In this webinar, we discussed the intricacies of strategic litigation in the emerging tech sector. Nakul Dewan, Senior Advocate – who successfully challenged RBI’s circular banning cryptocurrency in the Supreme Court; and Vrinda Bhandari – the advocate who is fighting to bring 4G internet back to J&K through a P.I.L, express their take on strategic and impact litigation. They are joined by Anirudh Rastogi and Tanya Sadana of Ikigai Law.
The discussion can be found here
To start with, Nakul talked about his strategy on building arguments around complex tech concepts. He emphasized on the use of effective sources to back such arguments. Vrinda took the conversation further by talking about how RTI and debates in the parliament are strong sources to prove a point to the court. The discussion later moved towards other critical aspects to strategic litigation like considerations to choice of forum, the importance of framing appropriate reliefs and choosing the suitable counsel. The conversation concludes with a discussion on the impact of COVID-19 on litigation.
Key Points Discussed:
Importance of objectivity for lawyers (0:00 – 1:44)
Types of sources lawyers can use to explain their case objectively (1:45)
Explaining difficult legal concepts to the court (7:06)
Effectively engaging with the regulator before approaching the court (10:38)
Identifying whether a particular litigation is frivolous and consequences of filing a frivolous case (15:43)
Choosing a suitable counsel (20:10)
The importance of framing a relief (21:40)
Showing proportionality of legislative and executive actions (26:44)
Strategic litigation in the time of COVID: video conferencing based hearings (31:01 – 37:53)