Competition law has always presumed that cartels require a meeting of minds. Section 2(b) and Section 3(3) of the Competition Act, 2002 define an anti-competitive ‘agreement’ in terms broad enough to capture tacit understandings, but they still anchor liability to human coordination. Pricing algorithms deployed across e-commerce, travel, ride-hailing, and fuel retail in India now routinely converge on supra-competitive prices without any exchange of intent between rival firms. This paper maps four archetypes of algorithmic coordination messenger, hub-and-spoke, predictable-agent, and autonomous ‘digital eye’ collusion against the doctrinal architecture of the Competition Act, 2002, and asks whether the 2023 amendment’s codification of hub-and-spoke liability closes the gap or merely narrows it. Drawing on the Competition Commission of India’s treatment of the domestic airlines pricing-software matter, the Uber hub-and-spoke proceedings, comparative developments including Lithuania’s Eturas ruling, French and European regulatory proposals for algorithmic audits, and the empirical economics literature on reinforcement-learning collusion, the paper argues that the agreement paradigm cannot, without reform, reach autonomous algorithmic coordination. It proposes a structural-plus-effects framework for a new Section 3A, calibrated disclosure and audit obligations for high-risk pricing algorithms, a rebuttable presumption keyed to market structure and outcome, and safe harbours for verified compliance-by-design, alongside institutional coordination between the CCI and sectoral regulators.
#Algorithmic Collusion#Competition Act#2002
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The Roma, one of the Europe’s oldest minorities, has endured a long history of discrimination and disadvantage throughout Europe, which has only recently begun to be acknowledged and addressed. The Romani population occupies a peculiar stance and despite its distinct visible ethnicity, it has no political entity of its own. Moreover, being widely dispersed throughout Europe and beyond, the Roma have no territorial identity of their own. In today's world of interconnectedness and communication networks, new possibilities are arising that pose a challenge to identity construction processes as well as new risks and vulnerabilities. The transitional political efforts in the European Union for ensuring relief and inclusion of Roma population have been insignificant due to the lack of determination at the grassroots levels or because of the resistance of the majority population. The major challenges faced by these marginalized communities are the exclusion from basic environmental services, such as the supply of drinking water, sanitation, education, employment, healthcare, and infrastructure. Moreover, these communities are disproportionately affected by ecological hazards, such as pollution and environmental degradation stemming from waste dumps and landfills, contaminated sites, or dirty industries. The repercussions are devastating health impacts ranging from infectious diseases to mental health problems. Unequal exposure to environmental and segregated ghettos is one of many dimensions of anti-gypsyism, that is, the racially motivated discrimination and exclusion of persons stigmatized as ‘gypsies’ in public perceptions. Thereby, this research expounds upon the probable aspects to tackle the problems faced by Roma communities in and across Europe.
#Roma#Racism#Social Integration
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‘Bharat’, the ancient land has always attached great importance to knowledge. It’s a land which has a limitless array of texts, manuscripts and schools of knowledge. India's eternal wisdom resonates like a cosmic symphony. The reasoned, metaphysical and idealistic investigation of the system of knowledge stems from the Vedas traversing through the Upanishads, the Dharmashastras, Darsana and Nyaya. In the arena of scientific research where it is mainly curiosity that drives the search for knowledge, old academics of Bharat such as Aryabhata and Brahmagupta made important discoveries in mathematics and astronomy, while the Upanishads perceived & gathered a holistic vision of the cosmos. The vast tapestry of Sanskrit literary works, which span millennia, carries traces of a culture concerned with societal standards, fairness, and equality. Among these echoes from the past, one may hear soft but distinct voices of women's freedom. In this research, an attempt has been made to unravel through the chronicles of Sanskrit literature to decipher the origins of Feminist Jurisprudence in India. Feminist Jurisprudence is the study of many strands of feminist theory as well as the application of theory to situations that are of interest to members of the class. [1] The common notion is that, in India, feminist thought was cultivated from the 1850s and it was the colonials and only men who were the motivators & harbingers of the thought. This research seeks to disintegrate this fallacy. The research will investigate the history and long-term significance of the thought through ancient Sanskrit writings which encompass an extensive range of texts, from the Vedas, the epics (Ramayana and Mahabharata), the Puranas, and Dharmashastras to the extensive corpus of classical Sanskrit literature. The research provides an articulation of feminist thought beginning from the Metaphysical concepts of ‘Prakriti’ and ‘Shakti’ to the Epics and navigates through the works of Kautilya to Kalidasa. The research aims to demonstrate the tremendous effects of the Sanskrit texts on modern debates over women's rights and legal standing. As modern India grapples with the issues of gender equality and justice, this wide array of literature carrying ancient wisdom could prove to be instrumental in shaping the legal landscape in modern India.
[1] Pranav Raina, “Feminist Jurisprudence: An Evolution from Fixed Mindset to A Growing Mindset” (2019) 5 AIJJS 32
#Women Empowerment#Feminist Jurisprudence#Sanskrit Literature
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Mob lynching has become a serious threat to India's democratic order, human rights commitments, and constitutional governance. Though equipped with a strong legal system, India has experienced a concerning escalation of mob justice crimes, especially against marginalised groups, most notably in the post-2015 era. This paper critically explores the root causes, socio-political consequences, and legal and enforcement failures driving mob lynching in modern India. Taking a doctrinal and case-law approach, this study attempts to fill a very important lacuna in the existing law literature. The paper examines whether India's existing legal provisions is covered by Section 103(2) of Bharathiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023(it specifically covers murder committed by a group of five or more persons acting in concert on specified grounds) and the Constitution are sufficient to dissuade and punish such actions effectively and the need for legal reforms to address the increasing digital incitement, hate-based violence, lynching cases, incorporating the use of digital platforms in instigating violence as a legally responsible element. It contends that mob lynching should be classified as a distinct offence, with tighter enforcement mechanisms, technological monitoring, and nationwide awareness campaigns to curb this crisis.
#Mob Lynching#Rule Of Law#Article 21
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"The limits of my language mean the limits of my world," wrote Ludwig Wittgenstein — a maxim that resonates powerfully within India's trademark jurisprudence, where a single brand may speak in a dozen scripts and sound different in as many tongues. In a multilingual society where "Fruit Salt" translates to "Falaxar," "Peacock" to "Mayur," and "Capital to "Rajdhani," the question of when two marks are similar cannot be answered through sight alone.
This paper examines the tripartite doctrine of visual, phonetic, and conceptual similarity under the Trade Marks Act, 1999, tracing how Indian courts have judicially constructed this framework in the absence of statutory definition. By applying a sociolinguistic lens to major legal precedents ranging from early standards like imperfect recollection to complex multi factor tests and from translation disputes like Rajdhani–Capital to transliteration conflicts like falcigo/falcitab. The study argues that trademark law in India has progressively shifted toward a type of applied linguistics. Consequently, legal decisions now judge not only commercial aspects but also the underlying meaning of words.
The paper concludes that courts have developed effective mechanisms for India's multilingual marketplace, yet significant gaps persist, especially the lack of a standardised test for comparing different scripts. To address this, this paper introduces a three-step framework designed to evaluate marks based on their visual appearance ,sound, and meaning .
#Beyond Sight#Trademark Similarity#Multilingual India
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Around the world, labour courts are overwhelmed by huge backlogs, slow processes, and expensive legal fees. This makes it incredibly difficult for both workers and employers to get a fair and timely resolution. To solve this problem, many systems are turning to Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) methods like mediation, conciliation, and arbitration. This paper specifically looks at mediation to see if it can truly ease the burden on courts without stripping workers of their legal rights and protections.
Advocates of mediation praise it for being fast, affordable, private, and flexible. However, critics worry that these exact features can harm workers, who are usually the weaker party in an employment dispute. Compared to employers, workers generally have less money, less bargaining power, and less legal knowledge. Because of this imbalance, informal mediation sessions can pressure workers into accepting unfair, lowball settlements just to end the dispute quickly.
Additionally, mediation does not create legal precedents, its outcomes can be hard to enforce, and the quality of mediators varies wildly. While mediation has successfully cut down court backlogs in some regions, it often compromises fairness for speed. This paper addresses a major gap in current research: the tendency to praise ADR in theory without looking at how unfair it can be for workers in reality.
Ultimately, this study examines whether structural safeguards, such as free legal aid, strict minimum settlement rules, and court reviews, can protect workers during mediation. By weighing the pros and cons, this paper provides a realistic framework to determine if mediation actually helps workers, or if it simply hides workplace inequality behind closed doors.
This research paper deals with the reasons behind examination paper leaks in Indian education. Over the past 23 years, India has witnessed 45 paper leaks and related scams, with only 2 convictions, a process that took 14 years of trials. Of the cases: 1658 arrested, 925 accused appeared in chargesheet, 18 cases are still pending, 32 resulted in acquittal, and 43 accused remain in judicial custody. Many leaks were never registered and their accused never arrested, some evidences destroyed, some files were forgotten by the authorities. This paper examines how technology has contributed to the rise in paper leaks, why corruption occurs in higher education, and proposes various taxonomies of academic corruption: 1) Institutional vs Individual, 2) Corrupted functions, 3) Actors and beneficiaries, 4) Comprehensive taxonomy, 5) Pecuniary vs non-pecuniary. The findings include a comparative analysis of examination conducting method across China, Singapore, South Korea, Japan, along with policy recommendations. The paper also discusses hunger strikes in India, the resignation of leaders both in India and internationally, questions of government accountability, the exam/re-exam controversy, appropriate use of technology, trends in the Indian government education budget, relevant case law, and the Jharkhand paper leak controversy.
#Paper Leak#Taxonomies#Comparative Analysis
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Elections in India are on the verge of becoming a legal formality rather than a democratic exercise. That is the claim this paper defends. The Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Ninth Amendment) Bill, 2024, introduced in the Lok Sabha on 17th December, 2024 and presently before a Joint Parliamentary Committee, is ordinarily discussed as a scheduling reform. It is nothing of the kind. It is a reordering of the temporal architecture of Indian democracy, and the cost of that reordering falls almost entirely on the States.
My central submission is that the Bill converts procedure into penalty. A State Legislative Assembly that has committed no wrong may nevertheless have its life cut short because the House of the People happens to be on a particular cycle. The instrument of that curtailment is an "Appointed Date" notified by the President under proposed Article 82A(1), an officer who, under Article 74(1) read with Shamsher Singh v. State of Punjab, acts on ministerial advice and exercises no independent judgment.
The critique is deliberately interdisciplinary. The Bill's defects are not confined to the constitutional plane on which the debate has largely been conducted. They are equally, and in some places more damagingly, defects of administrative law excessive delegation without the intelligible principle that In re Delhi Laws Act requires; the conferment of standardless discretion on the Election Commission to recommend deferral, contrary to K.T. Moopil Nair and State of Punjab v. Khan Chand; Wednesbury unreasonableness and disproportionality in the residual-term device, tested by Om Kumar v. Union of India and Modern Dental College; the violation of the electorate's legitimate expectation of a five-year mandate under Hindustan Development Corp.; the Colourable Exercise of Legislative Power tested by K.C. Gajapati Narayan Deo; and the denial of natural justice, in the extended sense in which A.K. Kraipak and Maneka Gandhi have long applied it to institutional actors adversely affected. Presenting these two lines of critique together constitutional design and administrative discipline of power is the ambition of this paper.
Six arguments follow. The first concerns the source of the power to truncate an Assembly, and whether it survives once the ratification question under the proviso to Article 368(2) is answered. The second contends that the Election Commission's authority under Article 324 has always been derivative rather than plenary, and that the Bill compresses the constitutional space within which it works while simultaneously offloading onto it an administratively unstructured discretion. The third argues that the deferral provision fails both the Article 14 classification test and the Wednesbury/proportionality standard as absorbed into Indian administrative law. The fourth sets the "Unexpired Term" device against the Doctrine of Public Trust in M.C. Mehta v. Kamal Nath and against the doctrine of legitimate expectation. The fifth revisits the delegation and colourable-legislation problems that the Bill's architecture creates. The sixth tests the Government's fiscal and Model Code justifications against the record.
Each is then tested against the Government's own record: the Kovind Report, the Seventy-Ninth Report, the Law Commission's 2018 Draft Report, and the Election Commission's cost disclosures. That record does not sustain the case the Statement of Objects and Reasons makes for it.
The issue of access to affordable medicine is seeing some interesting times in India, especially in the context of intellectual property. A few events close on the heels of one another, viz., granting of first compulsory license over So rafenib, a drug for cancer by Intellectual Property Appellate Board, [1] followed by the Supreme Court judgment rejecting plea of Novartis to grant patent protection to its anti-cancer drug sold in the name of Glivec or Gleevec, India being put again on the US priority watch list in the latest USTR Special 301 Report, May 2013 for allegedly tweaking with uniform patent standards to the disadvantage of their pharmaceutical companies and not the least, the EU India BTIA negotiations reflect intense turbulence and shifting of fault lines in the access to medicine debate. While issues concerning the Novartis judgment and compulsory licensing are being well discussed, our concern for EU-India negotiations should be no less. This article seeks to draw attention to issues incorporated in the negotiation document between EU and India and their impact on access to affordable medicine, if accepted. [2] WTO's trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights or TRIPS - establishing a universal minimum protection for intellectual property-has been adopted in the domestic Intellectual property regimes of most countries of the world. However, perception with respect to its efficacy varies. For developed countries who still are the leading innovators, TRIPS was only a battle half won as their demand for some of the more stringent provisions of protection remained unheeded.On the other hand, according to the developing and least developed countries, TRIPS laid down stringent conditions of protection which could prove stilling for local innovation. The debate on access to medicine is inextricably intertwined to these counter views. [3]
[1] Bayer Corp. v. Union of India , Order No. 100/2009 (Intellectual Property Appellate Board, Mar. 4, 2013), http://www.ipab.tn.nic.in/Orders/100-2009.htm (last visited Sept. 28, 2026).
[2] Novartis AG v. Union of India , (2013) 6 SCC 1, http://judis.nic.in/supremecourt/imgs1.aspx?filename=40212 .
[3] U.S. Trade Pressure on India Drug Patents Threatens Access to Life-Saving Medicines: Report , HuffPost (May 1, 2013), http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/01/india-us-drugs-trade_n_3196458.html
Indian businesses increasingly hold value in patents, trademarks, copyright, designs, software, trade secrets, and associated licensing streams rather than in land or machinery. Yet intellectual property (IP) remains an underused form of loan collateral. Indian scholarship identifies a paradox: existing legislation can accommodate the transfer of IP and the treatment of knowledge capital as an asset, but no integrated regime clearly resolves creation, perfection, priority, valuation, enforcement, licensing, and insolvency. The result is a gap between formal proprietary capacity and practical creditability. This article argues that Indian law should not treat IP collateral as an ordinary pledge of documents or as an unqualified transfer of ownership. It should recognize a functional security interest over defined economic rights, supported by coordinated registry practice, asset-specific perfection rules, standardized valuation, transparent enforcement, and insolvency procedures that preserve going-concern value. The article distinguishes patents, trademarks, copyright, and royalty streams; examines the interaction among the SARFAESI Act, 2002, the Companies Act, 2013, IP legislation, and the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016; and proposes a reform architecture that protects lenders without allowing enforcement to destroy innovation, goodwill, licensee reliance, or authors’ non-economic interests.
This paper is an effort to analyse some important and recent cases on ever greening of patents. A patent is a grant of exclusive rights by the government to the inventor for his disclosed invention which gives protection against infringement and creates possibility of assigning or licensing of the right. [1] Under the World Trade Organization's (WTO) Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, patents should be available in WTO member states for any invention, in all fields of technology, 2 and the term of protection available should be a minimum of twenty years. [2] With the provisions made in the Patents Act, 1970 the citizens of India got an opportunity to develop processes. This led to a huge benefit in economic growth of India. Bulk drug manufacturers made use of this opportunity in manufacturing drugs in bulk and selling at a cheaper price. By 1970, India, along with other developing countries had adopted "process patenting regime".
The Patent Act of 1970 had some major drawback. There was no mention in the Patents Act, 1970 for the protection of products such as Darjeeling tea and Basmati rice, which are famous for their superior quality. In addition to these, since ancient times some plant parts of turmeric, neem were well used as medicine, but there was no mention in the Patents Act, 1970 for the proteccion of the ancient knowledge which is being used since generations. Other than this, Turmeric powder is widely used in India as a medicine, a food ingredient and a dye to name a few of its uses. United States awarded patent on turmeric to University of Mississippi medical center in 1995 for wound healing property. An exclusive right has been granted to sell and distribute. Two years later, India's Council of Scientific and Industrial Research challenged the university regarding the novelty of the discovery. The USPTO cancelled the patent due to lack of novelty. [3]
[1] R. Radha Krishnan & S. Balasubramanian, Intellectual Property Rights: Text and Cases 71 (2006).
[2] Overview: The TRIPS Agreement , World Trade Org., http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/trips_e/intel2_e.htm (last visited Sept. 28, 2026).
[3] Understanding the WTO - intellectual property: Protection and enforcement, WTO, https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/agrm7_e.htm (last visited Sep 28, 2026).
#Intellectual Property#Patents Act#Act 1970
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The Indian Patent system owes its origin from British rule in India. Act VI of 1856 based on British Patent Law of 1852, provided exclusive privileges to the inventor for 14 years. The Patent and Designs Act, 1911 introduced during the colonial rule was reviewed and enacted the Indian Patent Act, 1970 which deals with process patents and acted as an effective tool in laying a strong foundation for the growth and development of pharmaceutical industry in independent of pharmaceutical industry in independent India. [1] The main provisions contained in this Act were permitting process patents of chemicals excludes pharmaceuticals and reducing the term of patent for process to 7 years from the date of application and for all other patents it was fixed for 14 years. TRIPs are one of the agreements reached at the conclusion of the 1986 - 1994 Uruguay round of the GATT Multilateral Trade Negotiation. All the WTO members will be members in TRIPs' Agreement, which came into force in 1995. 2 In recent years, intellectual property protection for inventions relating to health care was one of the major debated areas. The major concern was the need to facilitate access to essential medicines at affordable cost to the large section of the population in the developing and least developing countries. The problem is that the most dangerous illness in the world such as HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis are widely spread across the developing countries.
[1] 1. Shashi Sharma, "New Patent Regime IN India - Challenges and Future of the Pharmaceutical Industry, http://www.works.be.press.com/cgi/view content.cgi? Article.
This paper focuses on the theme of ESG Fraud and Greenwashing: Rethinking Corporate Accountability, analyzing the role of whistleblowing in exposing ESG-related misconduct and strengthening corporate accountability. ESG standards are now a key method for promoting corporate sustainability, transparency, and ethical governance. However, the rise in greenwashing and ESG fraud has caused concerns about the reliability of corporate disclosures and the effectiveness of current enforcement methods. This paper looks at whistleblowing as an important tool for revealing ESG-related misconduct. It also compares the whistleblower protection systems in India and the United States. Regardless of the importance of these organizations to fraud detection via disclosure, they are excluded from the existing whistleblower protection and reward systems in both countries. It is argued that current whistleblower legislation is overly focused on insiders and fails to account for the realities of ESG regulatory enforcement. A new legal mechanism to recognize and support credible external disclosures is proposed. By examining the Adani sustainability-linked bond scandal, the paper finds that serious ESG scams are usually detected not by company insiders but by non-profit organizations, independent researchers, and market analysts who work with publicly available information.
In the U.S., whistleblowers benefit from both the Dodd-Frank Act and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which provide strong legal safeguards, complete anonymity, and monetary rewards. In contrast, the Indian framework suffers from numerous shortcomings, including a lack of coherence and an inability to address ESG issues.
#Whistleblower Protection#Esg Fraud#Insider Blind
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The enactment of the Tamil Nadu Regulation of Rights and Responsibilities of Landlords and Tenants Act, 2017 (TNRRRL Act) marked a significant paradigm shift in urban tenancy governance by replacing the archaic Tamil Nadu Buildings (Lease and Rent Control) Act, 1960. Central to this legislative reform is Section 4 of the Act, which mandates that every tenancy agreement—irrespective of the tenure or rental value—must be executed in writing and subsequently registered with the Rent Authority. This study examines the legal compliance framework established by the mandatory written requirement and analyzes the practical challenges encountered during its implementation.
On the compliance front, the Act creates a centralized digital mechanism through the Rent Authority portal, compelling both residential and commercial tenancies to formalize terms regarding security deposits, maintenance responsibilities, and dispute resolution parameters. The law eliminates the traditional reliance on informal oral contracts or unregistered short-term leases (such as 11-month agreements) by rendering unregistered tenancy agreements legally unenforceable and inadmissible as evidence in Rent Courts.
However, despite these procedural advances, major challenges persist. These include a widespread lack of legal awareness among informal urban tenants and small landlords, resistance to dual-registration burdens (under both the Rent Authority and the Indian Registration Act for longer leases), digital literacy barriers, and non-compliance driven by tax avoidance or fear of regulatory oversight. This paper evaluates the judicial interpretation of non-compliance under Section 4 and offers policy recommendations to streamline the digital registration infrastructure, enhance stakeholder awareness, and reconcile legal strictures with informal housing dynamics in urban Tamil Nadu.
#Tamil Nadu#Rent Authority#Mandatory Requirement
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International Environmental Law stands at a crossroad, where its basic ideas and principles are massively coming at odds with the depth and demand of universal environmental catastrophe. Greatly based upon notions of state control, assent, and fragmented international agreement, the discipline has failed to respond to massive environmental degradation and biodiversity failure. The formation of the scientific notion of the ecological boundaries and limits has elevated the constraint by introducing a bunch of environmental thresholds and limits within which the humankind can remain secure. Developed by the Stockholm Resilience Centre, this framework uncovers crucial biodiversity dynamics like the massive ecological destruction, ecological threshold, poor land usage and change, and bio-geochemical cycles and hence introduces a novice standard beyond which the irreparable environmental damage sharply increases and spikes. While this model has gained impeccable speed and admiration among scientific and policy stakeholders, its ethical interpretation and application for international law remains questionable. This paper argues that adopting environmental limits within the scope and ambit of international environmental law calls for a thorough transformation from fragmented governance towards an obligatory structure of earth system governance.
#International Environmental#Environmental Law#Earth System
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The right to a fair trial is a cardinal principle of criminal justice and an essential element of constitutional governance under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. The presence of the accused is important during criminal proceedings, which facilitates effective participation, legal representation, and the opportunity to contest the prosecution’s case. The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS), however, introduces an explicit statutory framework for trial in absentia under Sections 355 and 356, permitting courts to proceed against proclaimed offenders who deliberately evade the judicial process. This legislative shift represents a significant transformation in Indian criminal procedure and raises critical questions concerning its compatibility with the right to a fair trial.
This article undertakes a doctrinal and analytical examination of Sections 355 and 356 of the BNSS to assess whether the procedure of trial in absentia conforms to constitutional mandates and principles of natural justice. The study further contextualises the Indian framework within international human rights standards, such as Article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which permits trial in absentia only under strictly limited conditions.
The article argues that while trial in absentia may serve legitimate objectives such as expeditious justice and deterrence against abscondence, it poses inherent risks to procedural fairness, including unequal adversarial balance and diluted defence rights. It concludes that the constitutional sustainability of Sections 355 and 356 depends upon their exceptional application, rigorous judicial scrutiny, and the recognition of effective remedial mechanisms to prevent miscarriage of justice.
#Fair Trial#Trial#Sections 355
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The Memorandum of Association (MoA) is a company's foundational document, and the Companies Act, 2013 permits its alteration to meet evolving business needs while protecting stakeholder interests. This paper examines the legal framework governing such alterations and asks whether existing safeguards truly prevent misuse of this power. It begins with the doctrine of ultra vires and its relevance to the objects clause, as established in Ashbury Railway Carriage & Iron Co. v. Riche and applied by the Supreme Court in A. Lakshmanaswami Mudaliar v. LIC. It then analyses Section 13, along with Sections 4, 61, and 64, which govern changes to a company's name, registered office, objects, and capital, together with the procedural requirements under the Companies (Incorporation) Rules, 2014. The paper further evaluates the varying degrees of protection given to shareholders, minority shareholders, creditors, debenture-holders, and non-member stakeholders such as employees and communities. Drawing on landmark and recent judicial rulings, it argues that alteration powers, though statutorily granted, must still satisfy the tests of bona fide exercise and constitutional purpose. It concludes that meaningful protection depends on genuine disclosure and effective regulatory scrutiny, and recommends reforms to strengthen minority shareholder safeguards.
Senior-management contracts often include post-employment non-compete clauses to shield businesses from losing strategic expertise, private information, and business connections. Section 27 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872, however, limits their enforcement in India by declaring contracts that restrict a lawful profession, trade, or business to be unlawful to the extent of the restriction. This essay investigates the legality of senior management-specific post-employment non-compete agreements and contends that the apparent ambiguity surrounding these agreements is mostly the result of confusing different contractual safeguards. The study separates restrictions on future employment from justifiable protection of confidential and proprietary interests through a doctrinal analysis of Niranjan Shankar Golikari v. Century Spinning & Mfg. Co., Superintendence Company of India (P) Ltd. v. Krishan Murgai, Gujarat Bottling Co. Ltd. v. Coca Cola Co., Percept D'Mark (India) Pvt. Ltd. v. Zaheer Khan, and VFS Global Services Ltd. v. Suprit Roy. As a comparable viewpoint, it also looks at the US Federal Trade Commission's 2024 Non-Compete Clause Rule and its subsequent vacatur. The study comes to the conclusion that senior managerial rank does not provide a separate exemption under section 27. Employers should instead implement legally viable substitutes, such as garden leave, deferred remuneration, secrecy requirements, and limited non-solicitation contracts.
#Employment Non#Senior Management#Compete Clauses
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India’s environmental governance framework is anchored in constitutional guarantees, statutory safeguards, regulatory mechanisms and judicially developed principles of green jurisprudence. Even extensive legal protection does not necessarily ensure its effective implementation in practice. This paper critically examines the environment between rights and markets by examining the relationship between formal legal commitments, environmental governance, market practices and India’s sustainability transition. The study adopts a mixed doctrinal and socio-legal methodology. First, it examines the constitutional provisions, environmental statutes, regulatory framework, delegated legislation, judicial pronouncements and safeguards to determine the nature and scope of environmental rights and their corresponding legal obligations. Second, it analyses environmental governance and green jurisprudence, including the sustainable development, the precautionary principles, the Polluter Pays Principle, the Public Trust Doctrine and intergenerational equity, to appraise how legal norms are interpreted, administered and enforced. Third, the study undertakes secondary empirical analysis using authoritative data and materials from the government and regulatory sources, institutional reports, environmental compliance records, published studies, judicial and tribunal materials and corporate sustainability disclosures. This evidence is used to examine how legal standards operate in practice and identifies gaps between law and implementation. This paper critically analyses, the enforcement and compliance gaps revealed through this law and practice gap. To resolve these problems, it proposes targeted legislative reforms planned to improve Implementation and harmonize environmental protections with development imperatives. It argues that India’s sustainability transition requires moving beyond the formal recognition of the environmental rights towards an evidence-based model in which the law, state authorities and market actors operate coherently, supported by targeted reforms to bridge identified implementation gaps.
Public examination paper leaks in India have generally been approached as questions of criminal misconduct, examination cancellation and deterrent punishment. Recent controversies, particularly NEET-UG 2024 and the alleged NEET-UG 2026 leak, demonstrate that a compromised examination creates several distinct legal relationships: between perpetrators and the State, between examination authorities and service providers, between officials entrusted with confidential material and the public, between knowing beneficiaries and innocent candidates, and between candidates and public authorities whose failures may have affected the integrity of the examination. This paper undertakes a doctrinal study of these relationships through the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act 2024, the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Rules 2024, the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Act 2026, relevant Supreme Court jurisprudence, and official material concerning NEET-UG 2024 and 2026. It argues that Indian law has moved beyond a candidate-centric model of malpractice by recognizing service-provider and organized-crime liability and by strengthening investigation and trial mechanisms. Nevertheless, the framework remains less developed on the allocation of institutional and State responsibility and remedies for innocent candidates. The paper therefore proposes a role-based doctrinal framework distinguishing perpetrator, insider, beneficiary, service-provider, institutional and State responsibility, while maintaining proportionality between the extent of proven malpractice and the remedy imposed on the candidate population.
The advancement of Artificial Intelligence is changing areas, such as economies, governance, education, healthcare and public services. This makes AI a key driver of development and digital innovation. However not everyone benefits equally from AI. Some groups face inequalities that make it hard for them to access AI. These groups include people living in areas, low-income households, women, people with disabilities indigenous groups and communities with languages that are not well represented. This study looks at how the digital divide affects access to AI. It shows that digital inclusion is not about having internet access. It also involves having the digital infrastructure knowing how to use AI being able to afford it making it accessible ensuring fairness in algorithms including different languages and governing it ethically. The research uses studies and different perspectives to find out the barriers that stop people from being part of AI-driven systems. These barriers can be structural socioeconomic, technological or policy-related. The study also explores ways to make AI adoption fair. This can be done through AI, inclusive digital policies, innovation centered around communities partnerships between public and private sectors and initiatives that build capacity. These approaches can help minimize risks, like bias, privacy issues and technological exclusion.
A holistic conceptual framework has been put forward to assist decision-makers, researchers, stakeholders in the industry, as well as development agencies, in creating inclusive AI ecosystems that could contribute to the amelioration of social injustices, electronic equity, and sustainable development. The integration of technology and human-centered governance means an important contribution to the analysis of AI accessibility and inclusion; it provides practical solutions to the problem of lack of access to AI and the involvement of marginalized communities into the process of digitalization. The most significant conclusion of the findings is that equitable access to AI is a technology not aimed only at acquiring the technological capabilities, but rather at achieving inclusive economic development and participatory democracy, as this would become a basis for Sustainable Development Goals implementation in the new AI age.
The Indian constitutional order promises equality, dignity, and social justice, yet the lived reality of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes has long reflected persistent discrimination, humiliation, exclusion, and violence. The Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 was enacted as a special legislative response to this structural injustice. Its long title expressly states that it is “[a]n Act to prevent the commission of offences of atrocities against the members of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes, to provide for Special Courts and the Exclusive Special Courts for the trial of such offences and for the relief and rehabilitation of the victims of such offences and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.” [1] This formulation reveals a legislative purpose that is preventive, punitive, remedial, and restorative.
This paper examines the legislative purpose behind the enactment of the Act through doctrinal and analytical methods. It argues that Parliament did not merely seek to create additional offenses or harsher punishments. Rather, it aimed to recognize caste-based atrocity as a distinct social harm requiring a distinct legal response. Ordinary criminal law was seen as inadequate because atrocities against Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes are often embedded in power relations, social dominance, and collective intimidation. The Supreme Court has repeatedly treated the Act as a beneficial and protective legislation whose interpretation must preserve its social justice mission.
The paper further analyzes the constitutional background, the inadequacy of ordinary law, landmark case law on anticipatory bail, legislative intent, and practical enforcement challenges. It concludes that the Act embodies the constitutional commitment to substantive equality and dignity, and that its success depends on faithful implementation by the police, prosecution, courts, and state authorities.
[1] The Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, No. 33 of 1989, long title, India Code, [ https://www.indiacode.nic.in/handle/123456789/1920?view_type=](https://www.indiacode.nic.in/handle/123456789/1920?view_type=) .
#Scheduled Castes#Scheduled Tribes#Atrocities Act
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The Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA) replaced an older law called FERA. The authorities would bring criminal charges against anyone who violated the strict regulations which FERA established. FEMA distinguishes itself through its practice of imposing monetary penalties which function as punishment for regulatory violations.
The RBI and ED can resolve particular cases under Section 15 of FEMA through payment of specified settlement amounts. The Foreign Exchange (Compounding Proceedings) Rules, 2024 became official through new rules which entered into effect on 12 September 2024. The new regulations replaced the previous set of rules which dated back to 2000. The RBI issued new instructions which became effective on 1 October 2024.
The research investigates these new regulations which have been established. The new rules enable people to submit their applications through the internet while they can request higher monetary amounts and the authority decides penalties through different methods. The paper investigates whether these modifications actually make the process more efficient and quick or they reduce the severity of penalties.
The research studies the Sanjay Jhunjhunwala v. Reserve Bank of India court decision as part of its investigation. The new rules simplify the process yet the system continues to experience a fundamental issue. People seem to believe that buying things will end their punishment because they can purchase their way through their offenses.
The world of information and communication technology (ICT) is constantly evolving, leading to unprecedented advantages and opportunities that stem from global connectivity. As a result, the way we share information, communicate with each other, and live our lives has been completely revolutionized by technological advancements. However, a major challenge accompanies these immense benefits -- ensuring digital privacy and cybersecurity remain intact. Social media has become an integral part of daily life in various domains. In the realm of media, people use it to share text, images and messages while businesses employ online surveys, marketing tactics and customer targeting to advance their agendas. Due to its widespread adoption by Internet users today we consider social networking media as a representation of present internet culture. While sharing information on these platforms is convenient there are real privacy and security concerns that must be addressed, particularly with regard to sensitive user data which requires confidential treatment.
The relationship between people and technology is complex and twofold. While ICT has enabled unprecedented connectivity, information access, and communication across boundaries, it also raises concerns about personal data collection, usage, misuse and poses challenges to digital asset security. This paper delves into the significance of safeguarding personal information by exploring various risks such as malware attacks or phishing scams leading to data breaches; workplace privacy issues; legal frameworks governing digital privacy protection; and emerging technologies transforming this environment. Additionally, it examines legislation from different jurisdictions pertaining to these matters. Social media's ascendance has transformed communication channels but created apprehensions about online reputation management and user privacy rights. In essence, the study focuses on the conflicting demands arising from balancing these two dynamics while scrutinizing how regulatory mechanisms can resolve them. Users' entitlements are crucial in determining who accesses their sensitive confidential particulars. However, social networking sites face hurdles in providing tools for users wanting control over their web image.
#Privacy#Data Privacy#Reputational Harm
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India's constitutional framework pledges equality, dignity, and democratic participation to every citizen. Yet for the estimated 26.8 million persons with disabilities in India, these guarantees remain structurally incomplete. This article argues that persons with disabilities constitute a class of 'invisible citizens'—formally recognised by law but substantively excluded from the architecture of democratic life. Drawing on constitutional provisions, Supreme Court jurisprudence, the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016, and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the article examines how physical, institutional, technological, and attitudinal barriers combine to deny persons with disabilities meaningful participation in electoral processes, public institutions, and democratic deliberation. The analysis demonstrates that existing judicial interventions, while salutary, have not resolved the systemic deficiencies that render disability a persistent marker of democratic marginalisation. The article concludes with legally grounded recommendations directed at achieving substantive rather than merely formal citizenship for persons with disabilities in India.
Dilbung Rengthang Lamkang, Rev Dr Koningthung Ngoru Moyon·Sep 21, 2026·10.5281/zenodo.22879041
Requirement and significance the term ‘ Khurmi Nagas’ describes the opportunities and traits associated with the oborigine, indigenous being the Nagas of Chandel and Tengnoupal districts of past, present and future of Manipur namely: Anal. Aimol, Chothe, Khoibu, Lamkang, Maring, Moyon, Monsang, Tarao, and Tangkhul. The advancement of identrity crisis and the uncheck illegal immigration and the Geo-Political scenario at present in the North-East India, especially in Manipour; and the internal conflict in Myanmar, necessitates the issue. Together, with the multi-dimentions have produced a broad range of indication in the past and present. Identity refers to the situation in which all groups of people or tribe have equal opportunities, rights, and responsibilities. Every tribe is impacted by the identity. However, history must not be over-ridden with false and fabricated. The truth must be preserved and maintain by the historian, academicians, and scholars as well. People from various backgrouns and ages are impacted by it, if the truth is twisted by the scholars to achive self-desire. When the immigrants or refugees over-riled and tried to overpoewer the aborgines or indigenous or native population in every sphere of like including opportunity, land and resources, identity-twiest, history exaggerated, there is imbalance and geo-political, political, economic, social, religious, and natural resources are affected and histirical, land idenmty crises eruopted. The present situation in Manipur, in particular, and North East India, in general, needs special and strategic attention with careful and proper assessment through the crucial but usually through the lens of historical-polical lenses. This research article seeks to present all facts of history in the lenses of Identidy and Land; since identity of the Naga is always known as Histiory-land relationship. Thgis research article explores how the Kabaw valley, where the Khurmi Nagas once made their homeland, was given to the Burmese without any consent.
#Khurmi’#‘kabaw-valley’ (myanmar)#‘sajik Tampak’
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Marital rape sits at an uneasy crossroads of criminal law, personal autonomy, and constitutional rights in India. Exception 2 to Section 63 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS), which carries forward Exception 2 to Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC), continues to shield a husband from a rape charge for non-consensual sexual acts against his adult wife. This paper examines that exception through three lenses: the fundamental rights guaranteed under Articles 14, 15, 19, and 21 of the Constitution of India; the reasoning of the Supreme Court in cases such as Independent Thought v. Union of India and Justice K.S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India; and India's obligations under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). Using a doctrinal and comparative method, the paper also looks at how the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, and Australia dealt with the same question, to see what lessons India can draw. It argues for legislative reform that removes the exception while building in procedural safeguards against misuse, so that sexual autonomy within marriage receives the same statutory protection as it does outside marriage.
The blend of artificial intelligence (AI) into financial advisory assistance has substantially reshaped the facilities of investment advice, portfolio management, credit assessment and financial planning in India. AI-enabled services, such as robo-advisors and algorithm-driven financial tools. These services promise streamlined, economical and customized decision processes. Although, the gradual increase in the reliance on automated financial advice also amplifies the serious concerns for consumer justice, especially with respect to the algorithmic opacity, biased outcomes, data misuse, deceptive sales tactics and ambiguous attribution of liability in cases of financial harm. Traditional litigation mechanisms are often inadequately equipped to address these challenges that come about from AI-enabled financial services due to their technical complexity, prolonged timelines and gaps in domain-specific judicial expertise in algorithmic decision-making. Consequently, consumers may experience crucial limitations in accessing timely and effective remedies. This paper advances the view that Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) presents a practical and prospective framework to tackle consumer complaints in AI-enabled financial advice. However, provided it is revisited to manage such challenges arising from algorithmic systems. The study analyses remodelling the outlook of AI-powered financial advisory services in India. It also looks into the fundamental consumer safeguards from the challenges posed by the automated decision-making processes. With reference to the existing regulatory frameworks regulating financial services, consumer protection and data privacy, it emphasises the gaps in dealing with concerns particular to AI-driven financial advice. The analysis is further informed by empirical research on consumer engagement with AI-based financial advisory platforms, where proactive disclosure, clarity of decision-making and answerability concerns are shown through the improved adoption. In light of these circumstances, the paper examines how alternative dispute resolution mechanisms address challenges arising from AI-driven financial advice. The paper explores the development of technology-responsive ADR frameworks, including the establishment of specialized fintech mediation panels and the integration of technical expertise into dispute resolution, complemented by regulatory oversight to ensure fairness and protect consumers. It further draws on comparative insights from international practices in fintech dispute resolution to inform and strengthen the Indian context. The paper discusses that rethinking ADR methods for AI-enabled financial advisory challenges are utmost essential for innovation in digital finance with the necessities of consumer justice. A well-developed, comprehensible and transparent ADR framework can become instrumental in protecting the consumer interests while focusing on the responsible growth of AI-driven financial services in India.
Between 2021 and 2026, the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) has moved with increasing frequency from classifying films by age-appropriateness, its actual statutory function under the Cinematograph Act 1952, toward editorially reshaping or indefinitely delaying films on grounds of historical accuracy, religious sentiment, caste, and political content. This paper examines multiple such cases between 2021 and 2026, distinguishes CBFC action from state-government bans and court-ordered stays that are often conflated with it, and identifies the specific constitutional provisions, Articles 19(1)(a), 19(1)(g), 21, and the manifest-arbitrariness strand of Article 14, that this pattern implicates. It tests the Board's own stated justifications against the case record, compares India's certification architecture with the voluntary United States model and the independent United Kingdom model, and argues that the deficiency is procedural rather than doctrinal: India's substantive certification standards are not obviously more restrictive than its comparators, but the 2021 abolition of the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal removed the one low-cost check on their arbitrary application, and nothing has replaced it.
#Film Censorship#Freedom Of Expression#Moral Rights
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Reservation in the Indian educational system has been regarded as a crucial tool under the umbrella of affirmative action measures mostly in making equality of opportunity real and ensuring educational inclusion of marginalized sections of society. This paper analyzes how reservation is interlinked with the Right to Education by focusing on the question of whether such a policy helps the achievement of educational equity on one side or at the same time, under certain situations, may even prevent the comprehensive constitutional goal of education on the other. Apart from constitutional provisions, the study throws light on judicial perspectives on reservation, mainly from Articles 15(4), 15(5), 15(6) as they stand now. Several landmark judgments have been discussed to clarify the role of equality and reservation, and the interdependency of both for enabling the realization of the educational rights. The paper explores the aspects of social justice, equal educational opportunities and the dimensions of empowerment plus representation that reservation policy can offer through its implementation. It still cannot be ignored, the authors say, to take into account the issues of institutional autonomy, quality education, the occurrence of political expansion, unequal distribution of benefits, the concept of cream layer as a justification for removal from such benefits due to economic advancement and the principle of merit. The paper makes the claim that reservations, though effective instruments of affirmative action, were never the same as Right to Education. The latter is just one of a series of constitutional instruments that could bring the creation of such access to education in substance. It ends by stating that the government should take more measures to supplement the education provided through reservation by offering quality education, academic help, structural reforms, policy reviews etc. to realize educational equity at its true level. [1]
[1] Joshua E. Weishart, Reconstituting the Right to Education, 67 Ala. L. Rev. 915, 965–68 (2016).
In the context of Indian society, the Transgender community has long been an integral part despite facing persistent exclusion from society. The societal stigma and systemic discrimination tends to continue their marginalization which restricts their access to essential services and opportunities like education, healthcare, employment, etc. Following the Supreme Court judgment in National Legal Services Authority V Union of India (2014), parliament has enacted The Transgender Persons (protection of Rights) Act, 2019 with an objective to protect the transgender community and to ensure the effective realization of their fundamental rights. But, despite this enactment the significant challenges relating to their socio- legal empowerment continued to persist. Thus this paper critically examines the 2019 act with reference to the key provisions relating to legal recognition, protection of the transgender community and further explores the challenges involved in institutionalizing their rights. The paper concludes that legislative measure alone is insufficient to secure their rights as it requires effective implementation, strong enforcement mechanism, greater institutional support and societal acceptance to achieve substantial equality.
#Transgender Community#Social Empowerment#Act
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Background: Foundational criminological paradigms presuppose a human offender, physical space, and human institutions of penal control; autonomous systems and algorithmic governance invalidate each premise. Purpose: This article constructs a unified theory, Algorithmic Strain and Digital Deviance Theory (ASDT), of offending and penal control in human-machine hybrid environments, and tests its evidentiary pillar against the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 (BSA). Methodology: The study employs doctrinal analysis of the BSA and comparative liability models, combined with theoretical synthesis of criminological, criminal-law, and forensic literature. Findings: The article develops four constructs (machine autonomy gradient, algorithmic strain, system latency, digital agency) and three propositions: deviance can arise without deviant intent; automated labelling through predictive policing and risk assessment is criminogenic, operating through runaway feedback loops; and synthetic media attacks the truth-seeking function of criminal process at the generation layer, a risk that the custody-based certificate regime of Sections 61 to 63 BSA does not address. Implications: The theory supports a layered doctrine of systemic culpability, a provenance-based authentication model for electronic evidence, and statutory reform covering autonomous systemic harm, algorithmic suspicion safeguards, and institutional epistemic security.
The case of M.S.S. v. Belgium and Greece was an important one for European asylum and human rights law because it considered the interplay between the Dublin system and the rights of Member States under the European Convention on Human Rights. The European Court of Human Rights, Grand Chamber, found a violation of the applicant's right to life (Article 3) in the context of his detention and conditions in Greece, and held Belgium responsible for his transfer to Greece in the absence of any scant information regarding deficiencies in the Greek asylum system. The Court also held that Article 13 used together with Article 3 was violated because of the lack of effective remedies that can address the risks associated with the transfer. This case commentary focuses on the following three aspects of the application of non-refoulement in Article 3, the restrictions on the mutual trust doctrine within the Dublin system and the role of effective procedural safeguards. It also reflects on the significance of the judgment in the context of European asylum law and practice, especially given the recent case of N.S. v. Secretary of State for the Home Department and Tarakhel v. Switzerland. The commentary claims that M.S.S. continues to show the ongoing significance of inter-individual human rights assessment in frameworks of inter-State responsibility allocation.
#M.s.s. V. Belgium And Greece#Non-refoulement#Article 3 Echr
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The traditional framework of family law, which has historically linked legal rights and responsibilities to formal marriage, increasingly encounters the realities of contemporary cohabitation. Live-in relationships and other de facto unions challenge a legal framework that does not always provide clear rules concerning maintenance, children’s rights, residence, and property. This article looks at the movement from a mainly formalist and morality-focused model to a functional approach that takes into account the real features of domestic relationships. Using functionalism and social constructivism, the article treats the family both as a legally created status and as a social institution whose meaning is shaped by patterns of cohabitation, economic interdependence, caregiving, and public recognition. It looks at three areas of legal uncertainty: the availability of financial support after separation, the protection of children no matter what the parents’ marital status is, and how property is divided when the formal title does not match the domestic contribution. The article gives attention to the Indian framework under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005 and the Supreme Court’s treatment of relationships ‘in the nature of marriage.’ It also references Marvin v. Marvin in the United States and Stack v. Dowden in the United Kingdom for comparison. The article points out gaps that arise because there is no statutory regime for adult cohabitation. These gaps include uncertainty about evidentiary thresholds, property consequences, and the legal effect of commitments. It proposes a three-analytical framework that relies on temporal stability, social manifestation, and economic integration. The article concludes that judicial development can reduce vulnerability. It cannot fully replace clear legislation. Predictability would be enhanced through well-designed agreements of cohabitation and statutory criteria without compromising personal freedom.
#Family Law#De Facto Relationships#Cohabitation
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The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO) created a specialised legal architecture for responding to sexual offences against persons below eighteen years of age. Yet the existence of a specialised statute does not, by itself, guarantee effective protection. This article reassesses POCSO through the connected stages of disclosure, reporting, investigation, medical and psychosocial support, adjudication and post-trial rehabilitation. It argues that the principal implementation problem is not simply the absence of legal rules but fragmentation across institutions that must act at different stages of the same child-protection pathway. The analysis is doctrinal and qualitative and draws upon the POCSO Act, the POCSO Rules, the post-2019/2020 legal framework, selected Supreme Court decisions, government materials and peer-reviewed scholarship. Recent judicial developments also demonstrate the continuing importance of sensitivity, privacy, fair process and careful interpretation of sexual-offence provisions. The article proposes a six-dimension effectiveness model comprising legal, institutional, procedural, judicial, psychological and rehabilitation dimensions. Rather than treating case registration or conviction as the sole indicators of success, the paper proposes a child-centred outcome framework that asks whether a child can disclose safely, participate without avoidable trauma, obtain timely support and receive meaningful protection after adjudication. The article concludes that implementation should move toward an integrated prevention–protection–prosecution–rehabilitation model supported by continuous training, inter-agency protocols, case-management systems, privacy safeguards and evidence-based evaluation.
#Pocso Act#Child Sexual Abuse#Child-friendly Justice
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This book, A Poison Like No Other: How Microplastics Corrupted Our Planet and Our Bodies by Matt Simon, is not a legal document. It's science reporting; a product of the field visits to sampling sites in the atmosphere and interviews with toxicologists, not case histories or legislation. But the book's argument comes down to a legal question (although the question isn't always stated that way): Can such a diffuse pollutant, so chemically anomalous and so completely integrated into consumer life be controlled by the means already available to democracy? As a science writer at Wired, Simon follows microplastic particles to the ocean, to soil, to the atmosphere, to humans' blood, lungs, and placentas, and then in a fifth chapter, poses the question: "What can be done about it? His response, which comes largely not from his analytical voice, but from the voices of scientists and advocates he interviews, is unequivocal: voluntary measures and individual behavior change is not going to address a problem this large, and its only binding regulation that can work, not consumer regulation. Judith Enck, a former EPA regional administrator, explains to him that "individual consumer action, although good, is insufficient to alter the path [1] . “This is a systemic issue” [2] .
[1] Matt Simon, A Poison Like No Other: How Microplastics Corrupted Our Planet and Our Bodies 167 (2022).
[2] Id.
#Matt Simon#Poison Like#Poision Like
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The rapid proliferation of global e-commerce has fundamentally transformed consumer behavior, enabling seamless transactions across international borders. However, this digital expansion has simultaneously exposed consumers to heightened risks of cross-border fraudulent practices, including non-delivery of goods, counterfeit products, and deceptive marketing. This paper evaluates the operational effectiveness of domestic (local) consumer protection laws when applied to fraudulent international sellers, with a dedicated focus on the evolving Indian regulatory landscape. By examining jurisdictional hurdles, choice-of-law dilemmas, and the systemic challenges of cross-border enforcement, the research highlights a critical regulatory gap. While domestic frameworks—such as India's Consumer Protection Act, 2019 , the EU's Consumer Rights Directive, or the US Federal Trade Commission guidelines—offer robust internal protections, their extraterritorial enforcement remains severely limited. The study analyzes the pivotal role of international cooperation frameworks alongside specific Indian statutory provisions, concluding that safeguarding the digital marketplace requires a shift from isolated local legislation to harmonized international enforcement mechanisms and decentralized, tech-driven dispute resolution platforms.
The freebie economy is emerging as a contemporary threat to Constitutional Principles. Increasing prominence of “freebie politics” in Indian elections has generated an important Constitutional debate concerning the relationship between welfare governance and electoral competition. The consistent promise of cash transfers, free electricity, subsidised goods and services, loan waivers, free transport, financial assistance and other material benefits in election manifestos by the political parties in the name of development or advancement and social justice in furtherance of Directive Principles of State Policy, is creating serious concerns relating the free and fair elections, equality, public accountability, fiscal responsibility and inter-generational justice. The constitutional difficulty lies in distinguishing legitimate welfare measures from electoral inducements. Generally the judiciary has no power to interfere with the economy policy of the State. However in 2013 the Supreme Court raised a serious concern regarding the voter’s manipulation while denying it as a corrupt practice and direct to modify the Model Code of Conduct to the Election Commission of India. Therefore judiciary accepted the principle that welfare promises cannot be prohibited merely because they involve public expenditure, rather it is permitted while maintaining electoral purity. This article argues that the constitutional answer does not lie in an absolute prohibition of welfare expenditure. Rather, India requires a constitutional and institutional framework that distinguishes rights-based welfare from electorally targeted freebies through the tests of public purpose, rationality, fiscal sustainability, transparency and electoral influence. Applying the Doctrinal Analytical Legal Research and by using various Primary and Secondary Sources it proposes an institutional legal framework, mandatory fiscal-impact statements, electoral manifesto guidelines, strengthened Election Commission guidelines, independent fiscal scrutiny, post-election manifesto accountability and greater legislative regulation.
#Freebies#Electoral Populism#Free And Fair Elections
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The idea of legal aid in India is rooted in the principle of ensuring equal access to justice for everyone, regardless of their financial or social position. This becomes especially important in the context of prisoners, whose basic rights are often at risk within the criminal justice system. A significant share of India’s prison population consists of undertrial prisoners who remain behind bars for long periods, largely due to poverty, lack of education, limited awareness of their rights, and inadequate legal support.
Legal aid, recognised under Article 39A of the Constitution and given statutory backing through the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987, plays a crucial role in protecting key rights of prisoners. These include the right to a fair and speedy trial, access to bail, the ability to file appeals, and the right to be treated with dignity. The Supreme Court, through decisions such as Hussainara Khatoon v. State of Bihar , Sheela Barse v. State of Maharashtra , and Legal Aid Committee v. Union of India , has firmly established that access to legal aid is an essential part of the right to life and personal liberty under Article 21.
However, despite these strong legal foundations, the actual delivery of legal aid continues to face several challenges. There is a shortage of adequately trained lawyers, monitoring mechanisms are weak, many prisoners are unaware of their rights, and administrative delays further slow down the process. Addressing these gaps requires practical steps such as strengthening legal aid clinics within prisons, making use of technology for remote legal consultations, and conducting regular awareness programmes for inmates. When effectively implemented, legal aid not only protects the rights of prisoners but also supports the broader goal of reform and rehabilitation, helping to build a more just and humane criminal justice system in India.
#Legal Aid#Prisoners’ Rights#Criminal Justice System
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The resolution of a corporate debtor under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (“IBC”) increasingly collides with the exercise of attachment and confiscation powers by the Enforcement Directorate (“ED”) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (“PMLA”) [1] . Both statutes carry non-obstante clauses and pursue distinct public objectives — the IBC seeks time-bound resolution and maximization of the value of a corporate debtor's assets for the collective benefit of creditors, while the PMLA seeks to deprive offenders of the economic benefit of crime. This paper examines whether Section 32A of the IBC, inserted in 2020 [2] to grant a “clean slate” to successful resolution applicants, genuinely reconciles these objectives or merely defers the conflict. Tracing the doctrinal architecture of both statutes and the evolving case laws — from Solidaire India through Embassy Property Developments, Manish Kumar, Vijay Madanlal Choudhary, and the recent, procedurally contested Kalyani Transco litigation concerning Bhushan Power and Steel Limited [3] — the article argues that Section 32A protects the resolved corporate debtor and a bona fide resolution applicant, but leaves unresolved the treatment of attached assets during the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process itself, the jurisdictional competence of insolvency tribunals over PMLA determinations, and the risk that unrestrained attachment before plan approval erodes the very asset value the IBC exists to preserve. The article situates this tension within the Committee of Creditors' commercial wisdom and proposes calibrated procedural and institutional reforms.
[1] Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016; Prevention of Money-Laundering Act 2002. Both statutes are analysed in detail in Part IV below.
[2] Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Act 2020 (Act 1 of 2020), s 10, inserting s 32A into the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016, with effect from 28 December 2019.
[3] These authorities are cited in full where first discussed in Parts V–VII below.
#Insolvency And Bankruptcy Code#Prevention Of Money Laundering Act#Section 32a
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This research paper presents a comparative analysis between The Constitution of India , the supreme legal document of modern India, and the Tirukkural , a two-millennium-old universal code of life. Specifically, this study evaluates the legal principles articulated in Dr V. N. Shukla’s seminal commentary, 'The Constitution of India' (4th Edition, 1964, Eastern Book Company) , alongside the ethical foundations laid down by Tiruvalluvar. It demonstrates how both documents systematically establish the groundwork for human advancement and social justice. The structural harmony between the two texts regarding equality, individual liberty, the concept of a Welfare State, and the judicial framework is thoroughly examined with supporting citations.
#Comparative Evaluation#India#Constitution
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The rapid digitalisation of financial systems has transformed illicit financial transactions, enabling traditional hawala networks to operate through online banking, fintech platforms, virtual digital assets, and encrypted communication technologies. While these innovations improve financial accessibility, they also complicate the detection and prosecution of money laundering offences. The Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) is India's primary anti-money laundering legislation; however, its effectiveness in addressing technology-enabled hawala networks remains a challenge. This paper adopts a doctrinal and comparative approach to evaluate the adequacy of the PMLA by examining its statutory framework, the enforcement role of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Financial Intelligence Unit-India (FIU-IND), judicial developments, and reporting obligations. Drawing on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Recommendations and international anti-money laundering frameworks, the paper identifies regulatory gaps and advocates technology-driven reforms, including AI-enabled financial intelligence, stronger compliance measures, enhanced inter-agency coordination, and improved cross-border cooperation. It concludes that modernising India's anti-money laundering framework is essential to effectively combat digital hawala while balancing financial innovation, regulatory efficiency, and due process.
#Digital Hawala#Prevention Of Money Laundering Act#2002 (pmla)
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Himachal Pradesh has achieved a major transition towards high-value horticulture, yet higher production does not automatically generate stable farm income when perishable produce moves through uneven infrastructure and fragmented markets. This study examines how infrastructure and institutional support are associated with horticultural outcomes across the state's four agro-climatic zones. Primary evidence was obtained from 386 horticulturists selected through a multistage stratified design covering Kangra, Chamba, Shimla and Lahaul-Spiti districts. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, one-way analysis of variance and beneficiary-non-beneficiary comparisons were used. Infrastructure recorded a moderate mean score (2.76 on a five-point scale), below the mean productivity score (3.42), indicating a persistent orchard-to-market gap. Infrastructure and productivity were strongly correlated (r = 0.68, 95% CI [0.62, 0.73], p < 0.001), with shared variance of 46.2%. Significant zonal differences occurred in infrastructure (F = 6.84, p < 0.001), productivity (F = 5.92, p = 0.001) and problem severity (F = 7.36, p < 0.001). Beneficiaries also reported higher productivity and income scores than non-beneficiaries. The findings support a shift from production-centred policy towards zone-sensitive value-chain development integrating farm access, aggregation, grading, packhouses, cold-chain facilities, processing, digital information and competitive marketing institutions. The study contributes farm-level, cross-zonal evidence while explicitly distinguishing statistical association from causal impact.
This research paper explains how the sustainable development evolved in developing India since the inception of its constitution. The constitution envisages the philosophy of sustainable development along with several provisions starting from the preamble itself, the fundamental rights, Directive Principles of State Policy, the Fundamental Duties, V & VI Schedules, etc. which deal with the sustainable development. The human rights activists, social activists, judges, lawyers, etc. have contributed for the socio economic justice.
The human rights defenders sacrificed everything including their lives for protecting environment, to prohibit exploitation of natural resources. Planting trees, preventing deforestation, excavation, fight against sand mafia, running various movements like, Narmada bachav Andolan, Chipko Movement, Aapiko movement, Hasdev Jungle Bachav andolan are some of the instances where the Human Rights defenders used constitutional philosophy and played their role for sustainable development. Many human rights activists were jailed and many of them faced brutalities for protecting environment after realizing that the environment protection is very important for the sustainable development. The role of Human Rights Defenders is remarkable for the sustainable development that has changed the government policies with the help of Public Interest Litigation.
#Sustainable Development#Constitutional Philosophy#Human Rights Defenders
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The introduction of the Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, set the stage for the paradigm shift in taxation in India with technology driven framework. This included systems such as Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN), automated compliance models and e-invoicing. As this progress aimed to streamline supervisory systems, improve efficiency and restrict tax evasion, it parallelly resulted in a key concern, which was the emergence of “digital overreach”, by which algorithm-driven decision process undermines the taxpayers’ procedural rights lacking proper legal safeguards and judicial oversight. In the light of these circumstances, the study focuses on analysing whether the growing reliance on opaque digital systems for issuing notices, blocking input tax credits, and conducting risk-based assessments are aligned with the guarantees of equality and freedom of trade under Articles 14 and 19(1)(g) of the Constitution of India. It also aims to analyse the constitutional consequences of such algorithmic tax administration with respect to procedural due process and principles of natural justice. The study adopts doctrinal methodology with an interdisciplinary approach, integrates analysis of constitutional provisions and judicial precedents with insights of the working of digital tax model. Landmark judgements are examined to evaluate the applicability of established principles of fairness, reasoned decision-making, and proportionality in the context of algorithmic governance. The paper discusses that automated decision-making within the GST framework usually works through ambiguous and arbitrary models, which leads to undermining the essentiality of clear and purposeful opportunity to be heard. It further opines those existing standards of judicial review stands limited in resources to deal with the complexities presented by technology-driven administration.
The study observes that the lack of transformed judicial scrutiny in the domain creates a major constitutional gap, where efficiency in tax administration risks dominating fundamental procedural protections. It reveals that there is a vital need to realign judicial review by adopting protocols such as mandatory disclosure of reasons in automated actions,
the integration of human oversight in critical decisions, and the strengthening of procedural guarantees for taxpayers.
#Gst#Judicial Review#Algorithmic Governance
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The Indian Constitution is supposed to balance between freedom of religion and social equality and secularism within a diverse and pluralistic society. However, the judicial interpretation on balancing both these aspects has often led to confusion, especially due to the application of the Essential Religious Practices (ERP) Test. This paper critically examines how inconsistent rulings have been passed by the Supreme Court of India, between 2018 and 2023, while adjudicating conflicts between religious freedom and equality. Through a careful analysis of landmark cases such as Indian Young Lawyers Association v. State of Kerala (Sabarimala, 2018) and Aishat Shifa v. State of Karnataka (Hijab, 2022), the paper brings to light the contradictions stemming from the ERP Test and its lack of clear standards. The paper further uncovers the shift in judicial stance on individual rights and freedom in the choice of religion and marriage, particularly in the context of Anti-Conversion laws, where Article 21 (Right to life and liberty) and the right to privacy have begun to have more importance in judicial decisions. On the basis of constitutional provisions, analysis of legal texts, precedents, ambiguity and conceptual incoherence, the ERP test is deemed to be defective, that weakens secularism and leading to uneven application of the law. The paper concludes by recommending for a nine-judge bench ruling to either reformulate or eliminate this ERP framework with a more consistent, rights-focused approach that upholds constitutional principles, Individual freedom and individual autonomy as the pillar of Indian secularism.
#Essential Practices Test (erp Test)#Article 21#Sabarimala
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Unwarranted criminalisation is a repellent to business regulations. The country’s administration is punitive action-dependant. There are numerous Central Acts where miniscule procedural alleys, missed filings, or technical defaults would land a petty businessman would invite culpability especially in the form of imprisonment. The Jan Vishwas Act 2026, has been passed to change India’s regulatory approach from a punitive setup to “trust-based governance.” It rests on the earlier Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023, which had the effect of decriminalising various provisions of the statutes across 42 Central laws. For a number of years it was believed that any compliance to the law can be procured by inducing fear. A simple procedural laxity often brought a criminal sanction. This created an air of confusion and apprehension. With this law it is strived by the legislature to ease out DOING BUSINESS and LIVING IN INDIA.
The Jan Vishwas ( Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023 and the Jan Vishwas( Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2026 are aligned to each other. In fact the Jan Vishwas( Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2026 is nothing but a mere continuation of the effort of the legislature to ease out the regulatory provisions of the various la ws.
Like for the small time criminals and for petty offences where no mensrea was generally involved the legislature introduced the punishment of COMMUNITY SERVICE to be in sync with the principles of reformatory approach. On the similar lines this Act has been passed with an aim to decriminalise and rationalise offences to further enhance trust-based governance.
The scale of regulatory criminalisation that these reforms addressed was considerable. A 2023 study by the Observer Research Foundation found that of the 1,536 laws governing business in India, more than half contained imprisonment clauses, and that 37.8 per cent of the 69,233 compliances businesses were required to follow attached criminal liability, including for minor procedural lapses. [1]
[1] Observer Research Foundation, 'Jailed for Doing Business: The 26,134 Imprisonment Clauses in India’s Business Laws' (ORF, April 2023) <https://www.orfonline.org/research/jailed-for-doing-business> accessed 16 September 2026.
#Jan Vishwas#Vishwas Amendment#Provisions Act
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Amidst rapid globalization, digitalization, and rising public debt, recent tax changes—such as the OECD's global minimum tax, digital services taxes, and anti-BEPS measures—have drastically altered the structure of public sector governance. The influence of these modifications on accountability, transparency, and budgetary sustainability under diverse economic conditions is evaluated critically in this paper.
The study aims to evaluate the evolving governance structures shaped by contemporary tax policy shifts, with a broad scope encompassing both developed and emerging economies. It investigates institutional adaptations, administrative challenges, and the delicate balance between revenue mobilization and governance quality in an increasingly complex international tax environment.
Employing a comparative qualitative approach, the research integrates doctrinal legal analysis, multiple case studies from OECD nations and selected developing countries, and thematic evaluation of post-reform policy outcomes and institutional dynamics.
There are still gaps in domestic accountability systems and risks to long-term fiscal sustainability due to implementation asymmetries and unpredictable revenue, despite notable improvements in openness brought about by improved information sharing and reporting requirements.
This study emphasizes the necessity of integrated reform approaches that support revenue objectives while bolstering institutional resilience. It has important ramifications for international organizations and legislators who want to create tax structures that support good governance rather than destroy it. The report indicates that in order to effectively manage global fiscal issues, future tax design must prioritize sustainable, transparent, and accountable public sector frameworks.
In September 2026 the Ganga simultaneously exceeded its all-time highest flood levels at three separate gauge stations in Bihar, submerging fifteen districts and affecting more than 4.6 million people in what the state’s Disaster Management Department described as its largest active flood response on record. [1] This paper uses that flood as a contemporary case study to ask a question that recurs every monsoon in Bihar but is rarely answered with legal precision: does the state’s statutory and constitutional architecture for flood governance create an enforceable duty running to the people who live in the path of its rivers, and what happens, in strict legal terms, when that duty is not met? Using a doctrinal methodology built primarily on statutes, reported judgments, Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) performance audits, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) guidelines, and official flood bulletins, the paper develops a five-element Duty–Breach–Causation–Harm–Remedy (DBCHR) framework and applies it comparatively to the 2008 Kosi breach and the 2026 Ganga flood. It finds that Indian courts have consistently read a duty of rescue, relief, and rehabilitation into Article 21, but that this constitutional duty has never been coupled with a domestic doctrinal mechanism capable of establishing breach and causation with the rigour ordinary liability law demands — leaving a documented and repeated pattern of administrative default, most recently catalogued in CAG Report No. 10 of 2017, without a corresponding legal remedy. The paper’s contribution is threefold: an original liability framework not previously applied to Indian flood jurisprudence; a documented account of the 2026 flood assembled from primary contemporaneous official reporting rather than retrospective secondary commentary; and a set of statutory reforms addressed specifically to the causation gap the framework exposes.
[1] More Than 4.6 Million People Across 15 Districts of Bihar Affected by Floods, Business Standard (Sept. 11, 2026); Bihar Floods Displace Four Million as Ganga Breaks All-Time High-Water Marks, Tech Times (Sept. 9, 2026).
#Flood Governance#Disaster Management Act#2005
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The rapid spread of blockchain technology across sectors such as finance, healthcare, land records, and public administration has created a constitutional challenge that Indian law is not yet fully equipped to address. Blockchain is a digital ledger shared among multiple individuals and is immutable in nature, enabling the recording of transactions and tracking of assets within a network, thereby providing a single source of truth. It operates as a decentralised database, where data is stored across multiple computers, making it resistant to tampering. A consensus mechanism is used to validate transactions in a blockchain, which ensures that there is agreement across the network.
Blockchain derives its core value from immutability, meaning that once data is recorded on a distributed ledger, it cannot be altered or erased without affecting the integrity of the system. At the same time, Article 21 of the Constitution recognises the right to privacy as a fundamental right, which includes the ability of individuals to control their personal information, including seeking its erasure when it is no longer necessary or consented to. While the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, acknowledges this right, its framework struggles to operate effectively in decentralised blockchain systems. This paper examines this conflict.
The paper addresses three key questions. First, whether the right to erasure, as part of the right to privacy, can realistically be implemented within blockchain environments. Second, whether the current legal framework in India, including the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 and constitutional principles, provides workable mechanisms to enforce this right. Third, whether it is possible to reconcile the technological features of blockchain with constitutional protections through legal or technical solutions.
The study adopts a doctrinal approach, relying on constitutional provisions, judicial decisions, statutory law, and relevant academic and policy literature.
The paper finds that the conflict is not merely technical but structural. In decentralised blockchain systems, identifying a responsible entity or data fiduciary, which is essential under the current data protection regime, becomes extremely difficult. Further, the proportionality standard laid down in Justice K.S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India (2017) requires that any restriction on privacy be narrowly tailored, whereas blockchain’s immutability operates in a blanket manner. The paper argues that there is a need for the State to develop clearer regulatory and technical standards to ensure that emerging technologies like blockchain function in a manner consistent with constitutional rights.
#Blockchain Immutability#Right To Be Forgotten#Right To Privacy
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The communication system refers to the organized means and networks used for the regular exchange of people, goods, news, and information from one place to another. The overall development, economic prosperity, and social infrastructure of any region depend to a considerable extent on an efficient and well-organized communication system.
#Communication System#Transportation#Road Communication
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Female Genital Mutilation is a procedure that involves total or partial removal of the female external genital parts. FGM is a serious violation of human rights particularly targeting the bodily autonomy, dignity and health of women. FGM is being practiced by the Dawoodi Bohra Muslim Community in the India. This practice is also known as the Khafz. The present research paper shows how well both international and national legal framework help to protect the women’s right. This study aims to examine and review the legal mechanisms at both national and global levels that aim to safeguard women's rights and eradicate Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). It focuses on the major international human rights treaties, such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), and relevant provisions of the Indian Constitution, national laws, and judicial interpretations. Analysing the judiciary's role more especially, how courts have interpreted and used the legislation to combat FGM and defend the fundamental human rights of women and girls is a crucial part of the research. The study demonstrates the judiciary's evolving stance on FGM and its contribution to the development of gender-sensitive jurisprudence by analysing landmark rulings and legal trends.
#Fgm#Violation#Rights
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AN EVALUATIVE STUDY TO ASSESS THE EFFECTIVENESS OF A STRUCTURED EDUCATIONAL INTERVENTION ON KNOWLEDGE PERTAINING TO THE SIGNIFICANCE OF DIETARY PRACTICES IN THE PREVENTION AND MANAGEMENT OF SARS-COV-2 INFECTION AMONG UNDERGRADUATE NURSING STUDENTS IN SELECTED NURSING COLLEGES OF BENGALURU.
#Among Undergraduate#Undergraduate Nursing#Nursing Students
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Our Indian Constitutions guarantees various rights – Right to freedom of profession, practice or trade, Right to freedom of Speech and Expression, Right to live life with dignity, Right to assemble peacefully, Right to reside in any part of India, Right to religion.
Freedom of religion is a fundamental right recognized in the Indian Constitution in Article 25. It ensures that each individual has the freedom of conscience and the right to profess, practice and propagate their religion. This protection as a fundamental human right has been borrowed by various international instruments such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Thus, religious faith is not merely a matter of belief but is closely connected with an individual’s freedom, identity and dignity.
The right to religion provided for in Article 25 is by no means absolute; it may be subject to certain qualifications and limitations concerning public order, morality, and health. In this regard, different Indian states have passed laws prohibiting conversions which are carried out by force, fraud, coercion, inducement, allurement or misrepresentation. The Supreme Court's ruling in Rev. Stainislaus v. State of Madhya Pradesh is especially important for determining the extent of the right to propagate a religion; the judgment propounded that the right to religion does not entail a right to convert another person as a result of such propagation. It distinguished propagation from conversion. This article talks about the recently introduced enactment - Maharashtra Freedom of Religion Act of 2026 for banning the involuntary and forced religious conversions. This article goes on to talk about the relationship between religious freedom and state regulation.
This article therefore poses important questions concerning the balance between individual choice, religious freedom, dignity and legitimate state interference, especially as it applies to minority communities.
#Indian Constitution#Right#Religion
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The four Labour Codes were meant to bring all the old rules into a single clear set. I see that the old laws were confusing and hard to follow. For than seventy years industrial relations in India were controlled by a broken set of almost thirty central labour laws many of which came from the colonial era. These laws overlapped, had rules and made it hard for both employers and workers to keep track of what they must do. In September 2020 Parliament passed the Industrial Relations Code, the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code and the Code on Social Security. A year earlier it had passed the Code on Wages. After a delay of than five years the Government of India made all four Codes effective on 21 November 2025. This paper carefully studies the four Codes. Compares them with the old laws. It looks at how the Industrial Relations Code brings together trade union recognition, standing orders and dispute resolution. It examines how the Code on Wages simplifies wage and bonus rules. It reviews how the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code changes safety rules and limits of application.. It explores how the Code on Social Security for the first time creates a legal safety net for gig and platform workers. Using academic articles, labour‑economics studies and official government notices the paper argues that although the Labour Codes bring useful order some parts of them – such as higher thresholds for who must follow the rules loose wording about gig‑worker benefits and the fact that workers on many platforms are still not seen by the law – may push power toward employers. I think the new codes bring clarity but still leave gaps. This could happen without giving the informal workforce the safety it needs. The paper ends with suggestions, for rules that could close this gap.
#Labour Codes#2020#Industrial Relations Code
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One of the largest and most influential corporations in India, the Adani Group of Companies, was significantly impacted by the Hindenburg report, which was published by the Hindenburg Research corp. in January 2023. The group was charged in the study with financial irregularities, stock manipulation, and inflating the worth of its listed companies. The group was also accused of engaging in offshore tax havens and other immoral activities. The publicly traded companies of the Adani Group saw a precipitous drop in stock prices as a result, losing billions of dollars in market value in a matter of days.
Additionally, the dispute attracted regulatory notice, with requests for inquiries into the claims. Rating agencies questioned the group's creditworthiness, and a number of foreign investors re-examined their investments in Adani Group enterprises. The study threw doubt on future investments by harming the group's brand as well as investor trust in India's corporate governance. In the end, the Hindenburg report had a significant impact on India's business environment and stock market dynamics.
This paper tries to throw light on the greater impact, the report had on various strata of the economy such as on Adani Group and its listed companies, its shareholders and the Indian economic market structure. Adding to that this paper also moderately devolves into the legal and practical implications incurred aftermath of the Hindenburg report.
#Hindenburg Report#Adani Stocks#Tax Loss Harvesting
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Disability is not purely a medical fact about a person’s body or mind. It is produced just as much by the gap between what an environment demands and what that environment is actually built to accommodate — a staircase with no ramp, a form with no large-print version, an employer who never learns what “reasonable accommodation” is supposed to mean in practice. India has moved, at least on paper, from treating disability as a matter of charity toward treating it as a matter of rights, most concretely through the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 (“RPwD Act”), enacted to give domestic effect to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (“UNCRPD”). The scale of the population this affects is large by any measure: the 2011 Census recorded 26.8 million persons with disabilities, 2.21% of the population, and the National Statistical Office’s 76th Round survey (2018) put current prevalence at 2.2% nationally — 2.3% in rural India against 2.0% in urban India — with nearly seven in ten of those affected living in rural areas where services are thinnest. [1] Legal recognition of that scale has not translated cleanly into inclusion in education, employment, healthcare, transport, housing, information access, or public life more broadly.
This paper works through the constitutional, statutory, policy and judicial architecture of disability rights in India using a doctrinal and secondary-data method. Its central claim is that India’s problem is no longer really a shortage of law — the RPwD Act is a genuinely comprehensive statute — but a persistent gap between what that law promises and what gets delivered on the ground: inaccessible infrastructure, social stigma, thin reasonable-accommodation practice, unreliable data, slow certification processes, low public awareness, and sharply uneven implementation across states. Drawing on national accessibility-audit data, the paper argues for enforceable accessibility timelines, participatory governance built around disabled people’s own organisations, stronger grievance mechanisms, disability-responsive budgeting, and independent compliance audits with real consequences attached.
[1] Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India, Census of India 2011: C-20 Table, Disabled Population by Sex and Residence; Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, National Statistical Office, Persons with Disabilities in India: NSS 76th Round (July–December 2018), Report No. 583 (2019).
#Disability Rights#Rpwd Act#2016
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The performance of India’s Lok Adalats is reported almost entirely in two figures: the number of cases disposed of and the aggregate value of settlements. This article argues that these are measures of institutional throughput, and that throughput cannot report on the mandate the Lok Adalat exists to serve. Article 39A of the Constitution directs the State to secure justice on a basis of equal opportunity and to prevent the denial of justice by reason of economic disability, a distributive standard concerned with who is reached. Drawing on three competing paradigms of justice measurement- output, institutional capacity, and population experience the article shows that India already subscribes to an internationally agreed indicator, Sustainable Development Goal indicator 16.3.3, which would measure Lok Adalats in the terms that matter, and that the present reporting architecture is structurally incapable of speaking to it. Using the official record of e-Lok Adalat proceedings, the article demonstrates that aggregate reporting conceals variation of a magnitude that ought to inform policy. It concludes with four proposals, none requiring legislative amendment.
#Lok Adalat#Access To Justice#Article 39a
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The interplay between the media and the State in India is controlled by intricate maze of constitutional rights, legislative provisions and judge-made doctrine. This relationship is characterized by two analytically distinct, but practically interconnected issues: the restraints that parliamentary privileges place on media coverage of legislative affairs, and the restraints that the judiciary wields by the law of contempt to ensure that the administration of justice is not prejudiced by the publicity it receives. These restrictions coincide with what has been termed the judicially recognised right to commercial speech that has made Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution apply to the freedom to advertise. [1]
The gravity of these concerns is underscored by India's continuing decline in global press freedom assessments. According to Reporters Without Borders, India ranked 151st out of 180 countries in the 2025 World Press Freedom Index and fell further to 157th in the 2026 Index, placing the country firmly in the category classified as representing a very serious situation for media freedom. [2] Reporters Without Borders attributed this trajectory to rising violence against journalists, highly concentrated media ownership, and increasing alignment of outlets with political interests. This empirical picture provides an important backdrop to the doctrinal analysis that follows, situating the legal framework within the broader context of press freedom in practice.
This essay takes a critical look at these three overlapping doctrines the interface between parliamentary privileges and press freedom, the law of contempt of court in the context of the media, and the right to advertise which is protected by the constitution to determine the legal framework of the rights and duties of the media.
[1] The Constitution of India art. 19(1)(a) (1950).
[2] Reporters Without Borders, 'World Press Freedom Index 2025' (RSF, 2 May 2025) <https://rsf.org/en/index> accessed 4 September 2026; 'India is 157th Out of 180 Countries on RSF's 2026 World Press Freedom Index' ( The Wire , 30 April 2026) <https://m.thewire.in/article/media/india-is-157th-out-of-180-countries-on-rsfs-2026-world-press-freedom-index> accessed 4 September 2026.
The appointment of judges to the superior judiciary has remained the most contested question in Indian constitutional law since the supersession crisis of 1973. The Constitution provides for appointment by the President “after consultation” with certain judicial functionaries, but says nothing about who holds primacy when disagreement arises. That silence has produced four landmark decisions, a constitutional amendment struck down on basic-structure grounds, and a Memorandum of Procedure that remains unsigned after nearly a decade. This paper examines the Collegium system and the National Judicial Appointments Commission, subjecting both to the same critical scrutiny rather than treating either as a self-evident good. Its central submission is that the NJAC failed because of identifiable design features specifically, the two-member veto, the reduction of judicial membership, the shift of initiation, and the removal of the Governor’s consultative role not because a judicial appointments commission is inherently incompatible with the basic structure. The paper deploys interpretive doctrine, the proportionality standard, and a structured comparison of four jurisdictions (the United Kingdom, the United States, France, and South Africa) to test this thesis. It then draws on principal–agent theory, institutional economics, and the sociology of judicial recruitment to explain why the Collegium’s structural deficits persist.
#Collegium System#Njac#Judicial Appointments
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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.
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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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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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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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.
Welfare Schemes constitute an important Instrument through which the State seeks to translate Constitutional commitments to Social Justice, Equality and Human Dignity into practical benefits for Citizens. Tamil Nadu has historically developed an extensive network of Welfare Programmes covering Food Security, Education, Healthcare, Social Security, Women and Child Welfare, Housing, Livelihood Support, Pensions and assistance to Vulnerable Groups. These Schemes raise important Constitutional and Legal questions concerning the Directive Principles of State Policy, Fundamental Rights, Legislative Competence, Equality, Administrative Discretion, Public Finance, Accountability and Judicial Review. This Article examines the Constitutional Foundation and Legal Dimensions of Welfare Schemes implemented by the State of Tamil Nadu.
It analyses Articles 14, 15, 16, 21, 21-A, 38, 39, 41, 42, 43, 45, 46, 47 and 282 of the Constitution, together with the Federal Distribution of Legislative and Executive Powers. It further examines the Transformation of several Welfare objectives from non-justiciable Directive Principles into enforceable Rights through Legislation and Judicial Interpretation. Landmark decisions such as Minerva Mills Ltd. v. Union of India, Olga Tellis v. Bombay Municipal Corporation, Paschim Banga Khet Mazdoor Samity v. State of West Bengal, People's Union for Civil Liberties v. Union of India and S. Subramaniam Balaji v. Government of Tamil Nadu are considered. The article argues that Welfare Schemes are Constitutionally Legitimate when designed to advance Social Justice, but their implementation must satisfy the requirements of Equality, Transparency, Legality, Financial Responsibility and Administrative Fairness.
#Welfare Schemes#Tamil Nadu#Legal Dimensions
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This study evaluates the effectiveness of the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) and related public air-quality expenditure in Rajasthan through a comparative empirical assessment of five cities—Jaipur, Jodhpur, Kota, Udaipur and Alwar. Using secondary data from government and programme sources, the study examines annual PM10 concentrations against the 2019–20 baseline and compares these outcomes with reported public air-quality fund utilisation. The results reveal substantial inter-city variation. Between 2019–20 and 2025–26, Jodhpur recorded the largest decline in PM10 (31.1%), followed by Udaipur (22.1%) and Alwar (17.5%), while Jaipur and Kota recorded increases of approximately 14.5% and 13.7%, respectively. The five-city average declined by approximately 11.0%. The financial data show that approximately ₹812.91 crore was released across the five-city sample and ₹604.47 crore was utilised, representing 74.36% utilisation. The comparison does not establish a simple relationship between expenditure and pollution reduction: Jaipur had the highest utilisation rate but experienced deterioration, whereas Jodhpur achieved the strongest improvement with a lower utilisation rate. The study therefore argues that financial absorption should be treated as an input indicator rather than an effectiveness indicator. Drawing on the wider NCAP literature, the paper further shows the importance of source-specific intervention, monitoring quality, meteorological conditions, institutional coordination and enforcement. It proposes an outcome-oriented governance framework for Rajasthan in which expenditure is linked to verified pollution reduction, population exposure, implementation quality and credible climate co-benefits.
#Clean Air#National Clean#Air Programme
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Over the past several decades, International Commercial Arbitration (ICA) has steadily won for itself the position of foremost dispute-resolution mechanism amongst parties engaged in cross-border commercial dealings. Its ascendancy owes itself to three foundational virtues: impartiality in proceedings, suppleness of procedure, and the trustworthiness of enforcement across national frontiers. This article undertakes a searching examination of ICA's theoretical foundations, the institutional ecosystem that sustains it, and its procedural architecture. Central to this analysis is a critical appraisal of the relationship binding sovereign legal systems to the international arbitral order, shaped in no small measure by the New York Convention and the UNCITRAL Model Law. The article further interrogates a range of structural difficulties that continue to beset the field: misgivings over arbitrator partiality, escalating costs, delay in enforcement, and the questions of legitimacy that dog investor-state dispute mechanisms. Viewing these concerns through the lens of reform, this paper advances a series of proposals, ranging from institutional coordination and digital transformation to the embedding of environmental and human-rights obligations within commercial arbitration frameworks. Ultimately, the paper contends that ICA stands not merely as a legal instrument but as an integral pillar of global economic governance and diplomatic statecraft in the present age.
Digital platforms have changed how work is organised in India. Ride-hailing, food delivery and home services give millions of people an income, yet most of these workers are called “partners”, not employees. Software assigns their tasks, sets incentives, tracks performance and can cut off their access to work, often without explanation.
This paper examines algorithmic deactivation: the suspension, blocking or termination of a worker’s access to a platform through automated or partly automated systems. It argues that deactivation is not only a contractual matter. Where platform work is a main source of income, unexplained or arbitrary deactivation raises real questions of fairness, equality, privacy and access to justice. The paper reviews the Code on Social Security, 2020, Articles 14, 19 and 21 of the Constitution, the Rajasthan and Karnataka laws, and the ILO and EU approaches. It finds that India now recognises gig workers but does not yet regulate algorithmic management itself. It proposes a rights-based framework built on notice, reasons, human review, appeal, interim protection and independent oversight, while leaving platforms free to act against genuine misconduct.
Retail participation in India’s equity futures and options (F&O) market has grown sharply, helped by digital platforms, easier broker access and lower costs. The growth has brought heavy losses. SEBI’s January 2023 analysis found that 89 per cent of individual F&O traders lost money in 2021-22, and a later study covering 2021-22 to 2023-24 found that 93 per cent lost money over three years, with aggregate losses above ₹1.8 lakh crore.
In response, SEBI changed contract sizes, expiry-day products, option premium collection, margins and position limits during 2024-25. None of these prohibits retail trading, but several raise the cost of entry. The central legal question is whether measures framed as investor protection can curtail access to an otherwise lawful market. SEBI’s authority comes from Sections 11 and 11B of the SEBI Act, 1992, and Section 11(4)(b) allows it to restrain specific persons from the market. The 2024-25 measures, however, apply to retail investors as a class, not to identified wrongdoers.
The study asks not whether retail F&O trading is desirable, but whether SEBI’s approach lies within its statutory powers and balances protection with access. Article 19(1)(g), which protects the freedom to carry on a trade or business subject to reasonable restrictions under Article 19(6), adds a constitutional side.
#Sebi Act#Retail Participation#Sebi Rsquo
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The COVID-19 pandemic exposed a structural weakness in the relationship between pharmaceutical patent protection, manufacturing capacity and the right to health. India and South Africa’s 2020 proposal to suspend selected obligations under the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) challenged a system in which vaccine innovation was globally valuable but production remained geographically concentrated. The debate cannot be reduced to a choice between patents and public health. Patents may support investment and rapid innovation, yet exclusive rights, trade secrets, supply contracts and national procurement policies can together restrict timely access to life-saving technologies. The mRNA experience adds a further complication: a patent waiver may remove liability for infringement without transferring the tacit know-how, process controls, regulatory data and skilled personnel required to reproduce a vaccine at scale. This article argues that India’s future-pandemic framework should retain patent incentives while converting public-health safeguards from dormant exceptions into operational access architecture. The proposed framework combines a pandemic-triggered compulsory-licensing pathway, government-use powers, transparency obligations, public-funding conditions, disclosure of relevant patent and know-how information, advance manufacturing agreements, and sustained investment in regional technology-transfer and fill-and-finish capacity. India should use its constitutional commitment to social welfare and its experience as a supplier of affordable medicines to advocate a treaty-compatible system in which access; technology transfer and innovation are designed together rather than sequenced after a crisis.
Partnership is founded on the premise that each partner is an agent of his partners and of the firm. But, in many cases, the inner conditions of that agency remain unknown to outsiders. This raises a fundamental problem what if one partner does something unauthorized, the agency of which was restricted, but the bona fide third party was unable to know this?
Ostensible authority, now embedded in Sections 18 to 20 of the Indian Partnership Act, 1932, overcomes this tension by making the firm liable for those actions of a partner that appear to fall within his authority, and, if not for those inner restrictions, would otherwise bind the firm. The law treats a partner, vis-a-vis innocent outsiders, as an agent of the firm with as much authority as the firm’s business requires.
This paper critically analyzes the statutory framework governing ostensible authority, with particular attention to how the phrase “usual course of business” has been interpreted by the Indian judiciary, and to the scope of the notice requirement under Section 20 in relation to the firm’s exposure to liability. It uses relevant Indian case law, contemporary English judicial experience, comparative material from English Law and available academic work, to evaluate whether the Indian framework provides a fair balance between securing innocent, yet unsuspecting, third parties and protecting innocent, inactive partners from disproportionate liability. It argues that while ostensible authority provides a robust safety net, a more formalized scheme for registration of some restrictive authorities could result in a better equilibrium.
Transgender are also the creation of the God like the Binary. They are the part of the society and have equal rights. The presence of transgender of late is increased and call for protection. The existing literature shows that transgenders are facing numerous problems in the society such as sexual harassment, lack of medication, employment opportunities, false arrest and physical and verbal violence. Although the existing policies and legislation such as Article.14, Article 15, Article 16, Article 19, Article 21 of the Indian Constitution and Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 provides for the equal opportunities and restricts discrimination, Yet inclusiveness is lacking. The object of writing this paper is to analyze the protection of Transgender Act and to identify the challenges faced therein towards the Inclusive. This paper is divided into two parts firstly, analysis of the Act. The second part focuses on the Inclusiveness of Transgenders i.e, the Identification of the challenges faced by the Transgender community such as Racism, abused and ridiculed in public places, parents kick them out of the house, social exclusion, human trafficking, disrespect, rejection of entry. This paper concludes by offering suggestions and call for the need for inclusive of transgenders and how it leads to social justice.
#Social Justice#Inclusive Growth#Challenges Faced
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This paper examines the evolving role of mass and digital media in shaping public and legal perceptions of same-sex relationships and marriage in India. Drawing an initial comparative parallel with political and media shifts in the United States, the study categorizes modern Indian media into legacy television broadcasting, digital influencers, and grassroots social media journalists. It traces the historical progression of Indian cinema and broadcasting from post-independence silence, Victorian legal moralism, and effeminate, villainized stereotypes (between 1950 and 2010) to the post-Naz Foundation emergence of more sensitive, progressive storytelling. However, the paper argues that contemporary Indian media perpetuates a counterintuitive dilemma: by framing LGBTQIA+ characters solely through their sexual orientation and coming-out trauma rather than integrating them into broad, everyday narratives, media institutions pigeonhole queer identity as an all-consuming feature rather than a normative aspect of life. This reductionist lens—mirrored across television debates and regional social media content—continues to sever queer civil liberties from universal human rights, inadvertently hindering genuine societal consensus toward same-sex marriage legalization.
#Sex Marriage#Shaping Views#Media
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The Bar Council of India in August this year had directed all State Bar Councils across the country to not enrol the 2026 batch graduates of NALSAR University of Law. This incident involved a protest campaign by the students against the Chief Justice of India who was to be the chief guest for their convocation. The communication was amended and withdrawn within hours, but the petitioners who had taken the case to the Supreme Court claimed that this withdrawal was not sufficient to provide an answer to the question that the episode had raised.
On 3 September 2026, a Bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana agreed. The Court held that the Advocates Act, 1961 confers no power, express or implied, on the Bar Council of India or the State Bar Councils to take disciplinary action against a law student; that such power arises only once a graduate is enrolled as an advocate; and that disciplinary authority over students rests with the institution in which they are enrolled. The communications of 13 August were declared to be without authority of law.
One sentence in that order deserves more attention than it has received. The Bar Council of India, the Court said, may prescribe and enforce standards of legal education in accordance with the statutory provisions — it cannot take disciplinary action against a law student. The Court thereby drew a line that the Advocates Act itself has never drawn clearly: between regulating an educational system and governing the people inside it.
The stakes of that clarification are heightened by NALSAR's own standing within Indian legal education: the university has consistently ranked third nationally in the Law category of the National Institutional Ranking Framework, behind only NLSIU Bangalore and NLU Delhi. A regulatory overreach visited upon one of the country's most highly regarded law schools was, in that sense, a signal to the entire sector about how thin the line between academic governance and professional discipline had become. [1]
The episode is worth remembering, but it is not the argument. The argument is what the episode exposed — that India has, twice over in the past year, declined to think seriously about who should regulate legal education, and that the subject has fallen into the gap between two pieces of legislation.
[1] Pritha Roy Choudhury, 'NIRF Ranking 2025 Law: NLSIU Bangalore Still the Best; NLU Delhi, NALSAR Hyderabad Retain 2nd, 3rd Spots' ( Careers360 , 4 September 2025) <https://news.careers360.com/nirf-ranking-2025-law-nlsiu-bangalore-top-college-nlu-delhi-nalsar-hyderabad-wbnujs-kolkata-gnlu-gandhinagar-symbiosis-pune-nba> accessed 27 September 2026.
#Legal Education#Bar Council#Nlsiu Bangalore
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The interface Between intellectual property right and public health has emerged as one of the most contested terrains of contemporary IPR Jurisprudence. We often think of trademark law as something that protects consumers from confusion. And in medicines, that protection becomes even more critical because a mistake can cost a life. But the same law, when it is stretched beyond its purpose through border enforcement and anti-counterfeiting rules, can actually block access to life-saving drugs.
This paper started from a very simple question - what happens when a generic medicine, which is legal, licensed and has its own distinct brand name, is stopped at a port because it looks similar to a big pharma brand? In 2008-09, Dutch customs did exactly that. They seized 19 consignments of Indian generics which were not even meant for Europe, they were going to Brazil, Nigeria and Peru under the UNITAID programme.
India today is called the Pharmacy of the World for a reason. We supply about 20% of global generic exports and almost 62% of anti-retroviral drugs used in Africa. So when you stop an Indian generic, you are not just stopping a trademark issue, you are stopping a patient's treatment.
Through this research, I have tried to show that the real problem is conflation - we are mixing three different things under one word "counterfeit". Spurious drugs under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act is a quality issue, counterfeit trademark goods under the Trade Marks Act is an IPR issue, and generic drugs are a completely legitimate category. WHO itself understood this confusion and in 2017 dropped the term counterfeit and adopted Substandard and Falsified. India still has not.
This paper analyses TRIPS Footnote 14, the EU Regulations, ACTA, WTO dispute DS408, Indian case law like Cadila and Novartis, and comparative law from USA, EU, Brazil and South Africa, to argue that our current customs rules are TRIPS-plus and violate Articles 7, 8, 41 of TRIPS and GATT Article V. I have proposed a concrete model clause - a public health defence under Section 30 of the Trade Marks Act.
#Public Health#Trademark Infringement#Infringement Versus
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Legal actions intended to rehabilitate financially troubled but viable businesses, mostly through restructuring as opposed to liquidation, are referred to as corporate rescue. The Companies Act, 1956, marked the beginning of India's legislative journey in this field by providing for court-approved agreements and concessions that permitted businesses to rearrange their ownership and debt arrangements. Sections 230 to 240 of the Companies Act of 2013 significantly improved and unified these rules in order to protect stakeholder interests and enable prompt restructuring.
With the creation of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) under the 2013 Act, corporate adjudication became more specialized and effective. Procedural delays, disjointed forums, and a lack of a strong, cohesive insolvency procedure were among the issues that continued to exist, nevertheless. The bankruptcy and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), 2016, which established a time-bound and creditor-centred bankruptcy framework for businesses, was enacted as a result of these problems.
This paper argues that by including the concepts of openness, equity, and organized corporate rescue, the Companies Act of 2013 established crucial procedural and legal foundations for India's contemporary insolvency framework. Later, this framework developed into the more organized and successful IBC regime.
#Companies Act#Corporate Rescue#Bankruptcy Code
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The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of specific drill training on the shooting ability of school-level football players. Shooting ability is a crucial technical skill that directly influences scoring opportunities and match outcomes in football. Thirty school-level football players participated in a six-week specific drill training programme. A single-group pre-test and post-test experimental design was adopted. Shooting ability was measured using the Kicking Accuracy Test. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and a paired sample t-test. The results indicated a significant improvement in shooting ability following the training intervention. The calculated t-value (8.51) exceeded the tabulated value (2.045) at the 0.05 level of significance. The study concluded that specific drill training significantly improves shooting ability among school-level football players.
#Shooting Ability#Specific Drill#Drill Training
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Indian administrative law recognises audi alteram partem as an important component of the constitutional guarantee of fairness under Articles 14 and 21. The principle is based on the expectation that an affected person should be able to understand and respond to the material on which a decision is made. The increasing use of artificial intelligence in administrative decision-making raises concerns about this assumption, particularly where the working of an algorithm is not readily accessible. Adopting a doctrinal and comparative approach, this article examines three forms of AI involvement in decision-making and considers the Bombay High Court’s decision in KMG Wires Pvt. Ltd. v. National Faceless Assessment Centre (2025 ) and the Supreme Court’s decision in Pooja Ramesh Singh v. Jammu & Kashmir Bank Ltd. (2026) , alongside selected developments from the EU, Netherlands and United States. The article argues that the key concern is whether affected persons can meaningfully challenge decisions when relevant inputs and reasoning remain inaccessible. It proposes a limited shift in the burden of establishing prejudice where algorithmic opacity prevents such prejudice from being fairly assessed.
#Artificial Intelligence#Audi Alteram#Alteram Partem
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The true crime theme has become a dominant digital genre, with its increasing popularity on platforms like Netflix, YouTube and Spotify, completely transforming the perception of crime, justice and gender in society. Even though the platforms claim to be spreading awareness amongst viewers about gender based violence, they present patriarchal stereotypes when women are portrayed as “deviant perpetrators” or “ideal victims”. It reinforces the gender roles rather than dismantling them (Cavender & Bond-Maupin, 1993). Meanwhile, the women from marginalised communities are vastly underrepresented, especially the Dalit, Black and migrant women. The digital erasure mirrors deeply rooted social inequalities (Slakoff & Duran, 2023).
The crime media often engage in activities that violate the right to privacy, the right to dignity and the right to fair trial. When the sensationalised content streams across platforms, the victims and their families get re-traumatised. This highlights the clash between the freedom of speech and expression and the rights of an individual (Rodríguez & Lopez-Figueroa, 2022). Additionally, the feminist legal scholars opine that the true crime leads to the commodification of women’s sufferings, transforming the trauma into consumable content for the viewers (Cassandra, 2023). Such portrayals lead to legal and ethical contestations.
This paper aims to critically examine the intersection of law, justice, sex and digital media by analysing how true crime shapes the image and perception of women, causing systematic biases. It draws on privacy laws, feminist jurisprudence and case studies across the globe, showing the implications of digital portrayal of women involved in crimes. This paper also argues for regulatory reforms and demands stronger privacy, protection and accountability mechanisms to ensure that true crime media does not cross the boundaries and alliance with feminist legal principles. The ultimate aim of this study is to contend that without the reforms, digital crime will become a form of “trial-by-streaming” where women’s dignity will be crucified for the sake of entertainment.
#True Crime#Crime Media#Media Portrayals
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Environmental problems have never fitted neatly within political boundaries. Pollution can cross borders through air and water, hazardous waste can be transported from one country to another, and greenhouse gas emissions affect the global climate irrespective of where they originate. International environmental conventions have consequently become an important part of environmental governance. Their influence, however, does not end with international negotiations. The more interesting legal question is what happens when these commitments enter domestic legal systems. This article examines how international environmental conventions have shaped Indian environmental law, with particular attention to the Stockholm Conference of 1972, the Rio Declaration of 1992, major environmental conventions and protocols, and the development of Indian environmental legislation and judicial principles. It argues that the influence of international environmental law in India has operated through three principal routes: legislative implementation, constitutional interpretation and judicial development of environmental principles. At the same time, international commitments do not automatically become enforceable domestic law. The gap between international promises and domestic implementation remains a significant limitation. The Indian experience therefore shows that the real legal impact of an environmental convention is determined not simply by ratification, but by what the State subsequently does with the obligation.
#International Environmental#Environmental Conventions#Environmental Law
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Workplace sexual harassment represents one of the gravest violations of gender equality and human dignity in contemporary India. The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, commonly known as the POSH Act, was enacted to address a deep and systemic lacuna in Indian labor law and constitutional jurisprudence. Born from the landmark Supreme Court judgment in Vishaka v. State of Rajasthan (1997), which laid down binding guidelines in the absence of legislation, the POSH Act codified and expanded those protections into a comprehensive statutory framework.
This dissertation undertakes a critical study of the POSH Act, 2013, examining its conceptual foundations, structural design, operational mechanisms, and constitutional underpinnings. The research situates the Act within the broader framework of Articles 14, 15, 19, and 21 of the Indian Constitution, analyzing how the right to equality, non-discrimination, free expression, and personal dignity converge in the context of gender-based violence at work. It examines the definitions of sexual harassment, the scope of the Act, the roles of the Internal Committee and Local Committee, complaint procedures, evidentiary standards, penalties, and the protections available to the complainant.
The study also identifies significant implementation challenges that continue to undermine the Act's efficacy, including inadequate awareness among employees, failures of institutional compliance, procedural gaps, and the structural vulnerabilities of women in the informal economy who remain largely outside the Act's protective ambit. The research draws on judicial pronouncements, empirical studies, comparative analysis with international frameworks including CEDAW and the ILO Convention No. 190, and scholarly commentary to offer a nuanced critique of the Act's strengths and limitations.
The dissertation concludes with reform recommendations aimed at strengthening the Act's coverage, improving complaint mechanisms, enhancing accountability structures, and embedding a culture of dignity and respect within India's workplaces. The central argument is that while the POSH Act represents a landmark achievement in gender jurisprudence, it requires legislative, regulatory, and institutional reform to fulfill its transformative constitutional promise.
#Posh Act#Sexual Harassment#Workplace Sexual
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The institution of marriage has evolved from primitive society to the present era through reforms over time. Marriages, whether considered a contract or a sacrament, confer the status of husband and wife on the parties, legitimacy on the children of the marriage, and certain mutual spousal rights and obligations. Over time, marriages have changed significantly. Many changes have occurred in the legal forms and conditions of marriage. Before the Hindu Marriage Act of 1955, uncodified Hindu Law did not acknowledge divorce; however, the Act introduced significant, transformative changes to Hindu marriage law by establishing Section 13, which outlines the grounds for divorce. Like the broader changes in the concept of marriage, divorce law has also changed dramatically. There has been a shift from fault-based divorce to mutual consent divorce. Divorce by mutual consent marked a significant shift in divorce legislation, but over time, the need for divorce based on irretrievable breakdown has been promoted to eliminate the complications associated with fault-based criteria and to terminate a relationship that is no longer sustainable. Irretrievable breakdown of marriage, though, is not a ground for divorce as of now, but the Honourable Supreme Court, through various judgments, has exercised the power under Article 142 [1] of the Constitution of India by dissolving the marriage while emphasising the need for consideration for it to be recognised as a ground for divorce, and the Law Commission of India, [2] through reports, has advocated that it should be added as a ground for divorce. Nonetheless, it is the responsibility of the Legislature to determine if irretrievable breakdown of marriage should be recognised as a valid reason for divorce under the Hindu Marriage Act of 1955.
[1] Jorden Diengheh v. S.S Chopra (1985) 3 SCC 62: AIR 1985 SC 935
Bhagat v. D. Bhagat (1994) 1 SCC 337: AIR 1994 SC 710
Naveen Kohli v. Neelu Kohli (2006) 4 SCC 558
K. Srinivas Rao v. D.A. Deepa (2013) 5 SCC 226
[2] Law Commission of India 71 st report on “The Hindu Marriage Act, 1995-Irretrievable breakdown of marriage as a ground for divorce”, April 7, 1978, Chairman: Justice H. R Khanna
Law Commission of India 217 th report on “Irretrievable breakdown of marriage- Another Ground for Divorce”, 30 th March, 2009, Chairman: Dr. Justice A. R Lakshmanan
#Irretrievable Breakdown#Hindu Marriage#Divorce
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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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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.
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.
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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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.
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.
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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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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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
0 citations10 downloads15 min readPDF Available (24 pages)
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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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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