Driving Force - Aekom Legal

Our Driving Force

Dr. Ahuja holds a bachelor’s and Master’s degree in commerce from Shri Ram College of Commerce, University of Delhi. He did his Ph.D. from the University of Delhi. Dr. Girish Kumar Ahuja is a qualified and practising Chartered Accountant for the past 49 years, having consultancy experience in international and domestic taxation, joint ventures, etc. He is a member of the committee on direct tax matters that’s constituted by the Govt. of India. He was a Member of Task Force constituted by the Govt. of India for drafting the New Income Tax Law. He is also nominated by the Government of India as a part-time nonofficial Director to the Central Board of Directors of the State Bank of India. He regularly consults on tax matters to various industries and also non-profit making organizations.

Dr. Ahuja was also nominated as a member of high-powered committee formed by the Govt. of India under the Chairmanship of Justice A. P. Shah, Chairman of L aw Commission to look into (i) issue of applicability of MAT provisions in the case of foreign companies and FII’s (ii) any other issue relating to applicability of direct tax provisions which may be referred to it by the Government/CBDT from time to time.

Mr. Singh is a veteran lawyer and also a qualified company secretary, a registered insolvency professional and a certified associate of the Indian Institute of Bankers. He has been nominated by the Government of India as a Member of the Appellate Authority constituted under the Chartered Accountants Act 1949 , Companies Secretaries Act 1980, and Cost and Works Accountants Act, 1959. He is also the Chairman of the Expert Group of Secretarial Standards (earlier Secretarial Standard Board) for the years 2019 – 2023. Mr. Singh was the Co-chairman of the Restructuring and Insolvency Resolution group set up by the World Law Group.

He has over 35 years of experience in handling corporate law matters, including mergers and acquisitions, corporate restructuring, revival, rehabilitation and insolvency matters , joint ventures , collaborations, private equity, banking and securitisation, takeovers, acting as legal advisor to initial public offerings, rights issue, FCCBs and GDRs, open offers, conducting legal due diligence, drafting and negotiating commercial agreements, rendering opinion on diverse issues under (Indian) Companies Act, exchange control regulations, securities laws, stamp laws, other commercial laws corporate litigation, mediation and conciliation.

Mr. Singh (along with his team) had authored the book titled “Companies Act 2013 – Impact Assessment”, which was released through the hands of Hon’ble Justice A.K. Sikri, Judge Supreme Court of India and Mr. M Damodaran, Former Chairman, SEBI, who were also kind enough to write a foreword for the book.

Earlier Mr. Singh had authored the book “Companies Act 2013: Knowing the hanges”. He has co-authored a book on “International Business Acquisitions: Major Legal Issues and Due Diligence (India Chapter)” published by the World Law Group and has (i) contributed the chapter “Securities Laws in India” in the “International Securities Laws Book” published by the World Law Group; and (ii) authored an article on India Chapter for PLC Cross Border Restructuring and Insolvency Handbook.

Mr. Singh was a member of the Central Council of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) for the term 2015- 2018 and is a member of various committees of various chambers of commerce. He was the Past Chairman of Northern Indian Regional Council (NIRC) of ICSI. During his term, NIRC of ICSI was adjudged as the best regional council of ICSI. He is actively involved in various professional and industry associations. He is a frequent speaker at several conferences, workshops a n d seminars organized by leading professional bodies and chambers of commerce on subjects like M&A, Corporate Restructuring, Insolvency and Bankruptcy, Takeover Code, Foreign Direct Investment, Structuring of Joint Ventures etc.

Mr. Chawla has a diverse professional experience of around 16 years. He is an advocate holding qualifications of B.Com, LL.M, FCS and MBA. He is also registered as an Insolvency Professional with the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India.

Mr. Chawla has extensive experience in handling corporate litigation assignments, including insolvency matters, domestic and international commercial arbitrations, shareholder disputes, commercial suits, liquidations, and a wide range of corporate law matters. He also specializes in handling diverse corporate restructuring matters which include merger and demerger deals, compromise arrangements, reduction of capital, slump sale, minority squeezing, family settlements, and estate & succession planning.

Mr. Chawla is one of the youngest elected Chairman of the Northern India Regional Council of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) in the year 2015. He was also elected as a Central Council Member of the ICSI for the term 2019-2022. Recently, Mr. Chawla has been re-elected to the Central Council of the ICSI for the term 2023-2026. He is actively involved in various professional and industry associations. He is an avid orator and has delivered numerous lectures at several conferences and seminars organized by leading professional bodies and chambers of commerce. He has also authored many articles on Corporate Restructuring, Insolvency Law, Judgments by NCLT & AT, Stamp Duty implications and other related topics.

Recently, Mr. Chawla has curated a Book on “Supreme Court on Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code” covering all the judgments of the Hon’ble Apex Court on Insolvency in the last 5 years.

Mr. Khandelwal is a transactional lawyer and has experience of over a decade in advising on a broad range of corporate, commercial, foreign investment and securities law matters. He is a law graduate and an associate member of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI). He has also secured a Master’s in Business Laws from NLSIU, Bangalore where he was a gold medallist and further completed his post graduate diploma in Securities Law from Government Law College, Mumbai.

He regularly advises clients on deal structuring, mergers and acquisitions, inbound and outbound investments, joint ventures, corporate restructuring, investment structuring, strategic alliances, settlement deals, capital market deals, acquisition of stressed assets and private equity deals. He represents domestic and international companies, private equity and angel investors, start-ups in strategic and financial investment transactions across a range of sectors. He has extensive experience in

Negotiating exit and restructuring strategies for investors and joint venture partners.

He also provides guidance on regulatory approvals, disclosures and corporate governance issues connected with the transactions and has experiene in conducting due-diligence of companies operating in various sectors including IT, Fintech, E-Commerce, Healthcare, FMCG, Manufacturing etc. He has also worked on wide variety of earn-out and deferred consideration transactions.

He has extensive experience in negotiating a wide range of transaction documentation, including share subscription agreements, share purchase agreements, shareholder’s agreements, framework agreements, joint venture agreements, franchise agreements, business and asset transfer agreements, employment agreements, manufacturing agreements and other commercial contracts.

Mr. Khandelwal is also an avid speaker at various forums and events organized by ICSI, ICAI, and other professional chambers.

Mr. Dhyani is a Partner in Aekom Legal specialising in matters pertaining to General Corporate and Regulatory Affairs. He is a commerce and law graduate, and a fellow member of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI). He regularly renders legal opinions and tailored solutions on complex matters of corporate laws, securities laws, forex laws, employment laws, NBFC laws, and corporate restructuring.

He has extensively advised various corporates on setting up business operations in India from the inception. He has acted as an expert counsel to the corporates in managing their takeover deals, corporate fundings, settlement proceedings, liquidation proceedings, closure and on other corporate law matters.

He also has expertise in supervising and managing compliances, policies and procedures under various laws including but not limited to Companies Act, Foreign Exchange Management Act, SEBI, and Employment Laws, conducting due diligences and health checks, assisting in securing regulatory approvals, corporate fundings, compounding and settlement proceedings, advising on corporate governance issues and various complex legal matters for various companies, limited liability partnership and trusts.

Mr. Dhyani is a visiting faculty in ICSI where he conducts various legal technical and informative sessions. He also is a frequent lecturer at several conferences and seminars organised by leading professional bodies, various corporate houses, and business chambers. Besides, Lokesh is an ad-hoc consultant to the ICSI in relation to the contents of study material and other corporate laws & regulatory matters.

Mr. Datta has extensive experience in advising and representing domestic and international clients in a wide gamut of civil and commercial litigations including suits for recovery, suits for damages, suits for injunction and declaration arising out of Bank Guarantees, Letters of Credits and various contractual or tortious disputes, suits which relate to the recognition and enforcement of foreign decrees, anti-suit injunctions, regulatory proceedings etc. He has also represented clients in domestic and international commercial arbitrations and ancillary court proceedings arising out of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996.

Mr. Datta also has experience of advising and representing clients in matters arising out of the Companies Act, foreign exchange laws, securities laws, prevention of money laundering, tender matters and writs concerning public laws, debt recovery and insolvency laws.

Mr. Datta has appeared before the Supreme Court, various High Courts and trial courts across India, and tribunals including the National Company Law Tribunal and Appellate Tribunal, Appellate Tribunal for Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Money Laundering and Debt Recovery Tribunals and Appellate Tribunal. He is also a regular speaker in various conferences and seminars and is also an enthusiastic sportsperson with a deep passion for martial arts and yoga.

Mr. Sachdeva heads the Real Estate and Infrastructure practice of Aekom Legal. Mr. Sachdeva, qualified as a chartered accountant and company secretary, possesses 31 years’ of experience in the field of real estate, infrastructure & manufacturing sector. He has been actively rendering services in finance, taxation, company law matters, devising and implementing successful turnaround strategies for corporates. Harsh has qualified as limited insolvency examination with Insolvency & Bankruptcy Board of India.

He has earlier served at the position of Vice President of DLF for approx. 13 years. He has expertise in the real estate arena especially in relation to registration of projects, advisory services on joint development agreement, land acquisition matter, review of apartment buyer agreements, sale deed relating to residential projects.

Mr. Sachdeva has effectively and strategically handled financial close of a BOT Infrastructure Project awarded by NHAI under Public Private Partnership including dealing with fund arrangers / lenders/ Govt. grant. He has also successfully organized private equity investments through foreign direct investment in India of $300 Mn in eight residential projects.

Dr. Lawania heads the CSR, ESG and Business Compliance practice of Aekom Legal. Dr. Lawania is an academic leader, strategist, planner and implementer with over 15 years of rich & extensive experience in the CSR domain. She holds a PhD in Strategic CSR and has published various research papers on CSR in Scopus Journal. She has expertise on CSR related consultation including advising on Impact Assessment, Baseline Survey, CSR Strategy, Employee, CSR Annual Report and Monitoring and Evaluation. She also possesses capabilities in designing, planning and implementing CSR programs. She brings her research credentials and networks to establish herself as a passionate CSR professional.