Know Your Rights!!

This is an important update to the August 2023 blog post, "Shopping Bag Charges from a Legal Perspective," where I delved into the dynamics between consumer rights, trademark laws, and retail practices. In that piece, I discussed how the common practice of charging for branded bags as an extension of a brand's identity was considered legitimate by large retail chains. Link to the August 2023 post: https://www.ampslegal.in/2023/08/shopping-bag-charges-from-legal.html Fast forward to now, and a significant development following a recent ruling by the Bangalore Consumer Court . This ruling challenges the legitimacy of charging customers for what has been considered a promotional item – a shopping bag printed with a brand's logo. In this case, a Bengaluru resident took furniture giant Ikea to court for charging ₹20 for a carry bag with the company logo. She visited the store in October 2022, where she purchased items worth ₹2,428. However, she was charged an additional ₹...

  🚨 Update Alert! 🚨 Read the latest addendum to 'Shopping Bag Charges from Legal Perspective' for a game-changing insight from the recent Bangalore Consumer Court judgment. 🛍️✨ #LegalUpdate Link to the November 2023 post: https://www.ampslegal.in/2023/11/unpacking-shopping-bag-charges-recent.html My recent visit to the IKEA store taught me that every action of ours has a section in law. As I made my way to the checkout counter, I was presented with a unique scenario – the option to purchase a shopping bag featuring the store's logo for a nominal cost. This seemingly mundane transaction triggered a cascade of inter-connected questions ranging from environmental awareness, and consumer rights to marketing tactics in my legal-oriented mind. Why would a store charge customers for a bag that essentially served as a walking advertisement for their brand? It was a question that sparked a conversation with the store manager, who graciously explained their perspective. "The...

I first learned about living wills when a newspaper article “Renowned gynaecologist registers living will” caught my attention. Then of course, at one of the OTT platforms I saw the movie “Salam Venky” based on the true story of a 25-year-old chess player Kolavennu Venkatesh from Hyderabad who in 2004 pleaded to be euthanised. Almost after 14 years, in March 2018, the Supreme Court of India issued a landmark judgement recognizing the right to die with dignity and allowing for passive euthanasia in certain circumstances. The judgement, passed by a five-judge Constitution Bench led by Chief Justice Dipak Misra, held that "the right to life includes the right to die with dignity" and that individuals have the right to refuse medical treatment or life support in cases of terminal illness or irreversible coma. The case was brought to the Supreme Court by a non-governmental organization called Common Cause, which argued that the right to die with dignity was a fundamental ri...

Title credits: HI (Human Intelligence) + AI (Artificial Intelligence #ChatGPT) A pending criminal case can be a daunting obstacle in the passport renewal process, but it doesn't have to put your travel plans on hold.  "The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page." - Saint Augustine In India, the Passport Act of 1967 gives the government the authority to deny, impound or revoke a passport if it is in the interest of the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of India, friendly relations of India with any foreign country, or in the interests of the general public. It has been seen that in certain cases, the government has denied renewal or issuance of passports to individuals having pending criminal cases. A Bombay High Court judgement in the case of Nijal Navin Shah vs. State of Maharastra (Criminal Application No. 1193 of 2022) has clarified that an individual with pending criminal cases can renew their passport, subject to checks and ...

The Bombay High Court recently clarified the legal standing of a nominee versus legal heirs in a dispute over a flat in Mumbai. This case, Karan Vishnu Khandelwal v. Hon’ble Chairman/Secretary Vaikunth (Andheri) Cooperative Housing Society Ltd. & Ors. (Writ Petition No. 12468 of 2022 dated 10 November 2022) , highlighted the complexities surrounding property inheritance within cooperative housing societies. Case Background The deceased, MK, was the owner of a flat in a cooperative housing society in Mumbai. During his lifetime, MK had nominated his grandson VK as the nominee for the flat, and this nomination was duly recorded in the society's register. MK passed away intestate (without a will), leaving behind two sons, RK and KK, and his grandson VK, whose father was MK's predeceased son. Following MK's demise, RK obtained a no-objection declaration from his brother KK and claimed a 2/3rd share in the flat. He sought the transfer of this proportionate interest from ...

  Ms Money: Cheque bounced? Mr Banker: Madam, you can seek help by filing a suit under Section 138… It is a widely accepted norm in India that if a cheque is dishonoured then the person can get relief through legal court proceedings under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881. As easy as it may sound, Section 138 is not a ‘ Brahmāstra ’ for all cheque bounce cases. In the present case, the Bombay High Court did not provide relief in the cheque dishonour case. The judgement specifically states that “No doubt cheque is a negotiable instrument which is transferable and negotiable; the presumption under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instrument Act can be drawn only when the pre-conditions are satisfied. The complainant unilaterally put dates on the cheques without the authority of the accused and even by not informing him. So, it amounts to material alterations. If it is so such negotiable instrument becomes void". The complainant is one of the partners in a partners...

Also read the August 2024 Bombay HC judgement:  https://www.ampslegal.in/2024/08/email-can-violate-womans-modesty.html A woman can outrage the modesty of another woman! Yes, you read it right. The judgement by Mumbai Metropolitan Magistrate MV Chavhan that the offence of outraging a woman’s modesty under Section 354 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) can be committed either by a man or woman , is a significant shift in the paradigm.                                                        S ection 354 in The Indian Penal Code 354.   Assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty —Whoever assaults or uses criminal force to any woman, intending to outrage or knowing it to be likely that he will thereby outrage her modesty, shall be punished with impris­onment o...

The first time Ind AS adopters are having a nerve racking time in getting the pieces together for risk disclosures. The quintessential Ind AS 107 mandates disclosures which will aid the financial statement users to evaluate the nature and extent of risks arising from financial instruments and how the company manages those risks. Like the other financial instruments standards, scope of Ind AS 107 specifies that the standard applies to ALL the entities. So the myth that risk is for the financial services entities only has to disappear sooner. This disclosure standard merely sets out the amount of information reported to the management for the purpose of running the business which must be made available to the users. Risk Disclosures of two types are required: § Qualitative disclosures: Company has to provide a brief explanation of the their exposure to risk, how they arise and how these risks are measured and managed § Quantitative disclosures:    o Credit risk/ Co...

I have been receiving a number of queries on calculation of effective interest rate for floating (variable) rate financial assets or financial liabilities – which are to be subsequently measured at amortised cost. Let’s first start with the definition of ‘Effective Interest Method’. Indian Accounting Standard (Ind AS) 109, Financial Instruments in Appendix A states that ‘the rate that exactly discounts estimated future cash payments or receipts through the expected life of the financial asset or financial liability to the gross carrying amount of a financial asset or to the amortised cost of a financial liability. When calculating the effective interest rate, an entity shall estimate the expected cash flows by considering all the contractual terms of the financial instrument (for example, prepayment, extension, call and similar options) but shall not consider the expected credit losses (ECL). The calculation includes all fees and points paid or received between parties to the c...

Transition to Indian Accounting Standards (Ind AS) has brought a set of challenges for companies as well as the regulators. SEBI vide its circular dated 5 July 2016 (CIR/CFD/FAC/62/2016) requires listed companies to comply with the formats prescribed under the SEBI Circular dated 30 November 2015, for reporting financial results till 31 December 2016. The 31 March 2017 financial results onwards are required in the formats prescribed in Revised Schedule III of the Companies Act 2013. The format prescribed by SEBI permits ‘Income from Operations’ to be disclosed net of excise duty. However, Schedule III of the Companies Act, 2013 (2013 Act) notified on 6 April 2016, requires ‘Revenue from Operations’ to be disclosed inclusive of excise duty. The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and the National Stock Exchange (NSE) issued a notification on behalf of SEBI, on 20 September 2016, which clarifies that companies should follow a uniform approach in their revenue disclosures. Accor...