Supreme Court appoints arbitrator for term sheet dispute
The Supreme Court (“SC”), in the case of Zostel Hospitality Private Limited vs. Oravel Stays Private limited passed on order appointing an arbitrator for a dispute arising out of a term sheet signed by both parties. The Petitioner contended that the respondent as acquired sensitive details after signing the term sheet. The SC, upon review of the term sheet, observed that there was a Non-Disclosure clause and an arbitration clause. On this basis, the SC appointed Justice A M Ahmadi as the sole arbitrator for the matter.
Supreme Court upholds validity of GST (Compensation to States) Act, 2017
The Supreme Court (“SC”), on October 3, 2018, in the case of Union of India vs. Mohit Mineral Pvt Ltd, upheld the validity of the Goods and Services Tax (Compensation to States) Act, 2017 (“Act”). The Act was passed by parliament in order to compensate states for loss of revenue arising on account of GST implementation for a period of 5 (Five) years. The SC upheld that validity of the Act stating that Parliament has the legislative competence to pass legislations relating to the compensation of states.
NSE to test e-voting using blockchain technology
In a bid to improve corporate governance and provide transparency, the National Stock Exchange (“NSE”) has announced that it will be conducting pilots to use blockchain technology for e-voting with listed companies. The NSE has stated that due to this technology, the vote count process shall be synchronized between the company and the regulator in real time.
Trump administration sues California over its net neutrality laws
The Trump administration, through the Department of Justice (“DoJ”) on September 30, 2018 announced that it has filed a lawsuit against California’s Senate Bill 822, more commonly referred to as the net neutrality bill, (“Net Neutrality Bill”) that the California Governor signed into law.
The DoJ has stated that it has filed this lawsuit on the grounds that the Net Neutrality Bill violates the federal government’s sole authority to regulate the internet.