Documenting The Undocumented In Electoral Roll Revision

India is currently witnessing a large-scale verification of its electoral rolls under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), provided under Article 324 of the Constitution and Section 21 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950. The aim is legitimate: strengthen the voter list by eliminating fraudulent entries and those who are no longer alive. However, in the process of purifying democracy, a grave injustice is unfolding at the margins of society where people who were historically denied...

Sandesara Settlement and Constitutional Perimeter Of Closure Of Criminal Cases

The Supreme Court's order dated 19 November 2025 in Hemant S. Hathi v. Central Bureau of Investigation [2025 Livelaw (SC) 1139] represents an extraordinary culmination of multiple criminal, regulatory and attachment proceedings arising from the affairs of the Sterling group. Acting on what it repeatedly describes as the “peculiar facts” of the case, the Court directed that all...

Expat PF Rules: Balanced in Law, Unbalanced in Effect

The Delhi High Court in SpiceJet vs Union of India, upheld the constitutional validity of Paragraph 83 of the Employees' Provident Fund Scheme, 1952 (hereinafter referred to as "the Scheme"). This judgment upholds Paragraph 83 of the Scheme, which continues to obligate international workers to contribute EPF on their entire salary without any wage ceiling. This provision raises...

Anchoring The Intangible: Madras High Court's Landmark Ruling On Cryptocurrency As Property And Trust

The judgment delivered by the Madras High Court in Rhutikumari v. Zanmai Labs Pvt. Ltd. & Ors. is a decisive step in India's journey towards legal clarity with respect to virtual digital assets. The dispute involved Rhutikumari, an investor in the WazirX cryptocurrency exchange platform run by Zanmai Labs, whose portfolio account held 3,532.30 XRP coins valued at approximately Rs. 9,55,148.20. The controversy emerged in the wake of a devastating cyberattack in July 2024, which caused the...

Breaking Platform Lock-In: A Legal Analysis Of Why India Needs Messaging Interoperability

Recently, Meta announced that under the mandate of Europe's Digital Markets Act, it has built third-party interoperable features within WhatsApp to maintain equivalent privacy guarantees. Against this backdrop, by primarily using the examples of Arattai, Hike Messenger and WhatsApp, it is worth exploring India's stance on platform interoperability and whether a platform interoperability law on established players affects their market control and dominance, leading to fair competition and...

A Constitutional Blueprint For Protecting Third-Party Victims Under Motor Vehicles Act

Apropos the proceedings dated 30.10.2025 in National Insurance Company Limited v.Thungala Dhana Laxmi & Ors., the Supreme Court expressed “shock” at the disclosure that over 50 per cent of the vehicles plying on Indian roads are uninsured. The matter arose from an appeal by the insurer challenging a High Court award (of about ₹10 lakh plus interest) in a 1996 fatal accident case. In open court, the Bench (Justices Sanjay Karol and Prashant Kumar Mishra) directed the insurer, the ...

Romanticising Caste System-Institutional Complicities

It appeared in news reports from last few weeks that the Government of Madhya Pradesh in an affidavit to the Supreme Court has endorsed a statement that “India's caste system was originally founded on social harmony, equality, and fraternity during the Vedic period, but was gradually altered due to contact with foreign powers”. As per reports, the claim has been submitted as part of the state's plea to raise Other Backward Class (OBC) reservations from 14% to 27%.The statement and a detailed...

Dancing In The Shadows: The Dark Underbelly Of Bihar's Orchestra System

Flashy vibrant lights, sparkled-tight-fitted costumes and the teenage girls swaying their bodies to the rhythm of the music playing in the background, audience cheering, hooting and uttering vulgar words, this is something not depiction of a Bollywood movie rather it is a reality in the state of Bihar. This particular event is infamously known as an orchestra and it is attended by good amount of audience with majority of them being men. An orchestra being held is so common that it serves as an...

Deepfakes And Dignity: The New Battle For Celebrity Rights In India

Enforcement of celebrity and personality rights has witnessed a marked upswing in India over the last decade, particularly between 2022 to 2025, driven by high-profile litigation and the rise of AI-enabled misuse of identity. The Delhi High Court has increasingly become the preferred forum for celebrities seeking urgent injunctions against unauthorised use of their name, image, voice, catchphrases, and AI-generated replicas of their personality in deep-fake videos, advertisements, etc. Recent...

Presidential Reference Opinion Turns The Constitution On Its Head

It has been famously said that no case is ever finally decided until it is rightly decided. The Supreme Court's opinion in the latest Presidential Reference -In re: Assent, Withholding or Reservation of the Bills by the Governor and the President of India 2025 LiveLaw (SC) 1124 (the opinion) falls in that category. It has turned the Constitution on its head. References under Art 143 are made to illumine and resolve a constitutional or other question of law or fact where there is any doubt and...

The Quiet That Justice Needs: Privacy, Openness, And Digital Court

The Problem, Stated PlainlyI reminisce. There are hearings where the facts stand undisputed, the police step back, and the State chooses silence. The courtroom holds its poise. No theatrics. Law is simply being reasoned into meaning. Yet, outside that space, snippets of the hearing may be clipped and shared online, out of context and out of proportion. A stray line becomes a slogan. A tense exchange becomes a headline. What stands violated then is not secrecy, but the sanctity of...

How India's Anti-Corruption Law Fails Victim Of Coercion

In 2018, India amended its Prevention of Corruption Act with the stated aim of strengthening the fight against graft. Among the changes was a provision under Section 8 that has attracted both interest and controversy. This provision states that a person who offers or gives a bribe to a public servant will not be held criminally liable if they can prove that the payment was made under compulsion and if they report the incident to a law enforcement agency within a period of seven days. At first...