Veerappa Moily is visiting Singapore from 8 and 9 September to meet with his local counterpart K Shanmugam and discuss both countries’ development of the legal sector, arbitration and mutual co-operation, according to Channel NewsAsia.

Majmudar & Co and Herbert Smith have assisted port infrastructure company Essar Shipping Ports & Logistics Limited in launching their foreign currency convertible bonds (FCCBs) issuance of $280m last month.

The much-awaited Legally India Mooting Premier League (MPL) second season has arrived with NLIU Bhopal taking home the first points, defeating RGNUL Patiala in the North India finals of the Surana & Surana National Trial Advocacy Moot Court Competition on Sunday.

Amarchand Mangaldas has hired dual-qualified chartered accountant and lawyer DD Nageswar Rao as a partner in Delhi. Rao’s was formerly the India country head of tax at Siemens, with his over 20-year career also including similar roles at the Coca Cola India and Colgate.

Procedural delays were set to derail the discussions on the merits in the All India bar examination court challenges, as the Supreme Court has adjourned the hearing in the transfer petition to 20 October after ordering the issue of fresh notices to the respondents and the shifting of the case to the Delhi High Court was not mentioned.

Who are the players in the saga around legal market liberalisation? And do those in favour actually care enough to make a difference? Legally India talks to the opposing factions and finds out why no progress has been made - and if any is around the corner.

Indian lawyers planning to qualify as English solicitors were thrown into temporary tizzy this week, as the new Qualified Lawyers Transfer Scheme (QLTS) came into effect. Under the new rules Indian lawyers will not be allowed to apply to practise in the UK, as India is not included in the list of jurisdictions to benefit from the QLTS.

Private equity giant Blackstone has widened its circle of standing Indian advisers to include Desai & Diwanji on its latest investments in the power sector, having used Khaitan & Co on its previous two major deals. Luthra & Luthra advised its long-standing clients Moser Baer Projects in the $300m stake buy, and Clarus Law led for Monnet Power Company on Blackstone's $70m investment.

Nalsar Hyderabad is planning to open two postgraduate diploma centres in Munich and Kuala Lumpur to teach aviation law and air transportation management, according to the Business Standard. “We are currently in discussions with our partners in those countries and expect to start the diploma courses sometime next year,” said the head of air and space law at Nalsar V Balakista Reddy yesterday, according to the paper, adding that the university was in the process of signing a memorandum of understanding with the GMR Group to offer project work to the postgraduate students at Indian airports.

The Delhi High Court has fined two siblings Rs 75,000 after litigating against each for 18 years over property. The court said: “Keeping in view the conduct of the petitioners that they still do not want the suit instituted about 18 years ago to reach its ultimate destination, they must be made to pay heavy costs for filing frivolous and bogus applications,' the court said according to the Indo-Asian News Service agency. The court also added that the trial has only wasted the precious time of the court. “No mercy should be shown to such type of litigants who have no other work but just to waste the time of different courts and create obstruction in the smooth functioning of the judicial system.”

The full story at Sify.

The defence counsel of a man accused of killing and injuring two motorists while driving under the influence of alcohol on Marine Drive, has argued that section 304(II) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) – culpable homicide – could not apply because the accused had no prior intention of hitting the other vehicle.

The accused’s lawyer Satish Meshinde relied on the case of Bollywood actor Salman Khan, who had successfully defended himself in against a charge of culpable homicide in the 2002 alleged drink-driving hit-and-run case in Bandra that killed one pavement dweller and injured three.

Full story at DNA India.

Advocates from Rajasthan High Court are protesting the most recent exam for the post of additional district judge, in which they allege non-lawyers have been selected. A number of lawyers in Jaipur and 29 colleagues from Jodhpur have announced an “indefinite strike” and kept work at the court suspended yesterday, according to the Times of India. The protesting advocates want the exam voided.

The full Times of India story.

Indian qualified lawyers will currently not be able to apply to practise law in England and Wales under the new Qualified Lawyers Transfer Scheme (QLTS) since yesterday (1 September), due to an oversight by the Bar Council of India (BCI), said the countries’ Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) is looking into investigating the Commonwealth Games for its award of key contracts, according to the the Financial Express. Unnamed sources told the Financial Express that several contracts were awarded to private players without conducting a fair tendering process. “There are serious competition violations. We are collecting all information on the bidding process following which we will take a decision on whether to conduct a suo moto probe into it or not,” a senior CCI official told the paper, which contravened sections 3 and 4 of the Competition Act 2002.

Read the full Financial Express article.

The Bar Council of India (BCI) has published the preparation materials and model questions and answers for the new all India bar exam that is proposed to take place on 5 December 2010.

The law ministry is considering setting up a law firm regulator with a code of conduct to govern law firms in order to end the “free environment without any regulations”, reported the Hindustan Times.

The Supreme Court has reopened the Bhopal gas leak disaster case today after a curative petition filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), seeking harsher punishments for the accused after convictions in June resulted in a two-year suspended jail sentence for those responsible.

The Chief Justice of India has granted a two month extension that magistrates will be allowed to issue domicile certificates – a power that was planned to be transferred to bureaucrats which could have ended the work of up to 10,000 advocates in Maharashtra and Goa who were either partially or fully dependent on the system, according to petitioners.

A thinktank said that any plans for economic reforms may have lost momentum as the Congress-led government is preparing for the state elections, lacks consensus and would struggle forcing through legislation, reported the Economic Times. Legal market liberalisation was not expressly mentioned in the article.

Full article by the Economic Times. Thanks to a commenter for sending us the link.