The Jindal Poly Films-investors dispute & the unrealised promise of class action lawsuits in India
India’s first shareholder class action failed, exposing legal, procedural, and funding barriers that keep collective litigation dormant.Summary
India’s Companies Act of 2013 introduced class actions to empower shareholders, yet a decade later no case has reached trial. The Jindal Poly Films dispute, the most promising test of the mechanism, collapsed after a complex legal battle that saw the Supreme Court refer the matter to arbitration, effectively stalling the case. The failure highlights structural obstacles: stringent NCLT admissibility criteria, judicial reluctance to certify representative claims, and a lack of contingency‑fee or third‑party funding options that are common in the U.S. and other jurisdictions. While consumer class actions exist in theory, they are hampered by restrictive commonality requirements and a regulatory framework that favors the Central Consumer Protection Authority over grassroots groups. The article argues that unless lawmakers, courts, and regulators reform these barriers, class actions will remain an unrealised promise rather than a practical tool for corporate accountability in India.
(Source：ThePrint)