Author: Legal Parivar

On Monday, the Supreme Court launched its five-day Special Lok Adalat aimed at resolving disputes through amicable settlements. Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud encouraged public participation in the Special Lok Adalat to resolve cases swiftly and amicably. CJI Chandrachud highlighted a past success story from a Lok Adalat, where a divorce case was resolved with both parties choosing to stay together despite earlier disputes. He noted, “In one case, a man seeking divorce and his wife seeking maintenance and child custody decided to reconcile when they came to Lok Adalat.” The Special Lok Adalat, which runs from July 29…

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is returning draft IPO papers to merchant bankers, citing inadequate due diligence or disclosure as reasons, according to Moneycontrol’s report on July 29. This move sends a strong message to the investment banking community. Among the IPOs affected are those from Garuda Construction, Jaykay Enterprises, KRN Heat Exchange, Diffusion Engineers, Shree Tirupati Balaji Agro Trading, Gretex Broking, and Stallion Fluorochemicals. Additionally, SEBI has returned the draft documents for Vishal Mega Mart and Avanse Financial Services on technical grounds. In recent months, SEBI has returned over 10 draft red herring prospectuses (DRHPs) to…

The market regulator, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), has proposed expanding the definition of “connected persons” under the SEBI Prohibition of Insider Trading Regulations (PIT Regulations) to include additional relatives. Currently, “connected persons” are defined as individuals who are likely to have access to unpublished price-sensitive information (UPSI) due to their employment or profession, and their immediate relatives, such as parents, siblings, and children. SEBI’s new proposal seeks to broaden this definition by adding more categories of relatives. In a consultation paper dated July 29, SEBI proposed amending regulation 2(1)(d) to replace the term “immediate relative” with “relative.”…

Steel products manufacturer Goodluck India reported a 22 percent increase in consolidated net profit to Rs 34.99 crore for the June 2024 quarter, up from Rs 28.59 crore in the same period last year. The company’s total income grew to Rs 917.73 crore, compared to Rs 859.05 crore in the April-June quarter of FY2023-24. Expenses also increased to Rs 869.87 crore, up from Rs 818.92 crore a year ago. Chairman M C Garg attributed the growth to sustained demand for the company’s products both domestically and internationally. To address the rising demand, particularly for high-value items, the company has been…

CSB Bank, a private sector lender, reported a net profit of Rs 113 crore for the first quarter of fiscal year 2024-25, marking a 14 percent decline from Rs 132 crore in the same period last year. The decrease in profit is attributed to a deterioration in asset quality. Total income for the bank rose to Rs 1,004 crore from Rs 803 crore a year earlier, with interest income increasing to Rs 832 crore from Rs 683 crore. The bank’s asset quality declined, with gross non-performing assets (GNPAs) rising to 1.69 percent of gross advances, up from 1.27 percent at…

Blackstone Inc. has enhanced its bid for Haldiram’s, the renowned Indian fast-food chain, signaling a significant step towards the private equity firm’s entry into India’s thriving snacks market. As part of a consortium of investors, Blackstone is expected to offer between Rs 70,000 and 78,000 crore for a 51 percent stake in Haldiram’s. The final offer will depend on the results of the due diligence process. If successful, this deal would grant Blackstone control over Haldiram’s product business, including a perpetual license. Recent resolutions have addressed some of the issues that had previously delayed the deal, such as ownership of…

BrainBees Solutions Ltd, the parent company of FirstCry, is set to list on stock exchanges on August 13, according to news report by Moneycontrol. The e-commerce giant will also launch its anchor book for the initial public offering (IPO) on August 5, with the public subscription period expected to run from August 6 to August 8. The IPO will value FirstCry at just under Rs 25,000 crore ($3 billion). This listing will make FirstCry the second new-age company from SoftBank’s portfolio to go public in August, following Ola Electric’s anticipated debut on August 9. This valuation is slightly above its…

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman made headlines with her decision to cut the gold customs duty in the Union Budget 2024, causing a dramatic drop in gold prices. The reduction led to a significant 5% decline in gold prices, erasing over Rs 10.7 lakh crore in value in just one day. This marked the sixth-largest wealth erosion ever recorded, and its effects were felt more broadly than declines in equity markets, given the higher number of households owning gold compared to those holding equities. Gold Prices on July 22 was Rs. 72,875/ per 10 Grams whereas on July 23 prices was…

On July 27, ICICI Bank announced a net profit of Rs 11,059.1 crore for the first quarter of fiscal year 2025, marking a 14.6% increase from the Rs 9,648.2 crore reported in the same period last year. This exceeded the average estimate of Rs 10,614 crore projected by seven brokerages. The bank’s net interest income for the quarter was Rs 19,552.9 crore, up 7.3% year-on-year and surpassing market expectations of Rs 19,515 crore. ICICI Bank’s gross non-performing assets (NPAs) stood at 2.15%, while net non-performing assets (NNPA) were 0.43%, slightly higher than the 0.42% reported last year. Shares of ICICI…

Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India has filed an appeal with the Joint Commissioner of State Tax, Mumbai, contesting an order issued by the Deputy Commissioner of State Tax, Mumbai. On July 27, LIC notified the exchanges that the appeal was filed against a demand for GST amounting to Rs 7,217,630,240, along with interest of Rs 7,760,961,048 and a penalty of Rs 721,871,003 for the financial year 2018-19. LIC stated, “In continuation of our previous communication dated April 30, 2024 (Ref. No. LIC/SE/2024 25/14), we inform that Life Insurance Corporation of India has filed an appeal before the Joint Commissioner…