Category: news

The Delhi High Court (DHC) dismissing a petition, filed for transfer of a case, observed that mere apprehensions of prosecutrix cannot lead to the transfer of a rape case from a male judge to a special Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO) Court presided over by a lady judge, especially when no charge(s) has been levelled under POCSO. The DHC noted that in absence of any directions (judicial or administrative) for a carte blanche mandate; a transfer may potentially create difficulties in administration of justice, allocation and preservation of jurisdictions.

Bundeskartellamt, the competition regulator in Germany, noted that “Apple has an economic position of power across markets which gives rise to a scope of action that is not sufficiently controlled by competition” and decided that Apple Inc. is an undertaking of paramount significance for competition across markets within the meaning of Section 19A of the German Competition Act. This designation subjects Apple to special abuse control rules in Germany by the Bundeskartellamt.

The Bombay High Court dismissed an interim relief application filed by PhonePe Private Ltd. alleging infringement of its trademark “PhonePe” by Resilient Innovation’s proposed “postpe”. It noted that in an earlier plea before the Delhi High Court alleging infringement of its trademark by “BharatPe,” PhonePe had asserted that the term “Pe” denotes to “pay” and in the present matter it claims that “Pe” means “on” when used as a colloquial term in Hindi. The Bombay High Court observed that PhonePe is making contrary pleas and this disentitles it from the grant of interim relief.

The European Commission (EC) has pushed for an in-depth investigation into the proposed creation of Joint Venture (JV) by Orange S.A. (Orange) and MasMovil Ibercom S.A. (MasMovil). Orange and MasMovil are the second and fourth largest telecom operators, respectively, at retail and wholesale level for fixed broadband and mobile services in Spain. Apart from them, there are only two other mobile network operators active in Spain. The EC’s preliminary concerns are – that they are close competitors and that the transaction would reduce the number of network operators in Spain; thus could lead to higher prices and lower quality of telecom services.

The Supreme Court (SC) refused to entertain a petition, by 14 political parties, against the misuse of powers, to investigation and arrest, by the Central Investigation Agencies like CBI, ED etc., at the behest of Central Government. The Petitioners had sought application of ‘triple test’ with regards to arrest and remand. The SC refrained itself from issuing guidelines stating that “laying down general guidelines de hors the facts of the case cannot be done. If an individual comes to us, then the law can be laid down as highest court of the country.”

The Competition (Amendment) Bill, 2023 (‘Bill’) received assent from the Rajya Sabha. The Bill was passed by the Lok Sabha on 29.03.2023. The Bill has introduced several changes into the current legislation including, introduction of deal-value thresholds to regulate mergers and acquisitions, reduction in timeline for the CCI to approve mergers transactions from 210 days to 150 days & the introduction of settlement & commitment mechanism for faster resolution of antitrust cases.

The Supreme Court (SC) lifted the telecast ban on Malayalam news channel MediaOne, imposed by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (IB). The SC took note that the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has cited reasons of national security while submitting its response in a “sealed cover” before the Kerala High Court (KHC). The SC observed that the sealed cover procedure should be avoided if less restrictive means are available & can be adopted. The SC overturned the decision of KHC, upholding the ban by IB, stating “The action of IB while by denying security clearance to a media channel on the basis of the views which the channel is constitutionally entitled to hold produces a chilling effect on free speech & particularly on press freedom.”

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has issued an order mandating Illumina, a leading producer of next-generation sequencing platforms, to divest GRAIL, which provides a Multi-Cancer Early Detection test (MCED). The next-generation sequencing platforms are used in analyzing genetic material from blood samples for MCED tests. According to the FTC, this acquisition would have a negative effect on prices, options and competition for MCED tests in the United States.

The Karnataka High Court (KHC) rejecting a bail plea, of a accused charged under Sec. 4 & 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO Act), stated that minor girl’s consent cannot be taken as a gospel truth. The main contention of the accused was that the victim, minor girl, is a consenting party & thus, there is absence of element of force. However, the KHC said “taking note of the object sought to be achieved by enacting POCSO Act, the Court is of considered opinion that the grounds urged in the petition are hardly sufficient” to grant him bail.

The Delhi High Court (DHC) sets aside the order of the Revenue Department that withheld the refund of around Rs. 33 Crore due to the Assessee, OYO Hotels, after refund intimation had been received, because the Assessee was selected for scrutiny assessment and a notice had been issued by the Assessing Officer (AO). The Court noted that the AO failed to provide compelling reasons as to why releasing the refund will adversely affect the interest of the Revenue and observed that mere issuance of scrutiny notice is not a sufficient ground to withhold the refund under the Income Tax Act, 1961.