Mahatma Gandhi Assassination Case: Key Facts

On this day, 30th January, the father of our nation was murdered by Nathuram Vinayak Godse, a Hindu Mahasabhaite. Date of Assassination30th January, 1948FIR registered on30th January, 1948 at 5:17pmFIR lodged byNandlal Mehta at Tuglak Road P.S.Police submitted charge sheet27th May, 1948Number of Prosecution Witnesses149Total number of Accused personsOut of 11 accused , 3 were declared absconding.Thay are: Gangadhar Dandwati, Gangadhar Jadhav, Suradeo SharmaOffences under: Section 302, 120B, 109,...

Privy Council To Supreme Court: Continuity, Sovereignty And The Evolution Of India's Apex Court

On 26th January, India commemorates the 76th anniversary of the commencement of its Constitution. Contrary to a layman's perspective, the new Constitution did not give birth to a completely new regime, but it blew a new and independent soul into a pre-existing administrative and judicial skeleton, thereby inheriting (with necessary modifications) the system as it existed under the Government of India Act 1935 and its predecessors. Therefore, while the Constitution signified sovereignty, it also...

The Illegality Of US Strike On Venezuela

After a large-scale strike in Venezuela, US troops captured the President along with his wife, accusing them of running a 'narco terrorist organisation'. A longstanding, strained relationship between the two states cannot serve as justification for unilateral military action. This conduct of abduction of a foreign leader was unprecedented and wholly unprovoked (unlike the Panama invasion, which was in response to attacks on American military personnel in Panama) and amounts to a clear violation...

Social Media and Erosion of Legal Ethics

The legal profession has historically been regarded as a noble and disciplined calling, founded on principles of integrity, restraint, and service to justice. Advocates are officers of the court and play a vital constitutional role in the administration of justice. Their conduct, both inside and outside the courtroom, is governed by strict ethical standards framed under the Advocates Act, 1961 and the Bar Council of India Rules. However, in recent years, an alarming trend has emerged that...

Can the Marital Rape Exception Immunize a Husband Under Section 377?

A recent Madhya Pradesh High Court decision has revived a long under-examined question: can the marital rape exception under Section 375 IPC be used to defend a husband from prosecution under Section 377 for non-consensual 'unnatural' sexual acts? In M.Cr.C. No. 54650/2023, MP High Court quashed offences under Sections 376 (Rape) and 377 IPC (Unnatural Offence) against accused-husband. The FIR by wife alleged Rape, Unnatural offence, Hurt and Cruelty by husband u/s 376, 377, 323 and 498A...

Supreme Court Redraws The Tax Line On Amalgamations

The Supreme Court's judgment in Jindal Equipment Leasing Consultancy Services Ltd. v. Commissioner of Income Tax (2026) Livelaw (SC) 37 arrives with a seeming contradiction. It simultaneously widens the net of business-income taxation while raising the evidentiary drawbridge the Revenue must cross to haul it in. This is its defining feature. The decision performs a decisive...

Crossing A Line : BCI Chairperson's Letter Against Kerala High Court Judge For Questioning Nomination Fee Hike Is Unwarranted

Recently, the Bar Council of India's Chairman, Senior Advocate Manan Kumar Mishra, wrote a letter to the Chief Justice of India, Surya Kant, taking serious objections to the critical remarks made by the Kerala High Court against the Rs. 1.25 lakh nomination fee charged for contesting State Bar Council Elections. He termed the remarks made by the judge as “certain baseless and reckless oral observations” and even threatened to pursue the transfer of the judge.The Kerala High Court was hearing a...

Reclaiming The Soul Of Legal Education: A Case For Litigation-Centred Training

In today's rapidly commercialised academic environment, legal education, more particularly in private law colleges, is increasingly drifting away from its foundational purpose. Under the growing apparent influences of corporate houses and market-driven metrics, many institutions are orienting law graduates almost exclusively towards corporate legal roles. While corporate law is undeniably a legitimate and necessary domain, the disproportionate emphasis on it has come at a heavy cost: the erosion...

Between Method And Outcome: Did SC Reclaim Dynamic Interpretation In Khalid And Imam's Case?

The constitutional guarantee of liberty serves as both a moral compass and a guiding principle for any functioning democracy. Yet, Section 43D(5) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (UAPA) reveals a persistent tension between state security and individual freedom. This provision severely restricts judicial discretion to grant bail, forbidding it where there are “reasonable grounds” to believe the accusations are “prima facie” true. In practice, this has made bail nearly impossible...

Desecrating The Constitution

The week that has just gone by witnessed the Governors of three southern States-Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka- where there are governments of parties different from the party of the Union government defying the Constitution by refusing to deliver the Opening Address at the commencement of the legislative session almost triggering a constitutional crisis. The Constitution in Art 87 (1) and 176(1) provides that the Head of State-President/Governor shall address the first session of...

The Governor's Address Under Article 176: A Ceremonial Duty, Not A Discretionary Power

Recently, on 20th January, dramatic scenes in two state assemblies raised serious questions about the scope of the Governor's powers, which need to be urgently addressed. In Kerala, Governor R.V. Arlekar deviated from the cabinet-approved budget (policy declaration) speech, omitting passages critical of the Centre's fiscal policies and even inserting a phrase my government believes that shifted the language from the elected government's voice to his own. Additionally, in the case of Tamil...

When Prolonged Incarceration Fails The Bail Test

Who decides when liberty becomes constitutionally intolerable, and by what measure?In Judgment denying bail to Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam, a Bench of the Supreme Court comprising Justice Aravind Kumar and Justice N.V. Anjaria has not merely rejected two individual applications. It has articulated a new grammar for bail under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, one that recalibrates how prolonged incarceration, prima facie scrutiny, and judicial restraint are to be understood.The Judgment...