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TOP STORY OF THE WEEK
India's legaltech sector hits Usd 793M in cumulative funding as courts themselves start adopting AI
India now has more than 1,000 tracked legaltech companies (around 800 active, about 86 funded), with roughly Usd 793 million in cumulative venture investment and about 781% year-on-year funding growth in 2025 — the sector's strongest year yet. Delhi NCR leads with over 300 companies, and the legal-AI segment is projected to reach about Usd 106 million by 2030 at a 23% annual growth rate.
LEGAL & TECH
Supreme Court: penal provisions of the Representation of the People Act don't apply to municipal elections
The Supreme Court held that the penal provisions of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 do not apply to municipal elections, clarifying that candidates accused of filing false affidavits in local body polls can instead be prosecuted under the Indian Penal Code where the applicable municipal law contains no penal provision. The ruling draws a clean line between the statutory framework governing parliamentary and assembly elections and that governing local self-government bodies.
Supreme Court: no need to record pre-charge evidence under Section 244 CrPC before committing a Sessions-triable complaint case
On July 1, the Supreme Court held that a Magistrate is not required to record pre-charge evidence under Section 244 of the CrPC before committing a complaint case involving offences exclusively triable by a Court of Sessions, setting aside a Punjab and Haryana High Court judgment to the contrary. The clarification removes a procedural step that had been a source of delay and inconsistent practice at the committal stage.
CORPORATE COMPLIANCE
Missed Filing Appeal In GST Tribunal? Centre Extends Deadline to July 31 After Portal Glitches
The Finance Ministry extended the last date for filing appeals before the GST Appellate Tribunal to July 31, 2026, after taxpayers and consultants flagged persistent technical problems on the GSTAT portal. The notification, issued June 30 under Section 112(1) read with 112(3) of the CGST Act, supersedes the earlier September 2025 notification that had set June 30 as the deadline. Nearly 30,000 appeals were lodged in the last 15 days alone, with the portal processing up to 5,500 appeals a day at peak.
SEBI Launches Settlement Helpdesk Facility
SEBI launched a Settlement Helpdesk Facility (PR No. 38/2026) on July 1 to help applicants file settlement applications, compute indicative settlement amounts under the Settlement Proceedings Regulations, 2018, and track the status of pending applications. For in-house teams weighing whether to contest or settle an enforcement matter, the helpdesk lowers the friction of an already technical process and offers earlier visibility into likely settlement figures.
Risk Intelligence
Sebi bars 222 individuals, entities for'manipulation' in five companies
In a 394-page final order, SEBI barred 222 individuals and entities from the market for four to seven years over alleged pump-and-dump schemes in Mauria Udyog, Vishal Fabrics, 7NR Retail, GBL Industries and Darjeeling Ropeway, imposing total penalties of Rs 47.7 crore. The manipulation ran from 2017 to 2020 and involved a network described as "volume creators," "price influencers," "operators" and "offloaders," with promoters and connected entities barred in some cases. SEBI named Hanif Shekh as the mastermind and ultimate beneficiary, barring him for seven years and imposing a Rs 10 crore penalty.
The bigger picture: DGGI has detected Rs 1.14 lakh crore in fake ITC since 2020
The Directorate General of GST Intelligence has detected fake input-tax-credit worth over Rs 1.14 lakh crore between 2020 and 2025, and in FY 2024–25 alone flagged Rs 36,374 crore of fake ITC, arrested 182 persons and identified over 15,000 fake entities. DGGI's detection now leans on data analytics, GSTN algorithms and its BIFA fraud-analytics tool to spot circular trading and high-risk ITC claims across supply chains. Arrests can be authorised for fake ITC exceeding Rs 2 crore, with provisional attachment of bank accounts and property during investigation.
KNOWLEDGE BYTES