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Juris EagleAdvisoryArbitrationLitigation

Sectors

Financial services

Legal work for lenders, listed companies, funds and financial technology businesses: SARFAESI and DRT enforcement, insolvency, SEBI proceedings, AIF and FEMA compliance, and the RBI licensing regimes that govern payments and digital lending.

Financial services is the sector in which the legal timetable is most explicit. SARFAESI sets a period for a notice and a further period for possession; the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code sets an outer limit for resolution; SEBI's regulations set the days within which a disclosure must be made. The consequence of missing a date is usually not a penalty but the loss of a remedy, and that is what makes sequence the central question in most matters here.

Enforcement and recovery

A secured creditor generally has three routes over the same debt: enforcement under the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act, 2002, recovery before the Debt Recovery Tribunal, and initiation under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016. They do not run neutrally alongside each other. Once a corporate insolvency resolution process is admitted, the moratorium under section 14 stops the others. From the borrower's side, the application under section 17 of the SARFAESI Act is the principal check on enforcement, and it is time-bound.

Regulated conduct

SEBI and RBI proceedings begin with a notice that sets out an allegation and a period to answer. What the answer can establish depends on records kept in the ordinary course: trading records, disclosure files, board minutes, inspection responses, grievance logs. Appeals from SEBI lie to the Securities Appellate Tribunal; action by the Reserve Bank is challenged, where it is challenged, in writ jurisdiction.

Investment and exit

Fund documentation is drafted against the AIF Regulations and, where foreign capital is involved, against the FEMA pricing, reporting and repatriation rules. Disputes almost always arise at exit: whether a drag-along was validly exercised, whether an anti-dilution adjustment was correctly computed, whether a put option is enforceable against a resident, and whether the remedy sought is contractual or lies under the oppression and mismanagement provisions of the Companies Act, 2013.

Industries in this sector

Banking and financial institutions

Banks, non-banking financial companies, financial creditors and borrowers meet across the lifecycle of a stressed account: recovery strategy before litigation, enforcement under the SARFAESI Act, recovery before the Debt Recovery Tribunal, and resolution under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.

A linked capability has a note behind it.

  • SARFAESI enforcement and section 17 applications
  • NPA resolution and one-time settlement negotiation
  • Proceedings before the NCLT under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code
  • DRT suits and execution of recovery certificates
  • Bank guarantee and letter of credit disputes
  • RBI regulatory compliance
  • Loan restructuring and debt realignment
  • Fraud investigation support and applications under section 66 of the Code

Capital markets and securities

Listed companies, intermediaries, brokers, investment advisers and investors operate under the SEBI Act and the regulations made under it, with enforcement beginning in a show-cause notice and appeal lying to the Securities Appellate Tribunal.

  • SEBI enforcement proceedings and show-cause notices
  • Insider trading investigations and appeals to the Securities Appellate Tribunal
  • Defence of securities fraud and market manipulation proceedings
  • Listing compliance and LODR obligations
  • Takeover Code and open offer questions
  • Delisting proceedings and exemption applications
  • Investor grievance and arbitration proceedings
  • Disclosure obligations and continuous listing compliance

Private equity and investment funds

Funds, family offices and portfolio companies work under the SEBI (Alternative Investment Funds) Regulations, 2012 and the FEMA framework, and the disputes that follow an investment are usually about the exit terms rather than the entry terms.

  • AIF registration and SEBI regulatory compliance
  • FEMA and RBI approvals for foreign investment
  • Investment agreement structuring and negotiation
  • Shareholder disputes and enforcement of exit rights
  • Drag-along, tag-along and anti-dilution disputes
  • Portfolio company governance and board questions
  • Fund restructuring and wind-down
  • Cross-border investment and repatriation compliance

Financial technology and payments

Payment aggregators, digital lenders, prepaid instrument issuers and account aggregators hold RBI authorisations that carry continuing conditions, and enforcement in this space typically begins with an inspection finding.

  • Payment aggregator and payment gateway licensing
  • Digital lending compliance and default loss guarantee arrangements
  • Account aggregator framework compliance
  • NBFC licensing and RBI regulatory compliance
  • UPI and NPCI governance and dispute resolution
  • Prepaid payment instrument regulatory compliance
  • Cross-border fintech investment and FEMA compliance
  • Defence of RBI inspection and show-cause proceedings

Regulators

  • Reserve Bank of India
  • Securities and Exchange Board of India
  • National Payments Corporation of India
  • Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India
  • Enforcement Directorate, in FEMA and PMLA proceedings

Forums

  • Debt Recovery Tribunals and Debt Recovery Appellate Tribunals
  • National Company Law Tribunal and National Company Law Appellate Tribunal
  • Securities Appellate Tribunal
  • High Courts, in writ jurisdiction over regulatory action
  • Adjudicating authority under the Prevention of Money-laundering Act, 2002

Practice areas that apply

  • Boardroom and corporate

    Standing legal advisory to boards and promoters on governance, contract oversight, regulatory compliance and outsourced in-house legal support.

  • Transaction advisory

    Structuring, documentation and due diligence for acquisitions, joint ventures and restructuring transactions under Indian law.

  • Capital markets

    Advisory on public and private capital raising, listing compliance and continuing obligations under Indian securities law.

  • Banking, SARFAESI and DRT

    Representation in debt recovery, SARFAESI enforcement and regulatory banking matters before tribunals and financial regulators.

  • Insolvency

    Advisory and representation in corporate insolvency resolution, liquidation and restructuring proceedings under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.

  • Civil disputes

    Representation in commercial suits, shareholder disputes and civil litigation before trial, commercial and appellate courts.

  • PMLA

    Advisory and defence in money laundering investigations and proceedings before the Enforcement Directorate and PMLA authorities.

  • Technology, data and product

    Advisory on data protection, technology contracting and product compliance obligations for technology-driven businesses.

  • Taxation and fiscal

    Advisory and litigation on goods and services tax, direct tax and indirect tax disputes before departmental and appellate forums.

  • White-collar and cyber defence

    Defence and advisory in cybercrime, digital evidence and corporate regulatory offence proceedings before investigating and prosecuting authorities.

Counsel

  • Adv. Adithya Karthik K

    BBA, MBA, LL.B., LL.M. (Corporate & Commercial Law), PGD IP Law

    Transactions, Capital Markets & Regulatory

  • Adv. Harsha Swaroop P

    B.E., LL.B., LL.M. (Corporate & Commercial Law)

    Corporate, Projects & Regulatory

Notes

Practice: Banking, SARFAESI and DRT · Insolvency · Capital markets · Transaction advisory · PMLA · White-collar and cyber defence · Boardroom and corporate · Civil disputes