From Demise Charterer To Gratuitous Bailee: Termination, Repossession And Sister-Ship Arrest Under Admiralty Act

Analysing the Supreme Court's decision in Owners and Parties Interested in M.V. Nereus Progress v. Om Freight Forwarders Ltd.The Supreme Court's decision in Owners and Parties Interested in M.V. Nereus Progress v. Om Freight Forwarders Ltd., 2026 INSC 1055, addresses an important question at the intersection of contractual termination and admiralty jurisdiction: when does a demise charterer cease to be a demise charterer for the purposes of vessel arrest?The controversy arose because the owner...

Can Bureaucratic Uncertainty Defeat Supreme Court Judgment? OBC Creamy Layer Dispute

On 6 March 2026, the Union Public Service Commission declared the final results of the Civil Services Examination 2025 and recommended 958 candidates for appointment. Five days later, the Supreme Court decided Union of India v. Rohith Nathan (2026 INSC 230). More than seven months on, not one of those 958 has been allocated a service, and their Foundation Course is on hold. No stay has been granted and no review petition is pending. What stands in the way is an application by the Union seeking...

Can Privacy Become Gag Order? Data Protection Law And Investigative Journalism

India's data protection regime has now found itself at the centre of an important constitutional challenge concerning the future of investigative journalism. The Digital News Publishers Association (DNPA), representing the digital arms of 21 major Indian news organisations, including The Indian Express, The Hindu, India Today, NDTV, Network18 and the Times Group has approached the Supreme Court challenging several provisions of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDP Act) and the...

Price Of Uniformity: Should Women On Maternity Leave Pay It?

In 1977, the Supreme Court decided a case about a plantation worker and twelve Sundays. Her employer had paid maternity benefit for the 72 working days within twelve weeks of her absence, leaving out the Sundays. She claimed for all 84 days, and the Court held in B. Shah v. Presiding Officer, Labour Court (AIR 1978 SC 12) that maternity benefit must be paid for every day of absence. Under the Code on Social Security, 2020 (“Code”), the question is no longer about Sundays but about the measure of...

When Competitors Settle: Can Mediation Be Tool For Excluding Competition?

Consider two rival manufacturers involved in a design infringement suit. A court refers them to mediation, where they reach a settlement. The defendant agrees to stop selling its products in three southern states and to avoid the plaintiff's distributors. Both parties withdraw their respective complaints, including the defendant's complaint before the Competition Commission of India (CCI), alleging sham litigation by the plaintiff. Both parties are satisfied with the outcome. However, the buyers...

Settlement Without Finding Of Contravention: Reassessing Compensation Claims Under Section 53N Of Competition Act

The Competition Amendment Act, 2023 amended the Competition Act, 2002 ('Act'), Section 48A, allows an enterprise to settle a case after the Director General ('DG') submits an investigation report. The enterprises can now pay a settlement amount and offer remedies, after which the Competition Commission of India ('CCI/Commission') closes the case.The Settlement Regulations, 2024 make this process clear. Regulation 7(1) says two things at once. First, the settlement order “shall not be construed...

Before Assent: Two Constitutional Fault Lines In Keralam's Senior Citizens Bill

On October 26, the Keralam Legislative Assembly unanimously passed the Keralam Senior Citizens (Care and Protection of Rights) Bill, 2026. The Bill was introduced on October 13 and scrutinised by the Subject Committee. It is being described as India's first comprehensive State law on elder rights. It moves the law away from the family-maintenance model of the 2007 Central Act and towards an enforceable framework. That framework includes mandatory registration of care centres, a State...

How Much Alcohol Can You Legally Store At Home? State Excise Laws Explained

Have you ever wondered if keeping a couple of extra beer bottles at your private residence could land you in jail? In India, ignoring state-specific excise rules regarding the maximum permissible limit for home liquor storage isn't just a minor administrative lapse; it can quickly escalate into a serious criminal offense.Recently, what drew the attention of many towards the country's liquor...

Illusion Of Neutrality: Architecture Of Arbitral Independence

In a significant ruling in Shikha Ghosh v. Axis Bank Ltd., a Division Bench of the Delhi High Court examined the implications of unilateral and repeated appointments of arbitrators by a party. The Court declared the arbitral award dated 26th May 2023 unenforceable against the appellant, after the Bank conceded that awards arising from its unilateral appointments of arbitrators were void ab initio. More significantly, the Court expressed serious concern over the repeated appointment of the same...

'Poisoning The Fountain Of Justice Before It Begins To Flow': Media Trials, Investigative Integrity, And The Constitutional Bounds Of Press Freedom

Justice U.L. Bhat former Chief Justice of Madhya Pradesh and Guwahati, while he was a Judge of the High Court of Kerala, in Kannan v. State of Kerala (1984 KLT 416) issued a powerful and prescient warning: “the press must exercise internal restraint and fulfil its democratic duty within legal bounds, lest it run the risk of poisoning the fountain of justice before it begins to flow.”The intersection of freedom of the press and the administration of criminal justice represents one of the most...

Beyond Labels: Intermediary Liability In India's Online Bond Market

The Indian corporate bond market has long been an institutional market with very limited secondary market liquidity and minimal individual investor participation. The Online Bond Platform Providers (OBPPs), SEBI-registered digital marketplaces in India that lets retail and non-institutional investors buy and sell listed corporate bonds, government securities (G-Secs), and debentures directly, have tried to fix that by providing an online platform via which investors can discover, compare and...

ITC, Supplier Default And Bona Fide Purchaser: Where Does Shaurya Alloys Draw Line?

United Timber, a registered business, purchases raw material worth ₹10,00,000 from its GST-registered supplier. The raw material attracts GST at 18%, and United Timber accordingly pays ₹1,80,000 as tax to its supplier. The purchase is supported by genuine invoices, payment is made through established banking channels, and documents evidencing delivery of the goods, such as goods receipt, toll receipts, bill of lading and weighment slips, are available with the buyer. United Timber claims the...