evasion of judicial process disentitles accused persons from seeking such protection, especially in grave financial crimes involving public interest.

The Singapore High Court recognised an Indian CIRP under the UNCITRAL Model Law. The ruling affirms India’s CIRP as a ‘foreign proceeding’, clarifies COMI principles, and establishes safeguards for Singapore-based creditors, paving the way for more robust cross-border insolvency cooperation.