Practice Areas
Four areas of work, kept deliberately narrow. What they share: a hard legal question, a well-resourced opponent, and an outcome the client cannot afford to get wrong.
Many matters span multiple forums simultaneously. The firm is built to manage that complexity without losing strategic coherence.
N & Company Legal’s white-collar crime and PMLA defence practice, based in New Delhi, advises promoters, boards, directors, and high-net-worth individuals facing investigation and prosecution by the Enforcement Directorate, the CBI, and the SFIO. The decisions taken in the first hours of an enforcement action, before statements are recorded under Section 50 of the PMLA and before provisional attachment is executed, shape everything that follows. The practice covers ED investigations under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002; CBI prosecutions; SFIO investigations under the Companies Act, 2013; bank fraud matters; and challenges to Look-Out Circulars and the legality of arrests. Where a matter has moved into active prosecution, the same rigour applies to bail strategy and to the arguments that hold at every level of appeal, from the Special Court to the PMLA Appellate Tribunal and the High Courts.
What we do
- Advising on enforcement risk and defence strategy at the investigation stage, before formal proceedings are initiated
- Representing clients in PMLA proceedings before the Enforcement Directorate, the Special Court, and the PMLA Appellate Tribunal
- Preparing clients for examination and statements recorded under Section 50 of the PMLA
- Regular, anticipatory, and interim bail applications before the Supreme Court and High Courts in money laundering and bank fraud matters
- Challenging provisional attachment orders before the Adjudicating Authority and Appellate Tribunal
- Contesting Look-Out Circulars and the legality of arrest, including on novel points of law
- Defending CBI prosecutions and SFIO investigations under the Companies Act, 2013
- Advising where criminal enforcement exposure overlaps with concurrent insolvency proceedings
Frequently asked questions
What happens when the Enforcement Directorate issues a summons under PMLA?
A summons under Section 50 of the PMLA requires a person to appear and answer questions, and statements recorded by the ED are admissible in evidence. Because what is said at this stage can shape the entire matter, the period around the first summons is when legal strategy is most consequential.
What is an ECIR, and is the accused entitled to a copy?
The Enforcement Case Information Report is the ED’s internal record of a money laundering investigation. Courts have held that it is not equivalent to an FIR and that the agency is not obliged to supply a copy to the person under investigation, though the grounds of arrest must be communicated.
Can property be attached before any conviction under PMLA?
Yes. Under Section 5, the ED can provisionally attach property it believes to be proceeds of crime for up to 180 days, subject to confirmation by the Adjudicating Authority. Attachment can therefore occur during investigation, well before trial concludes.
How does bail work in a PMLA case?
Bail under the PMLA is governed by the twin conditions in Section 45, which make it harder to obtain than in ordinary criminal matters. The constitutional validity and operation of these conditions have been litigated repeatedly before the Supreme Court and the High Courts.
What is the difference between ED, CBI, and SFIO proceedings?
The Enforcement Directorate investigates money laundering and foreign-exchange matters, the CBI investigates a wider range of corruption and economic offences, and the SFIO investigates corporate fraud under the Companies Act, 2013. The same set of facts can attract all three simultaneously.
N & Company Legal’s insolvency and bankruptcy practice represents financial creditors, operational creditors, corporate debtors, promoters, and resolution applicants in proceedings under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016, before the NCLT and the NCLAT. The IBC remains among the most litigated statutes in the country, and the corporate insolvency resolution process turns on both technical command of the Code and the judgment to anticipate how a tribunal will read a given set of facts. The firm has appeared in some of India’s most significant insolvency proceedings, including those involving Unitech Ltd., Bhushan Power and Steel, Ansal Properties and Infrastructure, and the promoters of Fortis Hospitals, across CIRP initiation, plan approval, avoidance transactions, and claims disputes.
What we do
- Initiating CIRP for financial creditors under Section 7 and operational creditors under Section 9 before the NCLT
- Advising and appearing for promoters and ex-management contesting admission or pursuing a resolution
- Representing resolution applicants in plan submission and approval before the NCLT and NCLAT
- Acting on questions of plan eligibility, payment priority, and the Section 29A bar
- Claims, admission, and valuation disputes
- Avoidance transaction litigation under Sections 43 to 51
- Challenges to the conduct of the resolution professional and the decisions of the committee of creditors
- Advising on the intersection of insolvency stress and regulatory enforcement
Frequently asked questions
Who can initiate insolvency proceedings under the IBC?
Three categories can initiate the corporate insolvency resolution process before the NCLT: a financial creditor under Section 7, an operational creditor under Section 9, and the corporate debtor itself under Section 10. The minimum default threshold is one crore rupees.
How long does the CIRP take?
The Code sets a target of 180 days, extendable by 90 days, with a maximum of 330 days, including litigation time. In practice, timelines are frequently exceeded, which is why early procedural strategy matters.
What is a moratorium and what does it stop?
On admission of a CIRP, the NCLT declares a moratorium under Section 14. It halts suits and proceedings against the corporate debtor, bars enforcement of security interests, including those under SARFAESI, and prevents the transfer or disposal of the company’s assets while a resolution is attempted.
What is the difference between a financial creditor and an operational creditor?
A financial creditor is owed a debt that is discounted by the time value of money, such as a loan. An operational creditor is owed for goods or services, such as a supplier or contractor. The two follow different routes to initiate insolvency and have different roles in the committee of creditors.
What is an avoidance transaction under the IBC?
Avoidance transactions are dealings entered into before insolvency that can be challenged and reversed, including preferential, undervalued, extortionate, and fraudulent transactions under Sections 43 to 51. The question of who keeps the recoveries from a successful avoidance action remains actively litigated.
N & Company Legal’s commercial litigation and dispute resolution practice handles high-value disputes before the Supreme Court of India, the Delhi and Bombay High Courts, the NCLT, the NCLAT, and the principal arbitral forums. The practice covers contractual and commercial disputes, shareholder and promoter conflicts, corporate governance litigation, writ petitions against regulatory and quasi-judicial authorities, competition matters before the CCI, and domestic and international arbitration across financial contracts, real estate, infrastructure, and corporate disputes. Many matters run across several forums at once, including applications for urgent interim relief. The firm is built to manage that complexity without losing strategic coherence.
What we do
- Complex contractual and commercial disputes before the Supreme Court, High Courts, and statutory tribunals
- Shareholder disputes, promoter conflicts, and corporate governance litigation and arbitration
- Oppression and mismanagement proceedings before the NCLT
- Writ petitions challenging orders of regulatory and quasi-judicial authorities, including the CCI
- Defamation litigation and proceedings involving personality rights
- Domestic and international arbitration across financial, real estate, infrastructure, and corporate disputes
- Urgent interim relief in support of litigation and arbitration
- Debt recovery proceedings before the DRTs and appellate forums
Frequently asked questions
Should a commercial dispute go to litigation or arbitration?
That usually depends on the contract. Where parties have agreed to an arbitration clause, the dispute is generally referred to arbitration, while disputes without such a clause, or that require relief only a court can grant, proceed before the commercial courts. Many matters involve both, for example a court application for interim relief in support of an arbitration.
How can a party get urgent interim relief in a commercial dispute?
Interim relief can be sought from a court under provisions such as Section 9 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, or by way of an injunction in a civil suit. Urgent relief is often the decisive early step in a high-value dispute.
Which court hears high-value commercial disputes in India?
Commercial disputes above the prescribed pecuniary threshold are heard by the Commercial Courts and the Commercial Divisions of the High Courts, established under the Commercial Courts Act, 2015, which were designed to expedite the resolution of such matters and provide a more structured process.
Can the order of a regulator be challenged?
Yes. Orders of regulatory and quasi-judicial authorities can be challenged through statutory appeals or, in appropriate cases, by writ petition before the High Court, depending on the statute and the nature of the order.
How long does a commercial dispute take to resolve in India?
Timelines vary widely with the forum, the complexity of the matter, and whether interim relief or appeals are involved. Strategic sequencing across forums often has more effect on the outcome than the calendar alone.
N & Company Legal’s intellectual property practice advises on and litigates trade mark infringement, passing-off, copyright, and personality and publicity rights before the High Courts and the relevant statutory forums. As brand identity and individual persona become central to commercial value, enforcement increasingly turns on speed: interim and John Doe injunctions, takedown directions, and urgent relief against unauthorised and AI-generated misuse, including deepfakes. The firm acts on both sides of IP proceedings and ensures that IP strategy is integrated with any parallel defamation, commercial, or regulatory matter rather than run in isolation.
What we do
- Trade mark infringement actions and passing-off claims before the High Courts
- Opposition and rectification proceedings before the relevant statutory authorities
- Interim and ex parte injunction applications and urgent relief in IP matters
- Takedown directions addressed to intermediaries
- Copyright disputes, including in digital and media contexts
- Personality and publicity rights litigation, including against AI-generated misuse and deepfakes
- John Doe (Ashok Kumar) orders against unidentified infringers
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between trade mark infringement and passing-off?
Infringement is a statutory claim available to the owner of a registered trade mark. Passing-off is a common-law claim that protects the goodwill attached to an unregistered mark or get-up. The two are frequently pleaded together.
What is a John Doe order?
A John Doe order, known in India as an Ashok Kumar order, is an injunction granted against unidentified infringers. It allows a court to grant rapid, pre-emptive relief against fast-moving violations such as piracy and online impersonation without first naming every defendant.
How can a person protect personality or publicity rights against deepfakes and AI misuse?
Indian courts have increasingly recognised personality and publicity rights, drawing on passing-off, trade mark, copyright, and constitutional principles, and have granted injunctions and takedown directions against unauthorised and AI-generated use of a person’s name, image, likeness, and voice. There is no single dedicated statute, so relief is built from these combined sources.
How quickly can a court grant an injunction in an IP matter?
Where a strong prima facie case and urgency are shown, courts can grant interim and even ex parte injunctions early in the proceedings, sometimes with takedown directions to intermediaries within fixed timeframes. Speed is often central to IP enforcement.
Does copyright need to be registered to be enforced in India?
No. Copyright subsists automatically on creation of an original work, and registration is not a precondition to enforcement, though it can serve as useful evidence of ownership.
The work is only as strong as the people behind it.
Meet the team that prepares, appears, and delivers.
The Team