Category: news

The Lok Sabha passed the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2022 to amend 42 laws across multiple sectors including agriculture, environment and media and publication. The aim of the Bill is to decriminalize and rationalize minor offences and reduce compliance burdens under various statutes to further trust-based governance for ease of living and doing business.

The Federal Trade Commission (‘FTC’) announced a 20-year term ‘proposed order’ prohibiting Surescripts, a health information technology company, from engaging in exclusionary conduct and executing non-compete agreement with its employees. The ‘proposed order’ was subsequent to a Federal Court ruling that found Surescripts to have a near-total monopoly in e-prescribing services, with a market share of 95%. The ‘proposed order’ will be finalized after a survey of the industry has been conducted by the FTC.

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) dismissed a case filed by a licensed Surveyor and Loss Assessor (SLA), alleging anti-competitive conduct, against Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India’s (IRDAI) in connivance with the Indian Institute of Insurance Surveyors and Loss Assessors (IIISLA). IRDAI mandated membership with the IIISLA as an eligibility criterion for grant of renewal of SLA’s license which, as alleged, resulted in creating a monopoly in favour of IIISLA. However, the CCI observed that IRDAI is a statutory body created under the IRDAI Act, 1999 and IIISLA is a body promoted by IRDAI in the discharge of its functions under Section 14(2)(k) of the IRDAI Act. Thus, held that decision being regulatory in nature, the case falls outside the jurisdiction of the CCI.

The Supreme Court (SC) in a Special Leave Petition (SLP), challenging an order of National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) passed in its appellate jurisdiction, has held that a remedy to appeal before the SC is only available for the orders passed by the NCDRC in its original jurisdiction. The SC further observed that when the party aggrieved has alternative remedy to go before the High Court, invoking its writ or supervisory jurisdiction, the SC should not entertain petition seeking special leave thereby short-circuit the legal procedure prescribed.

The Federal Trade Commission in the United States has withdrawn its case filed before a US District Court challenging the proposed multi-billion dollar acquisition of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft Corporation over competition concerns. The FTC’s request for the grant of preliminary injunction on the acquisition was denied by the Court, leading the FTC to withdraw its administrative challenge.

The South Korean competition regulator, Fair Trade Commission, imposed a fine of $31.9 million on a network of 32 pharmaceutical firms for market collusion in the production, distribution and wholesale of vaccines. The companies were involved in collusive practices in a total of 170 vaccine procurement bids carried out by the Public Procurement Service in the national immunization program, which were worth around 700 billion Won in total.

Alfaview, a German company, filed an antitrust complaint before the European Commission against Microsoft Corporation over the bundling of Microsoft Teams with Office, alleging that the bundling gives Microsoft an unfair advantage over its competitors. While Microsoft has proposed to lower the price of Office without including Teams, Alfaview is concerned that the remedy proposed is insufficient and has urged the European Commission to launch a formal investigation into the conduct of Microsoft.

The Calcutta High Court dismissed the appeal filed by the State of West Bengal, holding that the State must compensate the petitioners for utilizing their land without paying them any compensation, or following due process of law, even if there is a delay of more than 40 years in approaching the Courts for compensation. It also dismissed the argument that greater financial burden will be cast upon the State if compensation is paid as per the present Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 when the land was acquired in 1972-73, since the State “should on its own ensure that due compensation is paid..”

The Supreme Court (SC), while dealing with a case relating to settlement of electricity charges dues, involving a company undergoing liquidation under Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (IBC), has held that the creditors under IBC are entitled to have their debts repaid first, before dues payable to the State or the Central governments are settled. The SC, while emphasizing on ‘waterfall mechanism’ given under Section 53 of IBC, observed that the dues payable to creditors under the IBC stand on a higher footing than the electricity dues payable under the Electricity Act, 2003.

The Supreme Court (SC) was dealing with an appeal filed against the Madras High Court’s (Mad. HC) order in which the Mad. HC has convicted the accused, by relying on school transfer certificate while determining the age of the victim, for the offences under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO Act). The SC observed such reliance to be erroneous especially considering Section 94(2) of Juvenile Justice Act, 2015 (JJ Act), which does not set out school transfer certificate as a valid evidence for the process of determining the age of the victim. Further, in absence of documents as prescribed under the JJ Act, the prosecution has to prove the age of the victim through acceptable medical tests/examination as per Section 94(2)(iii) of the JJ Act.