SAFEMA - Appellant have furnished evidence which show satisfactorily that they took all reasonable steps to realise export proceeds : Tribunal (See 'Legal Desk') Companies Act - Winding up petition can be dismissed when contentions raised by parties constitute triable issues as Company Court cannot enter into adjudication of disputed facts of amount due and payable : HC (See 'Legal Desk') Competition Act - In absence of any apparent anti-competitive conduct, decision of purchase or sale of product and quantity thereof is driven by commercial considerations of market players : CCI (See 'Legal Desk') Principal Scientific Adviser chairs meeting to discuss Biomass Cultivation (See 'Corp Brief') India Pavilion at World Hydrogen Summit showcases Green Hydrogen Mission (See 'Corp Brief') Slum Rehabilitation Act - Preferential right to owner is available only when someone other than owner is being preferred and owner has never before been given or availed of right to develop : HC (See 'Legal Desk') CPC - Application can be dismissed as Intervener has already initiated its own remedy by way of independent Execution Petition : HC (See 'Legal Desk') SEBI Act - Appellant has not shown sufficient cause for condonation of delay in filing appeal : SAT (See 'Legal Desk') PMLA - When questions relating to legality of arrest is under consideration, more holistic and libertarian view is to release Chief Minister of Delhi on interim bail for Lok Sabha General Elections : SC (See 'Legal Desk') Smugglers and Foreign Exchange Manipulators (Forfeiture of Property) Act, 1976 - Order for forfeiture of properties is rightly made as property is occupied through lllegal earning : Tribunal (See 'Legal Desk') Arbitration Act - As petitioner is not notified as 'financial institution' or 'bank' under RDB Act, there is no bar on parallel proceedings to co-exist under A&C Act as well as SARFAESI Act : HC (See 'Legal Desk') Cr.P.C. - Once order issuing process has been set aside, then applicant has no right to file application u/s 482 of Cr.P.C. for quashment of complaint case : HC (See 'Legal Desk') Summer Power demand expected to be adequately met during both day and night (See 'Corp Brief') Competition Act - WordPress.org is justified in taking appropriate action against any developer found non-compliant with prescribed standards and regulations : CCI (See 'Legal Desk') Ministry of Skill signs MoU with Mahindra Ltd to conduct two Pilot Projects (See 'Corp Brief') SEBI Act - Operation of order can be stayed for appellant as he has resigned and has no role to play in decisions made thereafter for continuation of schemes : SAT (See 'Legal Desk') IREDA Global Green Energy Finance IFSC Limited incorporated in GIFT City (See 'Corp Brief') Trade Marks Act - Petitioner has no locus to challenge order as petitioner is not claiming itself to be manufactory in Madhya Pradesh and registration of its label under M.P. Beer & Wine Rules : HC (See 'Legal Desk') SARFAESI Act - Discretion to grant reduction in pre-deposit rests with DRAT and Petitioner has failed to make out any ground for interference : HC (See 'Legal Desk') Constitution of India - Petitioner is entitled for Capital subsidy : HC (See 'Legal Desk') Coast Guard inks MoU with Jindal Steel for boosting indigenous manufacturing capacity (See 'Corp Brief') Companies Act - Winding up proceedings pending before High Courts, which are at nascent stage and have not progressed to advanced stage, can be transferred to NCLT : HC (See 'Legal Desk') PMLA - Considering involvement of applicant in selling fake Remdesivir injection at higher price, applicant is not entitled for anticipatory bail : HC (See 'Legal Desk') Arbitration Act - Any amicable settlement not incompatible with arbitration agreement is encouraged by Arbitral Tribunal : HC (See 'Legal Desk') M.P. Nagar Tatha Gram Nivesh Adhiniyam, 1973 - Order passed by respondents is devoid of merit as land of petitioner is left open for purpose of any future road expansion : HC (See 'Legal Desk') Arbitration Act - Since appellant has failed to establish loss suffered, Arbitral Tribunal rightly rejected appellant's claim in this regard : HC (See 'Legal Desk') PMLA - Arrest order and consequent remand order are not illegal : HC (See 'Legal Desk') Keel-laying ceremony performed at Goa Shipyard (See 'Corp Brief') Companies Act - Winding up proceedings pending before High Courts, which are at nascent stage and have not progressed to advanced stage, can be transferred to NCLT : HC (See 'Legal Desk') SEBI Act - Extension of time can be allowed to SEBI to complete investigation : SAT (See 'Legal Desk') Arbitration Act - Respondent no.3 is not liable for repayment obligations of financial facilities extended by appellant to respondent no 1 company : HC (See 'Legal Desk') Mineral production grows by 8 percent in February (See 'Corp Brief') SARFAESI Act - Court refrains to adjudicate matter on merits when matter is already pending in DRAT : HC (See 'Legal Desk') Coal production in April up by 7.4% (See 'Corp Brief') SEBI Act - Appellants have made case for stay as rigours of directions of SEBI order would adversely affect business of Appellant as well as their clients : SAT (See 'Legal Desk') Trade Mark Act - Marks 'BETSONE' and 'BETASON' are deceptively similar to registered trademark 'BETNESOL' and visually, phonetically and structurally alike, with minimal alterations : HC (See 'Legal Desk') Voting by tribal communities blossoms as ECI's outreach to them bears fruit (See 'Corp Brief') SARFAESI Act - No fault can be found with respondent financial institution invoking Section 14 of SARFAESI Act by approaching District Magistrate, Rewa : HC (See 'Legal Desk') Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs observes Swachhata Pakhwada (See 'Corp Brief')

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Govt soon to finalize National Action Plan on Business & Human Rights

Published: Feb 19, 2020

By TIOLCorplaws News Service

NEW DELHI, FEB 19, 2020: TWO decades after the government had announced at the Business and Human Rights Forum in Geneva in November 2018 that it will develop National Action Plan on Business & Human Rights, the MCA is in the final stages of formulating a National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights (NAP). In February 2019, the government published a draft NAP on Business and Human Rights. The draft notes that during the drafting process, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) organised several meetings/multi-stakeholder consultations with relevant Ministries of the Government of India, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), domain experts, and other relevant stakeholders

The obligation to draft a NAP stems from India's endorsement of the United Nations Guiding Principles (UNGPs) on Business and Human Rights adopted in the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC). A country's NAP is expected to demonstrate how these principles are already being implemented, what the gaps are, and how they shall be addressed. The UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights (UNWG) has prepared a ‘Guidance on National Action Plans on Business and Human Rights' which has prescribed four criteria for developing a NAP.

First, it needs to be founded on the UNGPs. Second, it needs to be context-specific and address the country's actual and potential business related human rights abuse. Third, a NAP needs to be developed in an inclusive and transparent manner. Fourth, the NAP processes needs to be regularly re-viewed and updated. Currently, about 45 countries, including India, are either drafting or have finalized their NAP.

Further, the three principles on which India's NAP are articulated are:

I. State Duty to Protect

II. Corporate Responsibility to Respect

III. Access to Remedy.

The following have been recommended as key contents for an NAP:

- Section 1: Statements of commitments to implement the UNGPs.

- Section 2: Background and context to the NAP. How the NAP relates to other existing Government policy strategies such as national development plans, CSR strategies, national plans implementing International Labour Organisation convention and recommendations.

- Section 3: Government's expectations from businesses, including expectations that businesses respect human rights throughout their operations based on UNGPs and other guidance documents.

- Section 4: Government response clarifying how it Government currently addresses adverse business-related human rights impacts and outline commitments for further activities.

The Ministry has been taking various initiatives for ensuring responsible business conduct by companies. The National Voluntary Guidelines on Social, Environmental and Economic Responsibilities of Business, 2011 (NVGs) have been revised and released as National Guidelines for Responsible Business Conduct to align with United Nations Guiding Principles on Business & Human Rights (UNGPs) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Committee on Business Responsibility Reporting (BRR) constituted by this Ministry to formulate BRR formats for listed and unlisted companies is finalizing its report. Further, a Zero Draft of the NAP has already been published to showcase the considerable progress made by the country in the field of Business & Human Rights which has been formulated after placing it in the public domain for inputs, sharing it with relevant Ministries for comments, and consultations with relevant stakeholders. All these measures shall culminate in the NAP document.

The Ministry is currently undertaking rigorous consultations with all stakeholders to finalize the document at the earliest. In this regard, comments/ inputs are invited from all to inform the NAP development process and contribute towards preparation of a document reflecting the vision and aspirations of Indian Businesses that strive to be responsible, sustainable, uphold and respect human rights. All comments may be sent to csrcell@mca.gov by March 10, 2020.

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