JPC Presents Report on Corporate Laws Amendment Bill
On Monday, the parliamentary committee chaired by Sudheer Gupta recommended adopting the Corporate Laws (Amendment) Bill with modifications, including CSR relaxations and the decriminalisation of procedural defaults.
The Monsoon Session of Parliament entered its eleventh day on Monday, August 3, 2026, with the Lok Sabha scheduled to take up two new bills for introduction. Proceedings have been marked by frequent disruptions during the session, and similar interruptions are anticipated as the government moves forward with its legislative agenda.
The Joint Parliamentary Committee on the Corporate Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026 presented its report in Parliament on Monday, recommending the legislation’s adoption with clause-wise modifications aimed at simplifying compliance and modernising corporate regulation. Chaired by BJP MP Sudheer Gupta, the panel endorsed a shift toward decriminalising procedural defaults by replacing them with civil penalties, alongside relaxations in Corporate Social Responsibility requirements and a strengthened mandate for the National Financial Reporting Authority (The Hindu).
The committee’s recommendations extend to structural changes for emerging businesses. It backed reduced compliance burdens for start-ups, One Person Companies, and small businesses, while also endorsing the conversion of trusts into Limited Liability Partnerships. For corporate governance, the report supported the formalisation of hybrid and virtual shareholder meetings and electronic voting provisions. Entities operating in International Financial Services Centres were granted greater regulatory flexibility under the proposed changes. The panel conducted 25 sittings, examined 130 memoranda, and heard from 83 stakeholders before finalising the report, which includes dissent notes from two members (Indian Express).
In the Lok Sabha, the government introduced the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill, 2026 to replace an ordinance promulgated in May. The legislation seeks to raise the sanctioned strength of Supreme Court judges from 33 to 37, excluding the Chief Justice of India, effectively increasing the court’s total sanctioned strength from 34 to 38. Two additional bills were listed for introduction in the Lower House on the eleventh day of the Monsoon Session, though proceedings faced the prospect of continued disruption that has marked the session thus far (Indian Express).
The Rajya Sabha witnessed repeated adjournments as Opposition members disrupted proceedings, demanding a statement from Home Minister Amit Shah on alleged police excesses against students during a protest at Jantar Mantar. Sloganeering persisted even as the House attempted to discuss the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development (Amendment) Bill, which proposes empowering courts to direct payment of at least 50 percent of awarded amounts to MSME suppliers if an application to set aside an award remains pending for over six months (Indian Express).
Indian Express