India: Contracts and Commercial Law

The Hon’ble Bombay High Court (“High Court”) in its judgment dated 20.07.2026 in Reliance Asset Reconstruction Co. Ltd. vs. Hiroo Hotchand Advani (Commercial Appeal (L) Nos. 14725 and 15441 of 2026), provided much needed clarity on a pertinent issue, being, whether a party aggrieved by an executing court's order in arbitration proceedings can appeal that order under the Commercial Courts Act, 2015 (“CCA”), or whether the right of appeal depends on the order fitting within the narrow categories carved out under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (“Arbitration Act”).

An analysis of why formal entry in a company’s register of members is not always decisive for maintaining oppression and mismanagement proceedings, with reference to the Companies Act 1956, the Companies Act 2013 and recent Supreme Court precedent.

In this episode, Neha discusses Vineet Pandey v. State of Uttar Pradesh & Ors. and a connected petition before the Allahabad High Court, Lucknow Bench.

The Maharashtra Stamp (Fourth Amendment) Act, 2026 introduces a new dedicated stamp duty framework for financial and bank guarantees in Schedule I of the Maharashtra Stamp Act, 1958. This amendment establishes differentiated duty rates based on guarantee value and type, addressing long-standing ambiguities in how such instruments were previously taxed under generic security bond provisions. The reform has significant implications for banks, NBFCs, and entities dealing with government contracts, though quest

For decades, the route from private enterprise to the public markets in India has followed a familiar script: an initial public offering, backed by diligence and disclosure, tested through price discovery and completed through admission to trading. That remains the conventional path, and for businesses seeking substantial primary capital and independent price discovery, it is often the right one but it is not the only one.

A cheque is supposed to offer something close to certainty in a commercial transaction. When a cheque is issued, the recipient ordinarily expects that it will be honoured when presented. A dishonoured cheque, therefore, is not merely a failed payment; it can have wider consequences for the credibility and discipline of commercial dealings.

In 2008, Daiichi Sankyo paid USD 4.6 billion for control of Ranbaxy. Five years later, Ranbaxy's US subsidiary pleaded guilty to seven federal felony counts and paid USD 500 million; a decade later, Daiichi was still in the Indian courts enforcing an arbitral award against the sellers.

A connected-vehicle, an automobile equipped with internet access, onboard sensors, and telematics systems that enable it to continuously share and receive data with cloud platforms, external devices, road infrastructure, or other vehicles, risk’s often becomes visible when a new platform reaches homologation, i.e., official regulatory approval, and an auditor asks for evidence that the manufacturer cannot produce.

With a view to mitigate the impact of external economic headwinds, provide stability to the domestic economy and support key sectors of strategic importance, the Government has introduced the Taxation and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026 (‘the Bill’) [in supersession of the earlier Income Tax (Amendment) Ordinance, 2026]. The Bill, as passed by the Lok Sabha on 6.08.2026, proposes amendments, inter-alia, to the Income-tax Act, 2025 (‘2025 Act’).