Ripe at the confluence of Indian State jurisprudential discourse lies the at once closed-presence and beleaguered occupant of the right to the individual, Privacy, now sewn to the relentless advance of Facial Recognition Technology (FRT). Whether deployed by sovereign police, a municipal surveillance net, the doctrinal stitch seems to unravel further as rolls, performs, and repositions the individual profile of every domestic dweller. The surveillance apparatus burgeons beyond the premises of ‘binomial consent’ or ‘security necessity’ as magnitudes of biometric detail relax into both vendor engine and State archive, fastening the broader tableau of data-handling, earlier drawn only from handwriting and testimony, to a permanence once accorded sacred relic. The pursuit offered here entwines what the law adroitly terms ‘intrinsic spin-offs’ of the jurisprudential oeuvre since 1950, obliges the text to process every dash of precedential script upon the disguised visage, and re-examines article sovereign lies re-constructed in such casually minted permanence of facial tiles.
This paper home in on the constitutional foundations of privacy as elaborated in the landmark judgment of Justice K.S. Puttaswamy (Retd.) V. Union of India (2017), where the Supreme Court squarely held that the primarily on constitutional right to privacy: the Aadhaar validity case was decided separately in 2018.The ruling requires that any encroachment on privacy must be justified by a law that is just, fair and reasonable, underlining the necessity of strict safeguards when deploying intrusive technologies such as facial recognition. The absence of binding and coherent legislation has created a regulatory vacuum, further complicated by the fragmented schema of the Information Technology Act, the narrow provisions of the Aadhaar Act, and various advisory frameworks that government bodies have offered on a non-mandatory basis.
#Face Recognition#Technology#Privacy
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Surrogate advertising has surfaced as an eminent challenge in India, particularly in sectors where explicit advertising of sensitive products is restricted. By promoting substitute goods, companies announce products similar as alcohol, tobacco, and more lately, drugs. In the medicinal and AYUSH sectors, this practice has contributed to a swell of misleading remedial claims, exploiting consumer vulnerabilities. In its response, Rule 170 of the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945 was introduced in 2018 as a targeted measure to regulate announcements of Ayurvedic, Siddha, and Unani(ASU) medicines. By requiring a Unique Identification Number by the companies before promoting such drugs, it created a preventative medium to prevent the surrogate content into the public sphere. This paper critically examines the validity of Rule 170 and its role in preventing surrogate advertising with a direct focus on public health sector. This Rule, has remained the subject of sustained controversy ever since its insertion through the Eleventh Amendment in 2018. It situates the discussion within an indigenous frame, analyzing Article 14,19,21, and 47, while drawing on crucial judicial pronouncements similar as Hamdard Dawakhana v. Union of India and the 2025 Supreme Court ruling in Indian Medical Association v. Union of India which upheld the deletion of the said Rule.
The study then infers that the future of drug advertising regulation in India lies in building a unified and comprehensive framework that can effectively counter surrogate practices across all medical systems while maintaining an environment conducive to fair competition and legitimate trade.
#Surrogate Advertising#Rule 170#Ayush Medicines
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From a structural aspect, legal education has been a gatekeeper to the rule of law for ages, and it is expected that it would give to the future lawyers, judges, counselors, and legal scientists a deep understanding of how the executive, legislative and judicial system works (Ebenezer, 2022). This educational profession has traditionally been very conservative, retrospective and dogmatic. This is the traditional law school classroom, where students sit and take notes on a passive object, the physical object (Cella, 2011; Fornasier, 2021) and the professor in a position of total control, speaking monologically, and teaching in one direction. The fundamentals of the law, such as using the Socratic method, analyzing case law and carefully editing reporters, treatises and statutory volumes, all focused on face-to-face communication and dialectical argumentation. However, in the socioeconomic world the world has been transformed significantly with the onset of digital age and emergence of systemic technological disruptions. The legal profession is in the midst of a major transformation as society is moving through the fast-paced digitalization and industrialisation, as well as the advent of new data architectures. The practice is digital today, and digital case management systems, e-discovery algorithms, automated document assembly engines, electronic court filing architectures and others are commonplace in today's digital environment (Fornasier, 2021).
This establishes a new gap between past (analog law school) and future (hyper-digitized legal marketplace of the present day). The academic institutions are constrained to use Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in their teaching models due to the growing competency gap. In a broad sense, ICT education is a broad convergence of integrated telecommunications, enterprise middleware, computers, and interactive digital software that makes the creation, storage, manipulation and transmission of knowledge possible.
In the Indian context, the urgency for this transformation is particularly significant given the sheer scale of the country's legal education system. As of 2024, India has approximately 1,800 law colleges and universities enrolling around 70,000 new law graduates annually, many distributed across geographically dispersed institutions with widely differing resource levels. [1] The Bar Council of India has issued formal circulars directing all Centres of Legal Education to incorporate emerging technology subjects including artificial intelligence, cyber-security, blockchain, and electronic discovery into their curricula, reflecting an official policy recognition of the digitisation imperative in legal training. [2]
ICT has various innovations that are put into place, including learning management systems (LMS) like Moodle or Blackboard, intelligent lecture capture systems, virtual mock courts and AI-based adaptive learning systems. While the subject of the use of ICTs in legal education cannot be ignored, there are pedagogical implications which are clear: pedagogical flexibility is unprecedented; the geographical reach of legal education has been extended and realistic professional simulations are offered. But, the shift from analog instruction has severe structural issues. This paper explores systemic problems and underlying issues when attempting to use technology to instruct and educate about the law. It discusses the multiple aspects of the difference, such as pedagogical differences, regulatory barriers, data privacy issues, inequities regarding resources, and the complex ethical dilemmas of AI in the learning context. Ultimately, it can pave the way forward for law schools everywhere. The second part is on the transition from analog pedagogy to learning with ICTs. The second part is dedicated to the transformation of analog pedagogy to learning with ICTs. The use of ICT in legal education is not merely about upgrading the legal classroom, it is about epistemology or re-thinking of legal education, legal knowledge and application. In an analog world, the knowledge of law can sometimes be thought of as a set of rules and precedents in history which could be learned, or memorized. This knowledge can be passed on to the student solely by the professor. At the same time, ICTs-based teaching practices are not only de-centralizing information, but also giving rise to the possibility to build a horizontal and collaborative relationship between teacher and student, rather than a vertical and dogmatic one (Cella, 2011)
[1] 'Law School Rankings 2024: Cultivating Market-Ready Lawyers' (BW Legal World, 2024) <https://www.bwlegalworld.com/article/law-school-rankings-2024-cultivating-market-ready-lawyers-527915> accessed 1 September 2026.
[2] Press Information Bureau, 'Circular to All Universities and Centres of Legal Education by Bar Council of India to Incorporate Subjects such as Blockchain, Electronic Discovery, Cyber-Security, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence and Bio-Ethics in Their Curricula' (Government of India, 2024) <https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2040667> accessed 1 September 2026.
#Legal Education#Information And Communication Technology (ict)#Digital Transformation
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Sampling is one of the fundamental component of the research methodology. It guides the researcher to bridge the gap between theory and empirical populations. It enables researchers to draw conclusions backed by empirical evidence by examining the representative subset of the population. When a researcher executes his research, it is impractical to study an entire population depending on the research objectives, because of many reasons may it be lack of time, resources or a large population, therefore the researcher has to find an appropriate sample size to study the characteristics of the whole population. This paper provides a comprehensive explanation and description of sampling, covering its core concepts, significance both in qualitative and quantitative research, classifications and best practices of sampling in research. This article further discusses the criteria for selecting an appropriate sampling method which follow the research objectives, population, characteristics, sample size, and available resources. It is a quite essential step in research as this stage will determine the conclusion after examination and evaluation of the data collected through sampling, thereby contributing a robust, valid and reliable research study.
Section 16A of the Maharashtra Court Fees Act, 1959, added through the 2018 amendment, pertains to the refund of court fees where disputes have been settled under Section 89 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908. But the nature of the authority competent to issue the refund remains an unresolved question before the judiciary. The problem has become stark following the decision of the Supreme Court on 19 December 2024 wherein it ruled that Lok Adalat settlement and mediation, despite being two forms of alternative dispute resolution, are distinct from each other, hence not fungible, for purposes of refunds under Section 89 CPC, and recommended the Maharashtra legislature to correct the problem of discrepancies between the treatment of the various forms of settlement under Section 89 CPC as far as refund of court fees is concerned. The thesis of this paper is that the call of the Court for legislative action overlooks an even more important prerequisite; whether the determination relating to the issuance of refund is a quasi-judicial one entailing natural justice requirements or whether it is merely a ministerial task. Using the institutional decision-making approach and the Kraipak principle, the paper examines whether the administrative categorization of Section 16A determination holds water, especially considering that a settlement entered in a court-recorded compromise itself proves the terms of settlement.
Motor vehicle accidents constitute a serious social, economic, and legal problem in India. The rapid expansion of motorization, urbanization, population growth, and increasing dependence on road transport have contributed to a substantial burden of road accidents, resulting in death, bodily injury, permanent disability, property damage, and loss of income. According to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, approximately 4.8 lakh road accidents were reported in India during 2023, resulting in about 1.72 lakh fatalities. The figures demonstrate the continuing importance of an effective legal and insurance mechanism for protecting accident victims. ( “ Road Accidents in India 2023 ” ).Motor insurance performs an important role in transferring and distributing the financial risks arising from road accidents. In particular, compulsory third-party insurance seeks to ensure that persons who suffer death, bodily injury, or certain forms of property loss because of the use of motor vehicles are not left without an effective source of compensation. The Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 provides the principal statutory framework for third-party insurance, insurer liability, compensation, and Motor Accident Claims Tribunals. Sections relating to compulsory insurance, policy requirements, insurer obligations, hit-and-run compensation, no-fault compensation, and Claims Tribunals collectively establish a statutory mechanism for accident compensation. (India Code).This research examines the impact of motor insurance on motor vehicle accident claims in India from legal, economic, social, and procedural perspectives. It considers the development of motor insurance, the conceptual foundations of risk transfer and compensation, the role of compulsory third-party insurance, the functioning of Motor Accident Claims Tribunals, the rights of accident victims, the liability and defences of insurers, and the difficulties encountered during the claim process. The study also reviews important judicial decisions concerning insurer liability and the calculation of compensation, including National Insurance Co. Ltd. v. Swaran Singh, Sarla Verma v. Delhi Transport Corporation, Rajesh v. Rajbir Singh, and Magma General Insurance Co. Ltd. v. Nanu Ram.
The research is primarily doctrinal and analytical and relies on statutes, judicial decisions, government reports, regulatory materials, legal books, research literature, and reliable electronic legal resources. The study finds that compulsory motor insurance has significantly strengthened the compensation framework by shifting accident-related financial risk from individual victims and vehicle owners to the insurance system. However, delays in adjudication, procedural complexity, inadequate awareness, difficulties in proving income and disability, disputes regarding policy conditions, uninsured vehicles, and delays in payment continue to reduce the effectiveness of the system.The research recommends stronger enforcement of compulsory insurance, simplified claim procedures, greater use of digital technology, time-bound investigation and settlement, improved legal aid, victim assistance centres, better coordination between police, hospitals, insurers, and tribunals, and periodic review of compensation levels. A victim-oriented and technologically integrated compensation system is essential for ensuring that the legal right to compensation becomes an effective and accessible remedy.
The question of who deserves what lies at the foundation of moral philosophy, political theory, and jurisprudence. While Western thinkers such as Aristotle [1] , John Rawls [2] , and Robert Nozick [3] offer diverging accounts of moral desert and distributive justice, Hindu philosophical traditions provide a distinct metaphysical and ethical paradigm rooted in the doctrines of dharma, karma, and the Purusharthas. Aristotle grounds desert in virtue and teleology, Rawls rejects desert as a fair basis of distribution because natural attributes are morally arbitrary, while Nozick dismisses patterned theories altogether in favour of historical entitlement. In contrast, ancient Hindu sources [4] such as the Upanishads [5] , the Bhagavad Gita, Manusmriti, the Ramayana, and Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras frame moral desert as the natural and inevitable result of action, intention, and duty across lifetimes. This paper examines these contrasting frameworks, integrating scriptural teachings to show that Hindu thought offers a more holistic and spiritually integrated conception of desert, in which personal responsibility, cosmic law, virtue, and spiritual evolution converge. Through an analysis of morality, truth, justice, action, the Purusharthas, and the types of karma, the research demonstrates how Hindu ethics unify social and cosmic dimensions of justice, presenting an alternative to the procedural fairness of Rawls and the libertarian entitlement of Nozick.
[1] Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics (Trans. by W.D. Ross, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1954).
[2] John Rawls, A Theory of Justice 63–65 (Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, rev. edn., 1999).
[3] Robert Nozick, Anarchy, State, and Utopia (Basic Books, New York, 1974).
[4] G. Bühler (trans.), The Laws of Manu (Internet Sacred Text Archive), available at: https://www.sacred- texts.com/hin/manu.htm (last visited on Feb. 7, 2025); F. Max Müller (trans.), XXXII Vedic Hymns, Part I , Sacred Books of the East (Internet Sacred Text Archive, 2008), available at: https://www.sacred- texts.com/hin/sbe32/index.htm (last visited on Feb. 7, 2025); Hermann Oldenberg (trans.), XLVI Vedic Hymns, Part II , Sacred Books of the East (Internet Sacred Text Archive, 1897), available at:
https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/sbe46/index.htm (last visited on Feb. 7, 2025); Swami Madhavananda (trans.), The Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upanishad (Advaita Ashrama), available at: https://www.advaitaashrama.org (last visited on Feb. 7, 2025).
[5] Ibid .
#Moral Desert#Dharma#Karma
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Human-induced pollution has emerged as one of the most serious threats to the natural environment and sustainable development. Rapid industrialization, urbanization, population growth, transportation, agricultural activities, mining, deforestation and improper waste disposal have significantly increased the level of pollution in air, water and soil. Unlike natural environmental changes, human-induced pollution is largely associated with human activities and has the potential to cause long-term and irreversible damage to ecosystems.
Air pollution contributes to respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, climate change and ecological degradation, while water pollution affects aquatic ecosystems, drinking-water quality and human health. Soil pollution caused by industrial waste, pesticides, plastics and hazardous chemicals reduces soil fertility and affects agricultural productivity. Marine pollution, particularly plastic and chemical pollution, further threatens aquatic biodiversity and food chains. The increasing generation of electronic waste and other forms of hazardous waste has added new dimensions to the environmental problem.
This study critically examines the major causes and forms of human-induced pollution and analyses their impact on the natural environment, biodiversity and human well-being. It also examines the legal and institutional measures adopted to control pollution and promote environmental protection. The study adopts a doctrinal and qualitative approach based primarily on secondary sources, including environmental legislation, judicial decisions, government reports, international conventions, academic literature and reports of environmental organizations.
The study finds that although India has developed an extensive environmental legal framework, effective implementation remains a major challenge due to weak enforcement, inadequate monitoring, increasing industrial activity, poor waste management and limited public awareness. The study therefore emphasizes the need for stronger enforcement of environmental laws, sustainable industrial practices, effective waste management, renewable energy, environmental education and greater public participation. A coordinated approach involving government authorities, industries, local communities and individuals is essential to protect the natural environment for present and future generations.
#Human-induced Pollution#Environmental Degradation#Sustainable Development
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Space debris has emerged as one of the most significant challenges to the long-term sustainability of outer space activities. The rapid expansion of satellite launches, commercial space ventures, anti-satellite (ASAT) weapon tests, and abandoned spacecraft has led to an alarming increase in artificial objects orbiting the Earth. These objects pose serious risks to operational satellites, crewed missions, and critical infrastructure that supports communication, navigation, weather forecasting, scientific research, and national security. Although international space law recognises the responsibility of States for activities conducted in outer space, the existing legal framework does not specifically impose binding obligations regarding the prevention, mitigation, or removal of space debris. Most international guidelines, including those adopted by the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UNCOPUOS), remain voluntary and lack effective enforcement mechanisms.
This research examines the concept of space debris and analyses the adequacy of the existing international legal regime governing its management. Using a doctrinal research methodology, the study analyses primary legal instruments, including the Outer Space Treaty (1967), the Liability Convention (1972), the Registration Convention (1975), and relevant international guidelines, alongside scholarly literature and reports issued by international organisations such as the United Nations, NASA, and the European Space Agency. The study identifies significant legal and regulatory gaps concerning liability, enforcement, active debris removal, and space traffic management. It concludes that the existing legal framework has not kept pace with the rapid commercialisation and militarisation of outer space. The paper recommends the development of a binding international treaty on space debris, stronger international cooperation, mandatory debris mitigation standards, enhanced liability mechanisms, and effective space traffic management systems to ensure the sustainable and peaceful use of outer space for present and future generations.
#Space Debris#International Space Law#Outer Space Treaty
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Delay in the administration of justice is one of the major challenges confronting the Indian judicial system. The effectiveness of the rule of law depends not only upon the existence of courts and legal remedies but also upon the ability of courts to provide justice within a reasonable period. Prolonged litigation affects both civil and criminal proceedings and may undermine access to justice, equality, personal liberty and public confidence in judicial institutions.
The problem of judicial delay is caused by several factors, including judicial vacancies, inadequate infrastructure, shortage of supporting staff, procedural complexity, frequent adjournments, delays in investigation and prosecution, repeated appeals and increasing litigation. In civil cases, delay may affect property, contractual, family, employment and commercial rights. In criminal cases, prolonged proceedings may affect accused persons, under trial prisoners, victims and witnesses.
The constitutional dimension of judicial delay is particularly significant under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. The Supreme Court has recognized speedy trial as an essential component of the right to life and personal liberty. In Hussainara Khatoon v State of Bihar, the Court emphasized that speedy trial forms part of the fair and reasonable procedure guaranteed under Article 21. The Supreme Court has continued to reaffirm this principle.¹
The present research adopts a constitutional and socio-legal approach to examine the causes and consequences of judicial delay. It analyses the distinction between civil and criminal delay, the constitutional right to speedy trial, important judicial decisions, the impact of delay on vulnerable sections of society, and existing measures such as digitisation, e-Courts, mediation and other alternative dispute-resolution mechanisms.
#Judicial Delay#Pendency#Article 21
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The rapid development of social media has significantly transformed the way information is produced, distributed and consumed in India. Social media platforms have become important tools for democratic participation by providing citizens with opportunities to express their views, access information, participate in political debates and communicate directly with public institutions and political representatives. However, the widespread use of these platforms has also resulted in the rapid circulation of fake news, misinformation and disinformation. The easy creation and sharing of false information can have serious consequences for democratic governance in India.
Fake news has the potential to influence public opinion, manipulate electoral behaviour, damage the reputation of individuals and institutions, create social and communal tension, and reduce public trust in democratic institutions. The problem becomes particularly serious during elections, public emergencies and politically sensitive situations, where misleading information can spread to a large number of people within a short period. The anonymous nature of online communication and the difficulty of identifying the original source of false information further complicate the problem.
From a legal perspective, regulating fake news presents a significant challenge because it must be balanced with the fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression guaranteed under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution of India. Although the State can impose reasonable restrictions under Article 19(2), excessive regulation may result in censorship and may affect legitimate political criticism and public debate. Indian laws, including the Information Technology Act 2000, relating to defamation, public order, unlawful activities, provide mechanisms to address certain forms of harmful online content.
#Fake News#Social Media#Democracy
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Violence within the home remains one of the most pervasive yet under-acknowledged threats to the mental well-being of women in India. While the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 ("PWDVA") was enacted to provide a civil remedy against domestic abuse, and the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017 ("MHA") was enacted to secure the right to mental healthcare and to align Indian law with a rights-based, autonomy-respecting model of mental health treatment, the two statutes operate largely in isolation from one another. This paper undertakes a doctrinal examination of the interface between these two legislations, arguing that the psychological injury inflicted by domestic violence is frequently treated as incidental to physical injury, rather than as an actionable harm deserving of structured redressal and treatment support. The paper traces the statutory architecture of both enactments, examines judicial recognition of psychological trauma as a facet of the right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution of India, and identifies specific gaps such as the absence of mandatory psychiatric assessment in domestic violence proceedings, the near total absence of trauma-informed procedure before Protection Officers and Magistrates, and the poor integration of District Mental Health Programme services with domestic violence support services. The paper concludes with concrete recommendations, including amendment of the PWDVA to statutorily recognise a right to psychiatric and psychological support as part of the reliefs available under Section 20, mandatory training of Protection Officers in trauma-informed practice, and the creation of a formal referral pathway between Protection Officers and Mental Health Establishments recognised under the MHA.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is increasingly transforming migration and refugee governance by enabling governments and international organizations to process large volumes of information, verify identities, assess risks, and support decision-making. AI-driven technologies, including biometric identification, facial recognition, automated border surveillance, predictive analytics, and automated application processing, are becoming important tools in migration control. While these technologies can improve administrative efficiency and strengthen border management, their use also raises significant legal, ethical, and human rights concerns. The article investigates the significance of artificial intelligence (AI) in migration and helping to control refugees. The focus is on the consequences for refugee protection, procedural fairness, protection of privacy, freedom from discrimination, and access to asylum. Within the article, the use of AI-based systems for the identification and classification of migrants, detection of security threats, movement monitoring, and support for admission, detention, deportation, and asylum applications are discussed. According to this article, AI contributes to the increasing efficiency and effectiveness of migration governance; however, relying too much on AI can lead to algorithmic biases, wrong assessments of risk, opacity of operations, wrong treatment of data, and unfair results for those immigrants and refugees in need. The methodology of the article is qualitative and doctrinal, based primarily on international refugee law and human rights law, national legislation, court rulings, policy documents, and scholarly literature. It examines states and international organizations’ responsibilities to ensure compliance of AI with human dignity, non-refoulement principle, privacy and equality. The article concludes that AI has to be used as a tool assisting human decision-makers rather than taking their place.
India holds the third largest rare earth reserves in the world. Rare earth elements power electric vehicles, wind turbines, defence avionics, MRI scanners, semiconductors, and 5G infrastructure, making them the material foundation of the modern industrial economy. For India, developing domestic processing capacity is not simply an economic choice. It is a condition of technological self-reliance. A country that mines rare earths but ships them abroad for refining remains a raw material exporter regardless of the size of its reserve base. India has historically done exactly that: IREL (India) Limited has mined monazite sands since 1950, yet the country produces only about 2,900 tonnes of rare earth oxides annually against China’s 270,000 tonnes and over 90 per cent of global refining capacity. The strategic cost of that gap is no longer theoretical. China’s April 2025 export licensing requirements for rare earth magnets demonstrated how quickly supply chains for defence and clean energy technologies can be disrupted when processing capacity is concentrated in a single jurisdiction. Building domestic separation, refining, and magnet manufacturing capacity is therefore a question of national security as much as industrial policy.
India’s rare earth governance reflects successive legislative shifts. The Atomic Energy Act 1962 confined extraction to state entities for over six decades. The MMDR Act 1957 was amended in 2015 to introduce competitive auctions and again in 2023 to give the Central Government authority to auction 24 critical minerals. The Cabinet notified a 1 per cent royalty rate for rare earth elements on 12 October 2023. The MMDR Amendment 2025, Finance Bill 2026 corridor scheme, and the National Critical Mineral Mission are the latest phase of this effort.
The MMDR 2025 reduced royalty rates from 12% to 1% under Entry 50, List II, to attract mining investment. The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs simultaneously charges 18% GST on those royalties through the Reverse Charge Mechanism, while output GST on mineral sales sits at 5%. The 13% working capital gap absorbs most of what the royalty cut was supposed to free up. This structural contradiction raises questions under Articles 39(b) and (c) of the Constitution: the burden falls disproportionately on smaller operators, and concentration of the field in large integrated companies follows as a direct consequence.
The constitutional analysis engages with Property Owners Association v State of Maharashtra (2024), which refined Article 39(b)’s scope, and Mineral Area Development Authority v Steel Authority of India (2024), which confirmed royalty is contractual consideration rather than a tax, opening retrospective state cesses from April 2005. The article draws on the EU Critical Raw Materials Act (2024), Australia’s Critical Minerals Strategy 2023–2030, and China Rare Earths (2014) to argue India’s fiscal incoherence is a self-inflicted disadvantage where other jurisdictions have aligned their tax and industrial policy. This article argues the regulatory framework is working against the very goals these reforms were designed to serve.
#Royalty#Gst#Rare Earth
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Inheritance laws play a crucial role in determining the distribution of property and the economic security of individuals within a family. In India, the evolution of inheritance laws has been significantly influenced by religious traditions, customary practices, and patriarchal social structures. Historically, Hindu succession laws were deeply rooted in ancient religious texts such as the "Manusmriti, Yajnavalkya Smriti, and Narada Smriti", which mainly favoured a male-centric system of property inheritance. Women were generally excluded from ownership of ancestral property and were often treated as dependents within the family structure.
The enactment of the "Hindu Succession Act, 1956" made significant development of Hindu inheritance law, granting women ownership rights over property and introducing a more uniform system of inheritance. However, the original framework of the Act continued to reflect certain gender disparities, particularly with respect to coparcenary rights and the devolution of property inherited by Hindu females. Subsequent legal reforms, particularly the "Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005", aimed to address these inequalities by granting daughters equal coparcenary rights in joint family property. Despite these reforms, complexities remain regarding the devolution of property inherited by Hindu females from various sources, such as their father, mother, husband, or father-in-law.
This research paper adopts a doctrinal approach to examine the legal principles governing the succession of property inherited by Hindu females. It analyzes the statutory provisions, historical evolution, and judicial interpretations of succession laws while evaluating their impact on gender justice and women’s property rights in India. The study seeks to determine whether the current legal framework effectively promotes equality or whether certain provisions continue to perpetuate patriarchal norms within inheritance law.
#Hindu Succession Act#Gender Equality#Property Rights
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Public-health preparedness depends not only on the capacity of health systems but also on how individuals understand, evaluate and respond to health threats and public-health recommendations. This conceptual review examines the role of behavioural science in strengthening public-health preparedness in India, with particular attention to six interconnected dimensions: health information, health literacy, risk perception, trust, social influence and self-efficacy. Drawing on established behavioural perspectives, including the Health Belief Model, Theory of Planned Behavior, Social Cognitive Theory and health-literacy frameworks, the paper examines how these determinants may influence preventive health behaviour and behavioural preparedness. The review proposes an integrated conceptual pathway in which the health-information environment influences health literacy, which in turn interacts with risk perception and trust, social influence and self-efficacy to shape preventive behaviour and ultimately individual and community preparedness. The Indian context is considered in relation to population diversity, socioeconomic conditions, language, culture, healthcare access, digital connectivity and institutional trust. The review further identifies research gaps concerning information evaluation, digital health environments, risk perception, trust, social influence, measurement and longitudinal evidence, and proposes a progressive research programme moving from descriptive and relational research to measurement development, comparative, longitudinal and intervention studies. The paper argues that behavioural preparedness should complement conventional epidemiological and health-system indicators and that public-health communication should move beyond information delivery towards approaches that strengthen understanding, credibility, appropriate risk perception, social support and behavioural capability. The proposed framework is conceptual and requires empirical validation before its relationships can be considered established or causal.
In the economy of Himachal Pradesh, tourism plays a significant role of major contributor. The geography of Himachal Pradesh having distinct ecological diversity, mountainous landscapes, religious destinations, and cultural heritage are the major attractions for not only domestic tourists but at international level also. However, this growing tourism is good for finacial health of the State but it has raised major concern for ecological balances and environment degradation. And in the present study efforts have been made to analyse the the relationship between tourism, environmental sustainability, and governance mechanisms in Himachal Pradesh through a socio-legal and empirical approach. For which both primary and secondary data was used. Primary data was collected through questionnaires administered to 120 respondents including local residents, tourists, students, and business operators from Shimla, Manali, Dharamshala, and Kullu. And the results of this study shows that while tourism significantly contributes to employment and economic growth, unregulated tourism practices have intensified environmental degradation and infrastructural pressure. And the study comes to the conclusion that there is need to adopt sustainable practices and government should promote sustainable tourism by spreading more awareness.
#Tourism#Sustainability#Environment
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The increasing availability of digital health information has changed how university students seek, evaluate and share information related to health. This study examined health-information-seeking behaviour, trust in different health-information sources and health-preparedness awareness among 200 university students aged 18 years and above in Bengaluru, Karnataka. A descriptive cross-sectional survey design was adopted, and data were collected using a structured questionnaire covering demographic characteristics, health-information-seeking behaviour, source trust and preparedness awareness. Participants were recruited through convenience sampling, with voluntary participation and informed consent. Data were analysed using frequencies, percentages, means, standard deviations, Cronbach's alpha and Spearman's rank-order correlation. Internet search engines (82.0%) and social media (75.5%) were the most frequently used sources of health information, whereas healthcare professionals (4.28 ± 0.78) and scientific/medical journals (4.17 ± 0.83) received the highest trust scores. The mean total preparedness-awareness score was 30.74 ± 5.21 on a possible range of 8–40. The three study domains demonstrated acceptable internal consistency, with Cronbach's alpha values ranging from .81 to .86. Information-seeking behaviour was positively associated with preparedness awareness (ρ = .42, p < .001), while source trust (ρ = .35, p < .001) and information-verification behaviour (ρ = .48, p < .001) also showed significant positive associations with preparedness awareness. The findings indicate that although university students frequently rely on digital sources for health information, they place greater trust in professional and scientific sources. Strengthening students' abilities to evaluate, verify and appropriately use health information may therefore contribute to improved behavioural public-health preparedness.
Humanity faces a range of challenges that transcend national borders, including armed conflict, extreme poverty, discrimination, displacement, environmental destruction, exploitation and threats to human dignity. Although existing national and international legal systems provide important mechanisms for protecting human rights and maintaining international order, significant gaps remain in ensuring that the interests of humanity as a whole are consistently recognised and protected.
This article proposes the concept of Humanity Law as a human-centred normative framework founded on the principles of human dignity, equality, peace, freedom, solidarity and the protection of future generations. It further proposes the establishment of Humanity Courts as independent judicial institutions capable of addressing serious violations of fundamental principles affecting humanity as a whole.
The proposed framework is not intended to replace existing national courts, international courts or human-rights institutions. Rather, it seeks to explore whether a complementary legal institution could provide an additional mechanism for addressing matters that transcend conventional jurisdictional boundaries. The article examines the conceptual foundations, possible jurisdiction, institutional structure, procedural safeguards and enforcement mechanisms of Humanity Courts.
The article argues that the development of Humanity Law should be approached as an evolving legal and philosophical project based upon the proposition that legal systems ultimately exist to protect human beings and human dignity.
#Humanity Law#Humanity Courts#Human Dignity
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Gender justice in India has developed through constitutional guarantees, protective legislation and an expanding body of judicial decisions. Yet formal equality has not consistently translated into substantive equality. Women and gender-diverse persons continue to encounter barriers arising from unequal access to institutions, gender stereotypes, economic dependence, gaps in implementation and uneven institutional capacity. The central problem is therefore not the absence of law alone, but the distance between legal entitlement and practical access to justice.
This policy brief proposes a Gender Justice Access and Accountability Framework designed to strengthen implementation without creating an entirely separate legal regime. The proposal focuses on five connected reforms: mandatory gender-responsive legal-aid and referral mechanisms at district level; standardised protocols for police, prosecutors and other first-contact institutions; stronger accountability and monitoring of statutory compliance; gender-impact assessment for major criminal and social legislation; and an integrated national data framework capable of measuring not only complaints and convictions but also delays, withdrawals, access to legal aid and institutional outcomes.
The proposal also recommends targeted amendments to existing institutional frameworks, including clearer statutory duties for designated nodal officers, time-bound reporting, independent audits and minimum training standards. Comparative experience from the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada demonstrates that equality objectives become more effective when supported by institutional duties, impact assessment and measurable accountability rather than relying exclusively on general prohibitions.
The proposed reforms can be implemented in three phases over thirty-six months. The immediate phase would establish standards and pilot district-level mechanisms; the medium-term phase would institutionalise monitoring and impact assessment; and the long-term phase would integrate evaluation into legislative and administrative decision-making. The objective is not to privilege one gender over another, but to make equality before law meaningful by reducing structural barriers to justice and improving the responsiveness of public institutions.
#Gender Justice#Access To Justice#Legal Aid
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