July 2025 - S&R Associates

Environmental Law: Issue 2 of 2025

Quarterly Roundups | July 31, 2025 | Practice Area: Clean Energy, Corporate Governance and ESG, Regulatory

Issue 2 of 2025 of our Quarterly Newsletter on Environmental Law covers key judicial and regulatory developments between the months of April and June 2025. In respect of judicial updates, Issue 2 includes judgements and orders of the Supreme Court, High Courts and the National Green Tribunal related tointer-aliatree felling in Telangana’s Kancha Gachibowli Forest, waste collection and segregation in Delhi-NCR, unlawful mining in Aravali and ex-post facto Environmental Clearances.
In addition, Issue 2 also tracks regulatory updates related tointer-aliaconstruction waste management, registration on dust pollution control self-assessment portal, methodology for environmental compensation under hazardous waste rules, greenhouse gas emissions intensity target rules and plastic waste management.

RERA: Issue 2 of 2025

Quarterly Roundups | July 30, 2025 | Practice Area: Banking and Finance, Litigation and Arbitration, Real Estate

We are pleased to present the second issue of S&R’s Quarterly RERA Roundup for the period January to March 2025. This publication provides a curated overview of significant legal developments under the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 (“RERA”), as reflected in recent judgments and passed by various Real Estate Regulatory Authorities and appellate forums/courts across India.
As the regulatory landscape continues to evolve, these decisions offer valuable insight into the interpretative trends shaping the enforcement of RERA. This edition aims to serve as a practical guide for stakeholders seeking to understand the Act’s application in an increasingly dynamic real estate sector.

Legal Frameworks Guiding Society Redevelopment in Maharashtra: A Comprehensive Overview

Insights | July 28, 2025 | Practice Area: Real Estate

This note provides a comprehensive overview of the legal framework and processes guiding the redevelopment of cooperative housing societies in Maharashtra, with particular focus on Mumbai. It covers essential compliances under the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Act, 1960, special focus on recent judicial orders on aspects of inter alia documentation, stamp duty, and the position of dissenting members, as well as the interplay of regulations like DCPR 2034 and MahaRERA. Offering practical insights for societies, developers, and legal professionals, the note aims to demystify the procedural, contractual, and fiscal challenges in society redevelopment projects.

The Impact of India’s Data-Related Laws and Policies on AI Development and Deployment

Insights | July 23, 2025 | Practice Area: Competition/Antitrust, Data, Intellectual Property, Mergers and Acquisitions, Private Equity, Regulatory, Technology; Media and Telecommunications

The rise of Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) and Machine Learning (“ML”) promises both opportunities and risks. To address such risks while leveraging the power of AI/ML for new areas of growth, stakeholders need to remain attentive to an evolving regulatory landscape. Unlike the European Union, India is yet to enact an overarching law on AI. Nevertheless, AI developers, deployers, investors, and other relevant entities in the AI supply chain must stay informed about existing and emergent regulatory initiatives across several industries, sectors, and legal regimes. Given India’s ongoing policy and legislative attempts to govern AI, especially with respect to addressing deployment-related concerns and potential harm, the outcome of such processes is likely to emerge soon, even if in fragmented fashion.
Since AI model training relies heavily on data, India’s fast-developing data protection framework warrants special attention. Balancing compliance with innovation will remain crucial for organizations as they aim to thrive under India’s regulatory ecosystem on digital data and AI.

An Analysis of India’s FDI Regime from an Investor’s Perspective

Insights | July 22, 2025 | Practice Area: General Corporate, Mergers and Acquisitions, Private Equity, Regulatory

The note examines foreign direct investment (“FDI”) as a significant driver for economic growth and globalization in India. Despite its growth, the legal regime governing FDI in India remains intricate, posing challenges for foreign investors seeking clarity and ease of doing business. This note delves into India’s FDI regulations, highlighting key issues such as a complex regulatory environment, protracted approval processes, and the challenges posed by sector-specific restrictions.
The note adopts an investor-centric perspective to analyze these barriers and explores how they affect foreign investment decisions. To address these issues, the note proposes certain solutions, including streamlining approval procedures, aligning sector-specific policies with global standards, and providing a clearer legal framework for dispute resolution. The objective of this note is to consider approaches that will enhance India’s appeal as an investment destination and promote sustained economic growth by recommending reforms that streamline the legal framework.

A Guide to Designing Consent Management Systems under the DPDP Act

Insights | July 18, 2025 | Practice Area: Regulatory, Technology; Media and Telecommunications

The Business Requirement Document (“BRD”) for consent management released by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) on June 6, 2025, provides a technical blueprint for organizations to design and implement a consent management system (“CMS”) in compliance with theDigital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023(“DPDP Act”) and its rules.Pursuant to such framework, organizations can design a CMS that enables them to undertake comprehensive consent lifecycle management in a manner that aligns with the DPDP Act’s emphasis on data minimization, purpose limitation, transparency, and accountability.
This note discusses the BRD, including with respect to the functional and operational aspects of consent management, the roles and responsibilities of various stakeholders, and the implications for organizations building or updating their CMS.

Amendments to the SEBI (Prohibition of Insider Trading) Regulations, 2015: Widening the Scope of “Unpublished Price Sensitive Information”

Insights | July 14, 2025 | Practice Area: Capital Markets, Corporate Governance and ESG, General Corporate, Mergers and Acquisitions

With effect from June 10, 2025, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (“SEBI”) has introduced certain amendments to the definition of unpublished price sensitive information (“UPSI”) under the SEBI (Prohibition of Insider Trading) Regulations, 2015, (“PIT Regulations”). The amendments aim to align the existing definition of UPSI under the PIT Regulations, which sets out an illustrative list of events constituting UPSI, with material events under Regulation 30 of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015.
This note analyzes the amendments and explains how the expansion of the definition of UPSI will recalibrate compliance obligations for listed companies and their insiders.

Employment Bonds that Bind

Insights | July 10, 2025 | Practice Area: Employment, General Corporate, Litigation and Arbitration

The Supreme Court of India in its recent judgement inVijaya Bank and Ors. v. Prashant B. Narnawareconsidered the legal standing of employment bonds in India. This note analyzes the Court’s affirmation of a differential approach in respect of restrictions effective during employment and those post-termination. It further highlights the Court’s stance on unequal bargaining power and its view on public policy considerations in India’s employment law paradigm.

Evaluating the Operational Framework for ESG Debt Securities

Insights | July 7, 2025 | Practice Area: Banking and Finance, Corporate Governance and ESG, General Corporate, Regulatory

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (“SEBI”), in December 2024, amended the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Issue and Listing of Non-Convertible Securities) Regulations, 2021 to introduce a new asset class of ‘ESG debt securities’ that includes green debt securities, social bonds, sustainability bonds and sustainability-linked bonds. The amendments, however, did not provide the regulatory framework for the issuance of ESG debt securities; instead, pursuant to the amendments, SEBI retained the right to prescribe conditions for the issue of such securities. Our earlier analysis on these amendments is availablehere.
In this context, SEBI recently on June 05, 2025, issued a circular titled the ‘Framework for Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) Debt Securities (other than green debt securities)’ specifying the operational framework for the issuance and listing of ESG debt securities (other than green debt securities) in India. In this note, we analyze the changes to the existing regulatory regime introduced by the SEBI circular,and highlight key issues and concerns raised for relevant stakeholders in this regard.

Supreme Court Reaffirms Enforceability of Forum Selection in Employment Contracts

Insights | July 3, 2025 | Practice Area: Employment, Litigation and Arbitration

The Supreme Court of India recentlyreaffirmed the enforceability of exclusive jurisdiction clauses in employment contracts. InRakesh Kumar Verma v. HDFC Bank Ltd.the Court held that where multiple courts may have territorial jurisdiction under Section 20 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, parties are free to contractually select one such court as the exclusive forum for dispute resolution, provided that the chosen court has a legitimate nexus to the dispute.
This decision is particularly relevant for corporations with large numbers of employees working across jurisdictions or employers with remote or hybrid workforces, as it provides clarity on how to mitigate forum shopping risks and ensure consistency in dispute resolution. The Court’s ruling also offers practical guidance on how employers can structure jurisdiction clauses to withstand legal scrutiny.