Articles
Does India Need A Refugee Law?
Few weeks back a video from Tripura went viral on social media. In the video some girls could be seen taking a selfie video near the border-fencing while some Bangladeshi nationals are seen on the other side clinging to the fence. The video received a mixed reaction. Many took it in a humorous and light-hearted manner, but some raised concerns about how porous India's borders are to cross-border infiltration. Indian subcontinent and its history of providing safety for refugees is neither new...
Custody Of Two Years and Four Months The New Norm For Bail In PMLA Cases?
Bail in cases registered under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (“PMLA”) is granted under Section 45 of the Act which requires two conditions to be satisfied. The first is that the public prosecutor is to be heard before granting of bail. The second requires the satisfaction of the court that “there are reasonable grounds for believing” that an accused is not guilty of such offence and that they are not likely to commit any offence after being released on bail. A person is presumed...
Justice Rekha Palli: Recollections Of A Law Researcher
As the month of February, 2024 was drawing to a close, I arrived at the Delhi High Court for my interview for the position of a Law Researcher in the Court of Justice Rekha Palli. Winter had begun to fade, giving way to the warmth of spring. The autos and cars parked on the side of the road coupled with the slow moving traffic on Sher Shah Road was a sight I would become accustomed to over...
A Relook At Custodial Legal Framework: An Argument For Shared Custody Between Parents
“...We have also interviewed minor child in our chamber. He frankly told us that he loves both Mummy and Papa.Considering his age, in our opinion, he can not be judgmental[1]…”These observations by the Bombay High Court sum up the natural bond which a child shares with both his mother and father. The institution of marriage in India is going through a change with the evolving...
Valuation Under Insolvency And Bankruptcy Code, 2016
Justice Brandeius in Missouri ex rel. Southwestern Bell Telephone Co v Public Service Commission[1] Mentioned that- “value is the word of many meanings”. The concept of value includes market value, value to owner, utility cost, fair value, intrinsic value or justified price and normal value critical to all parties in any bankruptcy proceeding (Thomas, 1990). Valuation in simpler terms...
IPR Law And Atrocities Act: Intersectionality Of Identity Politics And Knowledge Economy
On 24 January 2025, a seminal judgement on the scope of intellectual property law and its correlation with human rights and criminal law came from the Supreme Court. In the case titled The Principal Secretary Government of Maharashtra & Anr. vs. Kshipra Kamlesh Uke & Ors.[1] the Supreme Court dismissed the Special Leave Petition filed by the Government of Maharashtra and upheld...
NHRC, Fall From 'A' Status And Its Fading Credibility
President of India on December 23, 2024 appointed retired Supreme Court Justice V. Ramasubramanian as the Chairperson of National Human Rights Commission. The post of NHRC chairperson was lying vacant since June 2024. At the inaugural session of the 13th ThinkEdu Conclave held on January 27, 2025 Justice V. Ramasubramanian raised strong objections to the Global Alliance of National Human...
Evolving Standards Of Child Witness Testimony: A Comparative Analysis Of English And Indian Jurisprudence
Child witness testimony has been a fiercely debated legal issue for a long time. The latest Supreme Court ruling in the case of State of Madhya Pradesh v. Balveer Singh (2025 LiveLaw (SC) 243) makes this adjudication even more relevant, stressing that age cannot be a blanket reason to disallow consideration of the testimony of a child witness. This decision also takes head-on the...
Taxability On Transaction Of Vouchers
Recently, the domain of e-commerce has witnessed a remarkable and rapid expansion. E- commerce entails the exchange of goods and services through digital platforms. In light of the intense competition characterizing today's market, businesses are increasingly driven to outshine their counterparts by offering a diverse array of attractive and beneficial schemes to consumers. A notable component...
Contestatory Federalism As A Means To Ensure Constitutional Stability
The fundamental theory of federalism was best explained by President James Madison, in his seminal work “The Federalist Papers”, published in 1787-1788. His philosophy was reflected in this pithy sentence- “Ambition must be made to counteract ambition”. He believed that one branch's desire for power is always checked by the other branch. Madison contemplated a system where...
Which Jurisdictional Route Should 'Personal Guarantors' Take - NCLT Or DRT?
The excerpts from the famous poem by Robert Frost, The Road Not Taken,—“Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both…”—aptly illustrate the challenge of choosing the right forum or the 'Adjudicating Authority' for insolvency resolution process of personal guarantors under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (IBC/ the Code). While one way leads to...
Stamping Out Arbitration: How Maharashtra's Stamp Duty Act Amendment Hampers Mumbai's Arbitration Aspirations
The Government of Maharashtra recently made radical amendments to the Maharashtra Stamp Duty Act, 1958, by enacting the Maharashtra Stamp Duty (Amendment) Act, 2024. One of the amendments was to increase the stamp duty payable on an arbitral award, which was earlier fixed at five hundred rupees. However, after the amendment, an arbitral award concerning immovable property is subject to the...
The Case For Commemorating The International Day Of Women Judges : Justice Maria Clete Writes
On March 10th each year, the world acknowledges the International Day of Women Judges (IDWJ)—a day established by the United Nations General Assembly to recognise and promote the role of women in the judiciary. The observance of this day is not merely symbolic; it serves as a reaffirmation of the principles of gender equality, judicial integrity, and inclusivity within the...
Women's Day Special | Punjab & Haryana High Court's Landmark Rulings On Women Empowerment
Despite 77 years of independence, the harsh reality remains: women are still in need of transformative justice and societal upliftment. The progress we celebrate has yet to bridge the gap between equality and empowerment. The debate over whether women need positive discrimination to ensure equal rights as men cannot be deemed redundant, especially when considering that, the majority (67%)...
The Carceral Seductions And The Unfinished Struggles Of Legal Feminism In India
Every March 8, legal feminists in India are reminded of their uneasy tryst with the law—a rendezvous filled with triumphs, betrayals, and lingering questions. The International Women's Day has become a tableau of state-sponsored empowerment rhetoric, one in which feminist struggles are neatly packaged as victories of progressive legal reform. The grammar of rights, codified into...
A Dangerous Precedent For Denial Of Bail In Cases Involving Sexual Offences
In a recent case of 'X v. State of Rajasthan,'[2] the Supreme Court observed that courts should refrain from entertaining bail applications in serious offences such as rape, murder, dacoity once the trial has commenced.The case involved a petition filed by the prosecutrix challenging the High Court of Rajasthan's (“High Court”) decision to grant bail to the accused. The accused was...
The Law Of Dying Declarations In India: Bad In Law?
A dying declaration is an oral or written statement by a person on the point of death concerning the cause of his death according to the Oxford English dictionary. Dying declarations have lost relevance and admissibility in many common law countries, all except India. The law concerning dying declarations in India could earlier be found in Section 32(1) of the Indian Evidence Act which...
Doctrine Of 'Forum Non-Conveniens' And Tort Claims: A Comparative Analysis Between India And United States
Understanding the Doctrine of Forum Non ConveniensThe common law doctrine of 'forum non-conveniens' is a latin term for 'inconvenient forum'. In Black‟s Law Dictionary, forum conveniens has been defined as the court in which an action is most appropriately brought, considering the best interests and convenience of the parties and witnesses. The concept of forum conveniens fundamentally...
A World Reimagined: Flipping Perspectives on What Disability Truly Means.
Have you ever wondered how hard it would be to exist in a world that wasn't designed for you ? Recently, we came across this thought-provoking video on disability sensitization. It was one of those rare narratives that stay with us with challenging perceptions and inspiring introspection. The video carried a powerful message, “disability is not about an individual's limitations but...