2019 JUDICIAL DIARIES

It has been a remarkable year with a slew of landmark judgments delivered by the apex court

- Kavita Krishnan

Former Chief Justice Dipak Misra once quoted, “The Indian judiciary is the strongest judiciary in the world having capability to handle mind-boggling number of cases”. According to him, the Indian judiciary is the “most robust institution” in the world and young lawyers are assets having potential to develop the jurisprudence.

The year 2019 has been a remarkable one from the legal perspective, given that landmark judgments were delivered by the Supreme Court. Laws relating to insolvency and bankruptcy have been enhanced and quick decisions taken. These landmark decisions given by the Supreme Court have made a mark in the Indian judicial history.

The Swiss Ribbons

The Supreme Court’s decision in Swiss Ribbons v. Union of India upholding the constitutionality of the provisions of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (IBC) is a landmark in the development of IBC. The Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the statute in the Swiss Ribbons case and the judgment has laid the foundation for implementation of the IBC. The Supreme Court has supported the IBC and set a benchmark in international fora where such a speedy decision might not have been taken.

The judgment is likely to impact a number of settlements and resolutions that will happen in the pre-insolvency period as well as swift resolution of corporate debtors in insolvency.

This judgment will also boost the confidence of investors and bidders in acquiring assets through IBC as well as generally improve ease of doing business in India.

In the words of Shardul Shroff – Executive Chairman, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co., “For the first time in 70 years, in 13 days from the date of judgment, a change was introduced through an ordinance and converted into a proper Bill and subsequently into an Act. This is the fastest that any Central Legislature has ever acted.”