Ergo Update

The Central Consumer Protection Authority has notified the Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns, 2023 (Guidelines) to prevent and regulate ‘dark patterns’ deployed by online platforms, advertisers and sellers. The regulatory framework introduced by the Guidelines is expected to reinforce an increased sense of accountability among market participants, specifically sellers and advertisers, thereby reshaping the landscape of consumer commerce, specifically in the digital space.

In a significant development, a Division Bench of Hon’ble Punjab and Haryana High Court (High Court), through its common judgment and order dated 17 November 2023 in a group of nine petitions reported as IMT Industrial Association and Another v State of Haryana and Another [MANU/PH/2939/2023], has struck down the Haryana State Employment of Local Candidates Act, 2020 (Haryana Law) as unconstitutional and ineffective from the date of its enforcement (i.e., 15 January 2022).

Being one of the three chartered High Courts in the country, the Bombay High Court has original jurisdiction to try suits of a civil nature arising within Greater Bombay i.e., Mumbai district. Parallelly, the city of Mumbai also has two City Civil Courts in Fort (having territorial jurisdiction from Colaba to Mahim and Colaba to Mulund) and Dindoshi (having territorial jurisdiction from Bandra to Dahisar) which have the power to try suits of a civil nature arising within Greater Bombay.

Last few years have seen a shift in regulatory ideology in the education sector from protectionism to internationalisation. With a view to promoting India as an attractive destination for foreign universities and as a global study destination providing premium education, the National Education Policy, 2020 envisaged laying down a legislative framework to facilitate the entry of top foreign universities and higher educational institutions (Foreign HEI) into the country.

In a new development in the long-standing tussle between the Tamil Nadu government and online gaming operators regarding prohibition of all forms of online games in the State, the Madras High Court (Madras HC) vide its unreported order dated 9 November 2023 (Order) in All India Gaming Federation and Others v State of Tamil Nadu and Others upheld the constitutional validity of the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Online Gambling and Regulation of Online Games Act, 2022 (Act) and clarified its application to games predominantly involvi

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), by a notification dated 27 October 2023 (Amendment), has amended the Companies (Management and Administration) Rules, 2014 (MGT Rules), to insert a requirement for every company to designate a person from within the company to provide information to the Registrar of Companies (ROC) in relation to compliance with provisions concerning ‘beneficial interest’, which in the larger picture forms part of the significant beneficial ownership (SBO) regime in India.

The notification dated 27 October 2023 by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) (Amendment), amends Rule 9 of the Companies (Prospectus and Allotment of Securities) Rules, 2023 (PAS Rules) introduces sun-set provisions in respect of the bearer share warrants issued under the erstwhile Indian Companies Act, 1913 or Companies Act, 1956.

On 31 October, 2023, in Sanjay Kumar Agarwal v State Tax Officer 1, 2023 SCC OnLine SC 1406, the Supreme Court of India (SC) in the exercise of its powers of review under Article 137 of the Constitution of India, (Rainbow Review) affirmed the view expressed by another bench of the SC in State Tax Officer (I) v.

On 14 October 2023, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) published the IndiaAI Report 2023 (Report). The Report is a collaboration of seven working groups which provided practical considerations and recommendations on India’s artificial intelligence (AI) ecosystem. The aim is to make ‘governance smarter and more data-led’.

The Reserve Bank of India has published the Master Direction – Reserve Bank of India (Non-Banking Financial Company – Scale Based Regulation) Directions, 2023 (Master Directions), on 19 October 2023. The Master Directions bring about long-awaited harmonisation of the erstwhile regulatory regime with Scale Based Regulation Framework for NBFCs, published by the RBI on 22 October 2021 and made effective from 1 October 2022.