How Government Control Affects Gender Identity: A Psychological View Of Transgender Law In India

The recognition of identity is central to an individual's psychological well-being, dignity, and sense of self (Erikson, 1968). For transgender people in India, identity is not merely a personal matter but also a legal right. Before the National Legal Services Authority v. Union of India judgment, the identity of transgender persons existed in a complex and marginalized form. The Court declared them as a “third gender” and recognized their right to self-identify their gender under Article 21 of...

Right Of Foetus v. Woman's Autonomy : Contrasting Judicial Approaches

'Pro-life' v 'Pro-choice' is an issue that countries around the world continue to debate. The significance of this issue is so profound that a country, which supposedly is the world's oldest democracy, overturned its 50-year-old Roe v Wade decision, which protected women's right to abortion as an intrinsic part of the right to privacy.Fortunately, India doesn't have that kind of problem because we have a legislation, the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971(as amended in 2021)(MTPA), which...

Justice K.K. Mathew-Lest We Forget

Kuttiyil Kurien Mathew is one who is highly regarded for his erudition and seminal contribution to Constitutional and Administrative Law. Prof Upendra Baxi perceptively observed, “We live in an era of massacre of ancestors which is considered a public virtue and a sign of worldly progress. But collective amnesia of what happened in the past is not an estimable virtue. Without living in the past its recall is important, for, it necessarily presages a future.” It is in this backdrop that we have...

Reconciling Advocate's Dual Duties To Client And Court In Indian Legal Ethics

The adversarial system rests on a simple but powerful idea: if each side presents its case vigorously through partisan advocates, the court is best placed to arrive at the truth and to do justice. Yet, embedded within this model is a persistent ethical paradox. On the one hand, advocates are expected to display unswerving loyalty to their clients. On the other, they are also officers of the court, bound to support the administration of justice and to uphold fairness and truth. This dual role...

Ambedkar – Enigma Of Fire, Unshackling India's Soul

History has a habit of sanitizing its revolutionaries. It turns firebrands into statues and rebels into portraits. But Dr. B.R. Ambedkar was never meant to be a silent icon. He was a intellectual insurgent, a man who realized that in a land of graded inequality, a book is more dangerous than a bullet, and dignity is more sacred than the "unity" of a graveyard.In the annals of human history, few weapons have proven as potent as the book. For Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, the library was his armory, and the...

Ticking POSH Boxes Won't Stop Harassment. Here's The Real Fix

From Compliance to Culture: Why Procedural Adherence Alone Will Not Change Indian WorkplacesOn August 12, 2025, the Supreme Court in Aureliano Fernandes v. State of Goa directed all States and Union Territories to conduct district-wise surveys to verify whether organisations had constituted Internal Complaints Committees (ICCs) as required under Section 4 of the POSH Act. The order was notable not because it introduced something new, but because it was still necessary. More than a decade after...

In Defence of “Constitutional Morality”: How It Can Aid Adjudication

A nine-judge bench of the Supreme Court of India is currently hearing the Sabarimala reference case, which concerns the interpretation of Articles 25 and 26. One of the key issues that has emerged in the course of these proceedings is the criticism of the term “constitutional morality,” which figured prominently in earlier decisions of the Court, including the Sabarimala judgment, as well as in cases decriminalising homosexuality and adultery. This criticism is largely directed at the perceived...

Numbers Do Lie: Rethinking Bright-Line Tests In Defining Control

Understanding “Control” under the SEBI SAST RegulationsThe concept “control” is regulated by Regulation 2(1)(e) of the SEBI (Substantial Acquisition of Shares and Takeovers) Regulations, 2011. The provision states that “control” means the right to appoint a majority of the directors or control the management or policy decisions of a company. Such control may be exercised directly or indirectly, individually or through persons acting in concert, and may be exercised through shareholding,...

When Should A Judge Step Aside? India Has No Answer !

On April 20, 2026, Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma of the Delhi High Court rejected a recusal plea filed by the accused in the liquor policy case. The grounds cited were that the judge's children serve as central government panel counsel, creating an apprehension of bias. Justice Sharma rejected the application, observing that “a politician cannot be permitted to judge judicial competence” and that “recusal has to stem from law, and not from narrative.”In July 2024, in a case arising from the same...

Restrictive Clauses In Construction Contracts: Lawful Bargain Or Unlawful Exclusion?

Most construction contracts in India often include clauses that restrict or completely negate a contractor's right to seek damages for delays even where the employer is at fault. By contractually offsetting the financial costs of delay, these clauses, which are often expressed as "no-claim," "no-damages-for-delay," or "extension of time (EOT)" as the only remedy, seek to ensure continuity of performance by the contractor without the employer having to worry about facing any claim for damages or...

Right To Refuse: - Why Indian Banking Needs A 'Consent Layer' To Protect Innocent Account Holders

Currently, an account holder has no legal or technical agency to accept or deny a payment before it hits their ledger. in the landscape of modern Indian jurisprudence, the rapid evolution of the UPI (Unified Payments Interface) is often hailed as a triumph of financial inclusion and digital efficiency. However, beneath the surface of this "ease of transaction" lies a perilous statutory lacuna, the absence of a consent mechanism for inbound payments. While digital social platforms are built on...

Remembering Soli Sorabjee: The Peerless Lawyer and Man

It is given to only a few to be endowed with great qualities of head and heart, don many hats and play many roles with distinction and elan, yet retain the human touch and be considered a legend. Soli Jehangir Sorabjee is certainly one among them whose personality was so warm and vibrant and career so versatile and glittering. He was one of the all-time greats both as a lawyer and a human being. A gentle colossus, his many splendoured life and work is a model. He is among the exceptional few...