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Juris EagleAdvisoryArbitrationLitigation

Sectors

Infrastructure and projects

Legal work on capital projects and the resources that feed them: land acquisition and compensation, environmental clearance, statutory licensing, EPC and concession disputes, power sector regulation and mining.

A capital project has a legal timetable running alongside its construction timetable, and the two rarely stay aligned. Land has to be acquired or assembled, clearances have to be obtained and kept valid, a contractor has to be appointed through a process that can be challenged, and finance has to be drawn against milestones that assume all of the above happened on schedule. Most project disputes are, at root, disputes about who carries the cost of a delay in one of these steps.

Land and clearance

Acquisition under the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 produces two recurring proceedings: a challenge to the acquisition itself and a reference on the compensation awarded. Environmental clearance produces a third: a challenge before the National Green Tribunal, either to the grant of a clearance or to its conditions. Forest and diversion approvals add a further layer where the site requires them. A clearance that lapses, or a condition that is not complied with, stops a project as effectively as an injunction.

Procurement and the contract

Public procurement is justiciable. A tender condition, a disqualification or an award can be challenged in writ jurisdiction, and the scope of that review is narrow but real. Once the contract is signed, the EPC or concession agreement governs: variation, extension of time, liquidated damages, force majeure and termination, with disputes going to arbitration and from there to the commercial courts under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996.

Regulated output

Energy projects differ from other infrastructure in one respect: the price of the output is itself regulated. Tariff determination, change in law claims and the enforcement of a power purchase agreement are decided by the electricity regulatory commissions, with appeal to the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity. Mining adds lease conditions, allocation disputes and the royalty regime.

Industries in this sector

Infrastructure and industrial projects

Infrastructure developers, EPC contractors, public sector undertakings and project lenders work inside a mix of central and state regulation covering land acquisition, environmental law, statutory licensing and government approval, with the project timetable running throughout.

  • Land acquisition disputes and compensation proceedings
  • Environmental clearance litigation and National Green Tribunal proceedings
  • Regulatory approvals and statutory licensing
  • EPC and construction contract disputes and arbitration
  • Public procurement disputes and tender challenges
  • Writ petitions before High Courts on regulatory decisions
  • Project finance and lender-side advisory
  • Industrial licensing and factory regulatory compliance

Energy and natural resources

Power generation, renewable energy, mining and hydrocarbon operations run under some of the more complex regulatory frameworks in Indian law, spanning central and state licensing, sector regulators with their own adjudicatory powers, and environmental and forest law.

  • Power purchase agreement disputes before CERC and state commissions
  • Mining lease disputes and regulatory compliance
  • Environmental clearance litigation and National Green Tribunal proceedings
  • Renewable energy project regulatory advisory
  • Coal and mineral allocation disputes
  • Oil and gas contract disputes and arbitration
  • Forest and land diversion approvals
  • Electricity theft and enforcement proceedings

Regulators

  • Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and state environment impact assessment authorities
  • Central Electricity Regulatory Commission and state electricity regulatory commissions
  • Ministry of Coal and state mining departments
  • State industrial development and land acquisition authorities
  • State pollution control boards

Forums

  • National Green Tribunal
  • Central and state electricity regulatory commissions, and the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity
  • High Courts, in writ jurisdiction over clearances, tenders and acquisition
  • Arbitral tribunals under EPC and concession agreements
  • Commercial courts, under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996

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.

  • Contracts and procurement

    Drafting, review and negotiation of commercial contracts and procurement documentation across the supply chain.

  • 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.

  • RERA and real estate

    Advisory and representation on real estate regulatory compliance, project registration and disputes under the RERA framework.

  • Civil disputes

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

  • Projects and land

    Advisory and litigation on infrastructure project structuring, land acquisition, zoning, environmental compliance and public-private partnerships.

  • Employment

    Advisory and representation on employment disputes, disciplinary process, industrial relations and labour code compliance.

  • Taxation and fiscal

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

Counsel

Notes

Practice: Projects and land · Contracts and procurement · Civil disputes · Boardroom and corporate · Banking, SARFAESI and DRT · Insolvency · Employment · Taxation and fiscal