ANNUAL NLSIR SYMPOSIA
The National Law of India Review (NLSIR) Symposium is the flagship event of the Student Advocate Committee which seeks to provide a platform for a discourse on topical legal issues. It is an opportunity to ensure that the recent developments in an emerging area of law, their impact and the theoretical and practical ramifications of an ongoing legal controversy are discussed.
The previous editions of the NLSIR Symposium have witnessed insightful discussions from leading practitioners and academics on contemporary issues in a wide array of subjects ranging from intellectual property rights and arbitration to corporate governance and taxation. As a result, the Annual NLSIR Symposium has gradually earned the reputation of being a unique forum for the consideration of contemporary legal developments from a practitioner’s perspective. In the words of Hon’ble Dr Justice A. R. Lakshmanan, the Symposium has ensured that “the wisdom of today’s intellectual powerhouses is available for the consumption of posterity”.
The discussions from the past editions of our symposiums can be found in our themed volumes, which is also the second volume of the NLSIR every year. These can be found here.
The Second Session sought to locate the various trends of reservations in Indian ‘Policies and Precedents’. The deliberations commenced with an analysis of the Supreme Court’s role in the practice and implementation of reservations. They evolved into the governmental commissions that ultimately realise reservation, and the rationale employed by the government to determine whether a community must be reserved for, including the methodological and empirical approach followed to justify reservations. It closed with a discussion on the role of the peoples’ movements in various regions of the country, and their impact on expanding the debate and the delimitations of reservations. The Final Session, on ‘Deepening and Widening Affirmative Justice’, sought to address the way forward of India’s tryst with reservations. It addressed concerns on the effectiveness of entry-level affirmative action, ameliorating post-entry integration mechanisms, to comprehend questions of deepening reservations. Thereafter, the session deliberated ways to expand the recognised markers of discrimination in India, to include women and sexual minorities, among others. The Session closed with a discussion on whether the quota-based reservations has outlived its utility, and it was time for India to reconceptualize its delivery of affirmative action.
PANEL I: RESERVATIONS: RETHINKING ROOTS IN CONSTITUTIONALISM
• Dr. Anand Teltumdbe, Professor, Goa Institute of Management, and Civil Rights Activist
• Dr. Sudhir Krishnaswamy, Vice-Chancellor, National Law School of India University, and co-founder of the Centre for Law and Policy Research.
• Prof. N. Sukumar, Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Delhi
• Dr. Sumit Baudh, Associate Professor and Executive Director, Centre on Public Law and Jurisprudence, Jindal Global University.
PANEL II: MAPPING THE RESERVATIONS LANDSCAPE: POLICIES AND PRECEDENTS
• Mr. D. Shyam Babu, Senior Fellow, Centre for Policy Research.
• Dr. Anup Surendranath, Executive Director, Project 39A, and Professor, National Law University, Delhi
• Ms. Kiruba Munusamy, Advocate, Supreme Court of India
PANEL III: DEEPENING AND WIDENING AFFIRMATIVE JUSTICE
• Dr. Amitabh Kundu, Distinguished Fellow at the Research and Information System for Developing Countries (New Delhi), and former Dean of the School of Social Sciences at Jawaharlal Nehru University.
• Dr. Ajay Gudavarthy, Professor, Centre for Political Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University.
• Ms. Jayna Kothari, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India, and co-founder of the Centre for Law and Policy Research
• Dr. Gurpreet Mahajan, Professor, Centre for Political Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University
KEYNOTE ADDRESS:
Hon’ble (Retd.) Justice S. Rajendra Babu, Former Chief Justice of India and Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission
PANEL I: INDIA’S MIGRATION POLICY: INSTITUTIONALIZED STIGMA?
• Mr. Gurucharan Gollerkeri, Director, Public Affairs Centre, Bangalore.
• Ms. Hamsa Vijayaraghavan, Legal Director, Migration and Asylum Project.
• Ms. Madhurima Dhanuka, Coordinator, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative.
• Ms. Seeta Sharma, Technical Officer, EU-India CAMM Project, International Labour Organisation
PANEL II: ON SHIFTING SANDS: INDIA’S REFUGEES AND THE WAY FORWARD
• Dr. Ashwani Kumar, Senior Advocate, Former Union Minister of Law and Justice.
• Mr. Saurabh Bhattacharjee, Assistant Professor, National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata.
• Dr. Srinivas Burra, Associate Professor, South Asian University.
• Mr. Prashant Bhushan, Advocate in Mohammad Salimullah v. Union of India (Supreme Court of India).
• Ms. Roshni Shanker, Founder, the Migration and Asylum Project.
• Ms. Cheryl D’souza, Advocate in Mohammad Salimullah v. Union of India (Supreme Court of India).
PANEL III: COURTING ISSUES OF CITIZENSHIP
• Mr. Alok Prasanna Kumar, Senior Resident Fellow, Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy.
• Mr. Arijit Sen, Program Manager, Amnesty International India.
• Ms. Leah Verghese, Senior Campaigner & Researcher, Amnesty International India.
The Third Session traced the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process, and its various attempts to breakaway from the pre-IBC models of debt restructuring, including its creditor-in-control model, and stricter check on timelines for CIRP. At the same time, the panelists also brought to the fore, concerns of judicial restraint and discipline, as potential hurdles in the efficiency of the process. The Closing Session saw an exchange on the concerns and possible solutions to effecting Cross-Border Insolvency, especially where assets of an Indian creditor are located in a foreign jurisdiction. While subscribing to the UNCITRAL Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency seemed to have scholarly backing, the panelists debated the equivocal provisions of the Model Law itself, which may herald potential litigation and delays, should India choose this route.
KEYNOTE ADDRESS:
Mr. A.K. Mishra, Technical member of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT)
Ms. Pooja Mahajan, Partner in Chandhiok & Associates
PANEL I: CONFRONTING THE NPA CRISIS: MAPPING THE IBC AND LEGISLATIONS PRIOR TO IT
• Ms. Aparna Ravi - Counsel, Samvad Partners; Member, Banking Law Reforms Committee (Constituted by the Ministry of Finance).
• Mr. Abhilekh Verma - Senior Partner, Kochhar & Co.; Formerly, Partner at Khaitan & Company.
• Mr. Rajeev Dewal - Founder Partner, Dewal & Company; Formerly served as Head (Legal) and In-house Counsel to various banks such as Standard Chartered, RBL Bank, IDBI, Barclays Bank and ING Bank.
• Mr. C.K. Nandakumar - Advocate, High Court of Karnataka; Founder, C.K. Nandakumar & Associates.
• Moderator: Mr. Vishesh Arora, Associate, Khaitan & Company.
PANEL II: IMPLEMENTING THE IBC: CHALLENGES IN BUILDING WHEREWITHAL
• Dr Mamta Suri, Executive Director, Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India.
• Mr S Raghunathan, Executive Director & CFO, National E-Governance Services Limited.
• Mr Sanjay Bhatt, Joint Managing Partner, Kesar Dass B & Associates
• Ms Pooja Mahajan, Partner, Chandiok & Associates
• Mr Dhananjay Kumar, Partner, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas
• Ms Bhargavi Zaveri, Senior Associate, Finance Research Group, Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research
• Moderator: Mr Raghuram Cadambi, Advocate, Karnataka High Court
PANEL III: CORPORATE INSOLVENCY: ITS OPERATION AND EMERGING PROBLEMS
• Mr. Satwinder Singh, Partner, Vaish Associates
• Anshul Jain, Partner, Luthra & Luthra
• Ms. Mahima Singh, Senior Associate, Chandhiok & Associates
• Gaurav Gupte: Partner, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas; Specialising in Corporate Restructuring and Insolvency.
• Navin Pahwa: Senior Advocate, Practicing before NCLT Ahmedabad bench.
• Arjun Gupta: Head, Insolvency Practice at Nishith Desai Associates.
• Moderator: Mr. Raghuram Cadambi, Advocate, Karnataka High Court
PANEL IV: CROSS-BORDER INSOLVENCY: IMPACT ON FOREIGN CREDITORS AND ASSET RECONSTRUCTION COMPANIES (ARCS)
• Mr. Aditya Patel (Moderator), Associate, Keystone Partners
• Mr. Ran Chakrabarti, Partner, IndusLaw
• Vivek Iyer: Partner, Financial Risk Services, PwC; Former Director, Deloitte.
• Mr. Anant Merathia, Founder, Anant Merathia and Associates, Member, ASEAN PLUS Group
KEYNOTE ADDRESS:
Ashish Chandra, General Counsel, Snapdeal
PANEL I: BUSINESS MODELS AND REGULATION OF FOREIGN INVESTMENT
• Chetan Nagendra, Partner, AZB & Partners
• Ashwini V, Partner, SAMVĀD: Partners
• Suhaan Mukerji, Partner, PLR Chambers
PANEL II: INDIRECT TAXATION: CHALLENGES AND CONCERNS
• Samsuddha Majumder, Partner, Trilegal
• Rajesh Simhan, Partner, Nishith Dessai Associates
• Pramod Jain, Head-Taxation, Flipkart
• DP Nagendra Kumar, Principal Commissioner of Customs and Excise, Bangalore
• Moderator: Mr. Nigam Nuggehalli, Professor, Azim Premji University
PANEL III: INTERPLAY BETWEEN E-COMMERCE AND COMPETITION LAW
• Nisha Kaur Uberoi, Partner, AZB & Partners
• Ramji Srinivasan, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court
• Manas Kumar Chaudhuri, Partner, Khaitan & Co
• Smita Jhingran, Secretary, Competition Commission of India
PANEL IV: LIABILITY REGIMES: ENSURING COMPLIANCE
• Pranav Mehra, Snapdeal
• Pratibha Singh, Senior Advocate
• Vidushi Marda, The Centre for Internet and Society
• Arun Prabhu, Partner, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas
• Moderator: Mr. Arun Binoy Mattamana, Hewlett Packard Enterprise
PANEL I: CONSTITUTIONAL CHALLENGES AND CONCERNS
• Mr. N. Venkataraman, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India
• Mr. Sudhir Krishnaswamy, Faculty, Azim Premji University
• Mr. Alok Prasanna, Senior Research Fellow, Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy
PANEL II: UNDERSTANDING THE DUAL GST SYSTEM
• Dr. Govinda Rao, Member, 14th Finance Commission.
• Ms. Jayshree Parthasarathy, C.A., BMR & Associates LLP.
• Mr. V. Raghuraman, Advocate
• Moderator: Mr. Alok Prasanna, Senior Research Fellow, Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy
PANEL III: SESSION III: INTEGRATED GOODS AND SERVICES TAX (IGST)
• Mr. Upendra Gupta, Commissioner CBEC
• Mr. P.V. Srinivasan, PVS Advisors
• Moderator: Mr. Karthik Ranganathan, Guest Faculty, NLSIU
PANEL IV: PROCEDURAL HURDLES AND CONCERNS IN IMPLEMENTING GST
• Mr Arbind Modi, Joint Secretary of Tax Policy & Legislation, Ministry of Finance, Government of India
• Mr Karthik Sundaram, Associate Partner, Economic Laws Practice
• Mr Madhukar Hiregange, Founder, Hiregange and Associates
• Mr TR Venkateswaran, Indirect Tax Director, PwC
SESSION I: SECTION 3 AND DETERMINING ANTI-COMPETITIVE AGREEMENTS
• Dr. K.D. Singh, Deputy Director (Law), CCI
• Mr. Arjun Krishnan, Advocate, Supreme Court of India
• Prof. Rahul Singh, Assistant Professor, NLSIU Bangalore
SESSION II: THE ABUSIVE CONDUCT OF DOMINANT ENTERPRISES
• Mr. P.K. Singh, Director (Law), Competition Commission of India
• Mr. H.S. "Bobby" Chandhoke, Senior Partner, Luthra & Luthra Law Offices
• Mr Karan Singh Chandioke, Practice Head, Competition and Dispute Resolution, Chandhiok and Associates
SESSION III: MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS: CLEARING THE CCI HURDLE AND THE COMPETITION BETWEEN REGULATORS
• Mr. Murali Neelkantan, Amicus, Formerly Global General Counsel, Cipla
• Mr. Rajat Sethi, Partner, S&R Associates
• Ms Vaishali Sharma, Proprietor, Agram Legal Consultants
SESSION IV: THE INTERFACE OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS AND COMPETITION LAW
• Mr. J Sai Deepak, Senior Associate, Litigation Team, Sai Krishna & Associates
• Dr S.K. Murthy, Patent Counsel, Intel India
• Mr. Paramjeet Berwal, Advocate, Supreme Court of India
SESSION I: SECURING LIBERTY FROM THE STATE – REDEFINING CRIMINAL THRESHOLDS IN LAW
• Justice Bilal Nazki, Retd. Chief Justice, Orissa High Court
• Mr. Yug Mohit Chaudhry, Advocate, Bombay High Court
• Mr. Mrinal Satish, Associate Professor, National Law University, Delhi
• Mr. Bharat Karnad, Senior Fellow, National Security Studies, at the Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi
SESSION II: INTRUSIVE INTELLIGENCE – SURVEILLANCE PROGRAMS AND PRIVACY IN INDIA
• Mr. Shyam Divan, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India
• Ms. Aparna Chandra, Assistant Professor, National Law University Delhi
• Ms. Chinmayi Arun, Assistant Professor, National Law University Delhi
• Mr. Gautam Bhatia, LL.M. Candidate, Yale law School
SESSION III: BEYOND BORDERS – EXTRADITION, ASYLUM AND CONCERNS OF STATE SECURITY
• Mr. Michael Sanderson, Director, LLM in International Human Rights Law, University of Exeter
• Mr. Bhairav Acharya, Advocate, Delhi High Court
• Dr. Luther Rangreji, Assistant Professor, South Asian University
• Ms. Roshini Shanker, Refugee Status Determination Officer, United Nations High Commission for Refugees
• Ms. Yamini Pande, Associate Protection Officer, United Nations High Commission for Refugees
• Mr. Douglas McDonald, Researcher, Craddock Murray Neumann Lawyers
SESSION I: THE IMPLICATION OF BALCO AND ARBITRATION PRACTICE
• Justice Jayasimha Babu, Former Judge, Karnataka High Court and Madras High Court
• Mr. Dharmendra Rautray, Partner, Kachawa and Partners
• Ms Anuradha Lall, Partner, PSA Legal
• Mr. Anirudh Krishnan, Advocate, Madras High Court
SESSION II: REVISITING THE EXPANSIVE ROLE OF THE INDIAN JUDICIARY
• Justice SU Kamdar, Former Judge, Bombay High Court
• Mr. Ashwin Shanker, Advocate, Bombay High Court
• Mr. Airudh Wadhwa, Advocate, Delhi High Court
• Ms. Poornima Hatti, Partner, Samvad Partners
• Mr. Pramod Nair, Partner, JSA
SESSION III: DETERMINING THE GOVERNING LAW OF THE ARBITRATION AGREEMENT- ARSANOVIA AND BEYOND
• Mr. Shreyas Jaisimha, Partner, AZB & Partners
• Mr. Mihir Naniwadekar, Advocate, Bombay High Court
• Mr. Ameya Gokhale, Principal Associate, Khaitan and Co.
SESSION IV: THE WAY FORWARD: A CALL FOR INSTITUTIONAL ARBITRATION?
• Justice KL Manjunath, Judge, Karnataka High Court and President, Karnataka High Court Arbitration Centre
• Mr. Ajay Thomas, Registrar, LCIA India
• Mr. Vivekananda, Head (South Asia) & Counsel, SIAC
SESSION I: THE COMPETITION REGIME GOVERNING TRANSACTIONS OF BUSINESS IN COMBINATIONS
• Mr. Dharmendra Kumar, Former Chairman, Competition Commission of India
• Mr. Anurag Goel, Member, Competition Commission of India
• Mr. Rajat Sethi, Partner, S&R Associates
• Mr MM Sharma, Head - Competition Law Practice, Vaish Associates
• Mr. Samir Gandhi, Partner, Economic Laws Practice
• Mr. John Thaliath, General Counsel, Tyco Electronics
SESSION II: TAKEOVER REGULATION IN INDIA: LIBERALISATION WITH CAUTION
• Mr. Arvindh Pandian, Senior Advocate & Additional Advocate General of Tamil Nadu
• Mr. V. Umakanth, Assistant Professor, National University of Singapore
• Mr.Sandip Bhagat, Partner, S&R Associates
• Mr. Rohitashwa Prasad, Partner, J. Sagar Associates
SESSION III: CROSS-BORDER MERGERS AND INDIA’S TAXATION REGIME
• Mr. Mohan Parasaran, Additional Solicitor General of India
• Mr. Nisith Desai, Partner, Nishith Desai Associates
• Mr. Ajay Vohra, Managing Partner, Vaish Associates
• Mr. Satwinder Singh, Partner, Vaish Associates
• Mr. K Swaminathan, Director – Tax Practice, Deloitte Haskins and Sells
SESSION IV: THE COMPANIES BILL, 2011: INDIAN COMPANY LAW AT THE CROSS-ROADS
• Justice V Ramasubramaniam, Judge, Madras High Court
• Mr. Uday Holla, Senior Counsel, Karnataka High Court
• Mr. Vivek Reddy, Advocate, Andhra Pradesh High Court
SESSION I: GAAR
• Mr. Nishith Desai, Managing Partner, Nishith Desai Associates.
• Mr. Swaminathan K, Former Director, Global Business Tax, Deloitte India.
• Mr. Ravishankar Raghavan, Tax Counsel, Majumdar & Partners.
• Mr. Sunil Jain, Partner, J Sagar & Associates.
SESSION II: TAXATION OF E- COMMERCE
• Mr. Padamchand Khincha, Partner, HC Khincha & Co.
• Mr. S Ananthanarayanan, Deloitte Haskins & Sells LLP.
• Ms. Shreya Rao, Partner, AZB & Partners.
• Mr. Mihir Naniwadekar, Advocate, Bombay High Court.
SESSION III: GST AND INTERSTATE TAXATION
• Mr. Ananth Padmanabhan, Advocate, Madras High Court
• Mr. K Vaitheeswaran, K Vaitheeswaran & Co.
• Ms. Jayashree Parthasarathy, Partner, Ernst & Young LLP.
• Mr. Naveen Kumar, Advocate, Karnataka High Court.
SESSION IV: DIRECT TAX CODE AND CONCLUDING SESSION
• Justice Jayasimha Babu, Former judge of the Karnataka High Court and Madras High Court.
• Mr. Aseem Chawla, Partner, ASC Legal.
• Mr. Swaminathan K, Former Director, Global Business Tax, Deloitte India.
• Mr. Rupesh Jain, Partner BMR Advisors
• Sunil Jain, Partner, J Sagar & Associates.
• Mr. Subramanian Krishnamani, Senior Director, Deloitte Haskins & Sells.
SESSION I: THE CORPORATE VEIL AND TAX PLANNING
• Ms. Bijal Ajinkya, Partner, Direct Tax, Private Client and Investment Funds Practice Group, Khaitan & Co.
• Mr. Padamchand Khincha, Partner, HC Khincha & Co.
• Mr. Udaya Holla, Former Advocate General of Karnataka.
• Mr. Sanjit Rajayer, Former Senior Legal Manager at ITC Limited, and JD student at Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa.
SESSION II: ROLE OF THE INDEPENDENT DIRECTOR AND THE STATUTORY AUDITOR IN MODERN CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
• Mr. V Umakanth, Associate Professor, National University of Singapore.
• Mr. Somashekhar Sundaresan, Independent legal counsel with focus on company law, competition law, securities law, and investment law.
• Prof. Sandeep Parekh, Managing Partner, Finsec Law Advisors.
PAPER PRESENTATION:
• Ms. Priyoma Majumdar, Head of Legal, Pharmeasy, and Ms. Sadapurna Mukherjee, Partner, WM Law Chambers.
SESSION III: COMPANY ADJUDICATION AND TRIBUNALISATION OF JUSTICE
• Mr. Vivek Reddy, Advocate, Supreme Court of India.
• Ms. Kristin van Zwieten, Associate Professor of Law and Finance, University of Oxford.
• Mr. Aditya Sondhi, Senior Advocate, Karnataka High Court.
• Mr. Nathan Rehn, Former Assistant Professor, Jindal Global Law School
• Mr. Ami Galani, Vice President, Business Development, DICK’s Sporting Goods.
SESSION IV: THE ROAD AHEAD FOR INDIAN CORPORATE AND COMMERCIAL LAW
• Mr. T P Ostwal, Managing Partner, TP Ostwal & Associates LLP.
• Mr. Siddharth Raja, Partner, Saakshya Law.
• Mr. Sandip Bhagat, Partner, S & R Associates.
• Mr. Shishir Vayttaden, Partner, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas.
SESSION I: THE EXPANSIVE ROLE OF THE INDIAN JUDICIARY AND ITS IMPLICATIONS
• Mr. Gourab Banerji, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India and Overseas Associate, Essex Court Chambers, London.
• Mr. Udaya Holla, Former Advocate General of Karnataka.
• Mr. Hiroo Advani, Managing Partner, Advani Co.
• Mr. Gautam Bhatia, Advocate and D.Phil Candidate at University of Oxford.
SESSION II: ARBITRATION, COMMERCIAL IMPLICATIONS AND THE UNIFICATION MOVEMENT’
• Mr. Siddharth Raja, Partner, Saakshya Law.
• Mr. Ajay Thomas, Independent arbitrator.
• Mr. Surya Kiran Banerjee, Associate, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP.
SESSION III: INVESTMENT ARBITRATION AND MFN CLAUSES
• Mr. Stephen York, Former Partner Reed Smith, and Former Head of Dispute Resolution Practice (Middle East), Hogan Lovells.
• Ms. Jo Delaney, Partner, Dispute Resolution Team, Baker & McKenzie.
• Mr. Anthony Sinclair, Partner, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP.
• Mr. Devashish Krishan, International arbitration specialist.
SESSION IV: DOMESTIC ARBITRATION: THE SCOPE OF ARBITRABILITY AND APPLICABLE LAW
• Hon’ble Justice N Kumar, Former judge of the Karnataka High Court.
• Hon’ble Justice (Retd) Jayasimha Babu, Former judge of the Karnataka High Court and Madras High Court.
• Mr. Arvind Datar, Senior Advocate, Madras High Court.
• Mr. Aditya Sondhi, Senior Advocate, Karnataka High Court.
SPEAKERS:
• Hon’ble Justice P P Naolekar, Former judge of the Supreme Court of India.
• Hon’ble Justice A R Laksmanan, Former judge of the Supreme Court of India, former Chief Justice of Rajasthan High Court and Andhra Pradesh High Court.
• Prof. Shamnad Basheer, Legal scholar and Intellectual Property Rights expert.
• Prof. Anil Gupta, Visiting Faculty, Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.
• Mr. Prashant Reddy, Advocate.
• Prof. Feroz Ali Khader, Professor, Indian Institute of Technology, Madras.
• Prof. Srividhya Raghavan, Professor of Law, Texas A&M University School of Law
• Mr. Zakir Thomas, Commissioner of Income Tax, Central Board of Direct Taxes.
• Mr. Ashutosh Kumar, Principal, AnchayilKumar- Advocates.
• Ms. Meera Jayakumar, Management Consultant, Oliver Wyman.
• Mr. A Harshavardhan, Partner at Harshavardhan & Associates.
• Mr. Ajay Prasad, Principal Associate, Kochhar & Co.
• Ms. Varsha Iyengar, Partner, Arka Law.