Legal Approach

Am I an intermediary? Is my liability unlimited? What are my liabilities. With rising market share of e-commerce platforms these questions are ringing bell in the corridors of Industry and Indian Legal System. These questions are being asked, debated and answered in various forums, at industry level and in Courts. The stakeholders to this technological revolution are thinking loud more about “regulation” and less about “facilitation”. Legal Provisions: Let’s examine basic legal principles regulating the e-commerce, especially the marketplace model. To start with there are two kinds of marketplace in India, one is marketplace model of e-commerce and other is inventory based model of e-commerce. Reserve Bank of India in its Master Direction dated 4-Jan-2018 issued notifications under Sections 10(4) and 11(1) of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 defining e-commerce. E-commerce is buying and selling of goods and services including digital products ...

Bharvagi Constructions & Anr. vs. Kothakapu Muthyam Reddy & Ors. dated 2017-09-07 Issues:  1. Whether the award passed by Lok Adalat after settlement can be challenged in District Court by Suit for Declaration on the grounds of Fraud and Misrepresentation?  2. Whether the abovesaid Suit for declaration can be rejected under Order VII Rule 11 CPC as barred by Law?  3. Whether "Law" in Order VII Rule 11 CPC includes judicial pronouncements of Higher Courts?  Findings:  1. Award passed by Lok Adalat can be challenged only under Article 226/227 of the Constitution  2. Grounds of Order VII Rule 11 are not applicable on awards passed by Lok Adalat after settlement  3. "Law" in Order VII Rule 11 includes judicial pronouncements of Higher Courts. Read the complete judgment   read more +

Recourse against the Arbitral Award: Most murkier aspect of the arbitration is the recourse to the arbitral award made by an arbitrator. The Arbitration & Conciliation, 1996 act has narrowed down the scope of interference with the award passed by the arbitrator. Section 34 of The Arbitration & Conciliation, 1996 provides for recourse to the arbitrator award. Section34. Application for setting aside arbitral award— (1) Recourse to a court against an arbitral award may be made only by an application for setting aside such award in accordance with Sub-section (2) and Sub-section (3). (2) An arbitral award may be set aside by the court only if— (a) the party making the application furnishes proof that- (i) a party was under some incapacity, or (ii) the arbitration agreement is not valid under the law to which the parties have subjected it or, failing any indication thereon, under the law for the time being in force; or (iii) the party making the application was ...