Introduction

The Supreme Court's recent judgement in Independent Sugar Corporation Ltd. v. Girish Sriram Juneja & Ors.^[1] has reignited the debate in respect of the timing for Competition Commission of India (“CCI”) approval for resolution plans under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (“IBC”).

The Hon’ble Supreme Court of India (“Supreme Court”) by a 2:1 majority in Independent Sugar Corporation Limited v Girish Sriram Juneja and Ors1, has held that in case of resolution plans proposing a combination (i.e., a merger or amalgamation of the entities) of a corporate debtor, the Competition Commission of India (“CCI”) must first grant the necessary approval before such Resolution Plan is placed before the Committee of Creditors (“CoC”) for it

On November 20, 2020, the CCI approved the acquisition of the (i) retail and wholesale undertaking (‘RWU’); and (ii) the logistics and warehousing undertaking (‘LWU’) of the Future Group (collectively, ‘Target Businesses’) carried out through various entities of the Future Group, by Reliance Retail Ventures Limited (‘RRVL’) and Reliance Retail and Fashion Lifestyle Limited (‘RRVL WOS’) (collectively, ‘Acquirers’) respectively.

The enactment of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (IBC) has been often cited as one of the key economic reform of the present government . Undoubtedly the new enactment resulted in large corporate entities queuing up to acquire distressed companies and their assets, put on block following initiation of IBC proceedings, thereby infusing efficiencies in the economy due to likely revivals of such companies .

The enactment of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (IBC) has been often cited as one of the key economic reform of the present government . Undoubtedly the new enactment resulted in large corporate entities queuing up to acquire distressed companies and their assets, put on block following initiation of IBC proceedings, thereby infusing efficiencies in the economy due to likely revivals of such companies .

​I. Institutional changes

Key developments in the Indian legal landscape in 2016

From the Startup India campaign launched in January 2016 to the coming into force of substantial provisions of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code in December 2016, the legal landscape in India has witnessed some crucial developments this past year. In this LawFlash, we describe briefly what we consider to be some of the key legal and regulatory developments in India in 2016.

Arbitration Act