The partners in the firm’s Land Acquisition practice appear in matters arising out of the compulsory acquisition of land, including compensation assessed below the prevailing market value of the land, acquisition proceedings taken without the notice the law requires, possession taken before compensation is paid, acquisitions that have lapsed for want of possession or payment, disputes over solatium, statutory interest and rehabilitation and resettlement entitlements, and land frozen for long periods under a reservation in the development plan. The work arises principally out of national highway, railway, metro and high-speed rail corridors, industrial area acquisitions, town planning schemes and land pooling, in which the framework for assessing compensation is frequently in contest.

The firm is empanelled with the National Highways Authority of India and appears for the Authority in acquisition and compensation proceedings arising out of national highway projects in Maharashtra. Subject to conflict checks, the firm also appears for individual landowners and agriculturists, and for groups of affected owners acting in common. Matters are conducted before the competent authorities and reference courts, in arbitration under the National Highways Act, 1956, before the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Authority, and on the writ and appellate side of the High Court of Judicature at Bombay.

The partners in the firm’s Criminal practice represent individuals and corporate entities in matters such as bodily offences, organised crime, cheating, forgery and criminal breach of trust, cybercrime and offences turning on electronic evidence, dishonour of cheques, offences arising out of commercial and family disputes, and prosecutions carrying parallel regulatory consequences. Representation extends from the registration of the First Information Report through investigation, remand, committal and trial, to revision and appeal.

The work includes applications for anticipatory bail and for regular bail, applications for discharge, petitions to quash First Information Reports and proceedings that disclose no offence or that are civil in substance, applications concerning search, seizure, custody and the return of property, and the conduct of trials, appeals and revisions. Matters in which a prosecution carries parallel regulatory exposure are conducted jointly with the firm’s White-Collar practice.

The partners in the firm’s White-Collar Crime practice represent companies, promoters, directors and senior officers in matters such as bribery and corruption, money laundering, financial statement fraud, diversion and siphoning of funds, vendor fraud and kickbacks, insider trading, disclosure failures and market manipulation, and other irregularities carrying consequences in the criminal, regulatory and contractual spheres.

The work covers responses to summons and to search and seizure action; proceedings concerning the provisional attachment of immovable property, bank accounts and business assets, and applications for their release; applications for bail, in which the statutory conditions are more stringent than in ordinary criminal matters; the defence of company officers and independent directors against personal liability for corporate acts; replies to show-cause notices and the defence of adjudication, penalty and prosecution proceedings; and internal enquiries, conducted with forensic accountants and digital forensic specialists where the facts require it. The firm also advises on anti-bribery, anti-corruption and governance diligence in acquisitions, where the exposure of a target company is in question.

Instructions in this practice are taken by the partner directly, and the firm’s involvement is not publicised.

The partners in the firm’s Redevelopment practice advise cooperative housing societies and their members, landowners, purchasers, developers and lenders through every stage of redevelopment in Mumbai, Thane, Pune and Palghar. The firm acts not only for societies but also for developers, and, subject to conflict checks, is instructed on either side of a project. Matters range from the selection of the developer and the negotiation of the development agreement and of the individual member’s agreement for permanent alternate accommodation, to transit rent and corpus that has not been paid, projects that have stalled or fallen behind the agreed date of possession, defective construction in the new building, disputes over the additional area promised to members and over the availability of floor space index and transferable development rights, and the removal or replacement of a developer who has failed to perform.

The practice extends to the redevelopment of old cessed buildings and MHADA layouts, and to cluster redevelopment and slum rehabilitation schemes; to deemed conveyance, where the land and building have not been transferred to the society; and to the transactional side of property, including title investigation, agreements for sale, stamp duty, registration and possession. Because most disputes in this field are traceable to ambiguity at the drafting stage, the firm’s practice is to work through the documentation clause by clause before execution rather than only after a dispute has arisen.

The partners in the firm’s Arbitration practice represent banks, corporates, institutional and individual clients in domestic and international arbitration. Matters include engineering, procurement and construction contracts and other infrastructure disputes turning on delay, variations, price escalation and uncertified or unpaid bills; disputes between shareholders and joint venture parties; banking and financing disputes; and real estate and family settlement references.

The work covers the whole of the arbitral cycle: interim measures to preserve assets and to restrain their disposal pending adjudication, the appointment of arbitrators where a party is in default, the conduct of proceedings both ad hoc and institutional, and the challenge, appeal and enforcement of awards, including awards made outside India and enforced against assets in this country.

The partners in the firm’s Family Law practice advise individuals on matrimonial disputes, succession and guardianship, in matters such as divorce by mutual consent and contested divorce, judicial separation and the validity of a marriage, maintenance and permanent alimony, the custody of children and access, the removal of a child from the jurisdiction, and protection from domestic violence. For families settled abroad, the practice extends to the recognition and enforcement of foreign matrimonial and custody orders in India and to proceedings running concurrently in two jurisdictions.

On the succession side, the work includes the drafting of wills and their structuring so as to withstand challenge, family arrangements, settlements and private trusts, petitions for probate, letters of administration and succession certificates, and disputes among heirs concerning ancestral property, tenancy rights and family businesses. A substantial part of this work is undertaken before any dispute has arisen. The firm’s practice is to seek a negotiated resolution wherever one is available, litigation in a family matter being costly in more than money.

The partners in the firm’s Customs and Indirect Tax practice advise importers, exporters, manufacturers, corporates and institutions from compliance and structuring through to contentious proceedings. On the customs side, matters include the detention and seizure of consignments at ports, airports and container freight stations; disputes as to the classification of goods and therefore the rate of duty applicable to them; disputes as to valuation, where the declared price is said to be understated; allegations of misdeclaration and undervaluation raised by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence; and demands for duty on imports long since cleared. Because detained cargo carries a cost for every day it remains uncleared, the practice attends first to provisional release against bonds and bank guarantees.

The work further covers claims to exemption, duty drawback and preferential rates under free trade agreements, including proof of the origin of goods; advance rulings obtained before an import programme is commenced; anti-dumping, countervailing and safeguard duty investigations, whether in support of or in opposition to the duty; the defence of confiscation and penalty proceedings against a company and its officers; and challenges to preventive detention in customs matters.

On the goods and services tax side, the work covers classification and rate disputes, the denial, reversal or blocking of input tax credit, refund claims rejected or withheld, audit objections, and show-cause notices, demands and penalties. Legacy demands under the central excise and service tax legislation continue to be defended before the Tribunal, as do the transitional credit disputes to which the change of regime gave rise. The firm’s general approach is to seek the conclusion of a tax dispute at the earliest forum at which a reasonable outcome is available, prolonged litigation being warranted only where the amount at stake or the principle involved justifies it.

The practice also advises on direct tax, in matters including assessment and reassessment, the reopening of concluded years, additions made on estimate or on information received from third parties, transfer pricing disputes as to the price at which associated enterprises deal with each other, search, survey and summons proceedings and prosecutions arising out of them, the tax dimensions of mergers, acquisitions and business transfers settled before a transaction is executed, and questions of residence, treaty relief and withholding on payments made out of India.

The partners in the firm’s Civil practice appear in suits for the recovery of money and for the specific performance of agreements, in applications for injunctions restraining the sale, transfer or development of property and the transfer of shares pending adjudication, in landlord and tenant disputes including eviction and the fixation of standard rent, in suits for partition of family and jointly held property, in writ petitions against government departments, municipal authorities and statutory bodies, and in consumer complaints against builders, banks, insurers and service providers.

The partners in the firm’s Insolvency practice act for financial and operational creditors and for corporate debtors in insolvency resolution, in the defence of petitions for admission and in settlements arrived at before admission, in the filing and contest of claims and in disputes concerning a resolution plan, and in proceedings against promoters and directors upon the invocation of personal guarantees. On the recovery side, the work includes possession notices, the auction of secured assets and applications challenging enforcement action.