RAJ PANCHMATIA

Advocate and Partner in Khaitan & Co.

NAME – Raj Panchmatia

PROFESSION – Advocate Partner in Dispute Resolution

BORN – Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

PLACE OF BIRTH – N/A

FATHER’S NAME – N/A

MOTHER’S NAME – N/A

SPOUSE – N/A

SIBLINGS – N/A

CHILDREN – N/A

EDUCATION –

• B.Com from H.R. College of Commerce and Economics, Mumbai
• LLB from University of Mumbai
• LLM from University of Mumbai

AWARDS – ‘Rising Star under 40’ award from Legal Era in 2016

SPECIALISATION – Dispute Resolution

COMMITTEE/PANEL HEADED – Co-convenor of Indian Arbitration Forum Western Region.

BACKGROUND – Adv. Panchmatia is a Maharashtra and Goa’s bar council-licensed trademark lawyer, patents attorney as well as an Indian geographical indications lawyer. He was born in Mumbai, Maharashtra in India. And began gaining plenty of experience from working as an advocate-on-record in the Supreme Court and through international work-experience affiliations to the Law Society of England & Wales, U.K, Bombay Chambers of Commerce and Industry, and so on. His main specialization is in dispute resolution.

UPBRINGING & EDUCATION – Mr. Raj Panchmatia pursued his Bachelor’s of Commerce from the H.R. College of Commerce and Economics located in Mumbai in the year 1997. He went onto study and collect his LLB and LLM degrees from the University of Mumbai in the batches of 2000 and 2004 respectively.

WALK OF LIFE – Mr. Raj Panchmatia is a Partner of the Dispute Resolution practice group at Khaitan & Co.’s Mumbai office. He’s extremely experienced in dispute resolution as well as commercial litigation, at both domestic and international levels. Various clients have been advised by him on an array of claims under the Indian laws of arbitration, Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC), London Court of International Arbitration, India (LCIA India), International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) and Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC).

He gives advice on litigation cases that appear in front of the Supreme Court of India, several Indian High Courts, the National Company Law Tribunal, and so on. The areas of his specialization are concerned with practicing in infrastructure, private equity, M&A, securities and sectors of defence, shipping, property, automobile, power, as well as hospitality. The Indian government is also represented and advised by him on several matters. Mr. Panchmatia also sits on the Singapore International Arbitration Centre‘s (SIAC) Arbitrators Panel.

He is also part of the SIAC’s Indian Users Counsel along with the ICC India Arbitration Group. The Malaysian Institute of Arbitrators also enjoys his presence as a Fellow. He had drafted the Rules of Mumbai Centre of International Arbitration as well and co-convenes the Indian Arbitration Forum Western Region. Several prestigious organizations such as the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), London Court of International Arbitration, India (LCIA India), Indian Council of Arbitration (ICA), Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC), Mumbai Centre for International Arbitration (MCIA), Swiss Arbitration Academy (SAA) and so on, have invited Mr. Panchmatia and he continues to speak at such important conferences.

Many law schools invite him to give advice to their students and he’s been on electronic media facilitated discussion forums to talk about topics regarding dispute resolutions. Mr. Raj Panchmatia is also a passionately devoted author and is credited by several reputed publications, journals, and web portals like International Law School, Practice Law Co., Lexology, Mondaq, Bar & Bench, Indian Council of Arbitration Quarterly (ICA Quarterly), and the International Bar Association (IBA).

REPRESENTATIVE MATTERS : Some of the most important cases given advice and representation by this advocate are as follows:

1. One of the biggest infrastructure disputes concerning arbitration in the Mumbai Metro Rail project construction was handled by Mr. Panchmatia. He indirectly represented the State government through its arm, the Mumbai Metro Regional Development Authority (MMRDA) for the full claim of 4500 crore rupees. He also procured a successful order for the arm organization with the involvement of the metro fares as written in the MMRDA and Mumbai Metro One Pvt. Ltd’s concession agreement.
2. He represented a huge French business house and defended aggregated claims for an approximate amount of 1, 597, 000 euros on a supposed shareholders agreement breach.
3. For Narendra Plastics Pvt. Ltd., one of the largest Asian plastic bags manufacturer and supplier, he advocated and gave advice in a dispute opposing a supermarket chain customer of international origins and helped devise a strategy to secure the payment of 1.8 million US dollars concerning said order.
4. He also advised and counseled for a payment recovery of 24 million euros in an agreement for manufacturing and supplying before the goods were shipped to Iran regarding some international sanctions and required documents for MAN Industries (India) Limited.
5. Mr. Panchmatia has also represented the Indian Beauty and Hygiene Association and gave advice on the challenge mounted by the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) amendment as well.
6. He advocated for a Japanese client on an arbitration case regarding the recovery of 2 million US dollars of an outstanding due that had resulted from a dispute in a contract of EPC in the sector of energy and infrastructure.
7. Vedanta Limited and Cairn India Ltd. were also given advice and representation by him in one of their merger schemes. Another client of his includes Tech Mahindra Ltd, to who Mr. Panchmatia gave advice regarding the Payment of Bonus (Amendment) Act of 2015.

PUBLICATIONS AND PRESENTATIONS : Some of this advocate’s considerable publications and presentations include:

1. The Oxford University Press publication of “Enforcement of Put and Call Options – Challenges in Manoeuvring the Exit.”
2. The Mondaq publication of “Decoding the Code – A New Paradigm for Insolvency Dispute Resolution”
3. The International Law Office’s publication of “Impact of Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Act on foreign-seated arbitrations”
4. Lexology’s publication of “The Commercial Courts Act: Is It the Solution For Delayed Justice”
5. The International Bar Association Legal Practice Division (IBA)’s publication of Asia Pacific Regional Forum’s newsletter of “Put and Call options in India: Do these exit options really exist?”
6. Bar & Bench’s publication of “The Viewpoint – Arbitrability of Oppression/ Mismanagement Disputes”
7. The Indian Council of Arbitration (ICA)’s publication of “Enercon Vs. Enercon: The continuing trend of a pro-arbitration Supreme Court”
8. Another publication by Bar & Bench titled “The Viewpoint – Investment Arbitration in India: An introduction to concept and challenges in the White Industries dispute”
9. A Jan 2013 Bar & Bench publication that was coveted and published by the Indian Council of Arbitration (ICA) as well as “The Viewpoint: Jurisdiction of Indian Court in International Commercial Arbitrations”