Problem With CFCFRMS: Reading MHA's New Account-Freeze SOP

A partner of a prominent Kochi based architecture firm called me last March seeking immediate help. The bank had placed a lien hold for over Rs 13.5 lakh on two of the firm's bank accounts without any prior notice. Enquiries from the bank only yielded vague replies that the amounts had been blocked as per directions received from Cyber Cell, Mumbai pursuant to a complaint regarding cyber fraud filed by a gentleman from Gujarat. The bank officials provided the contact details of the concerned...

Denying Maternity Leave To mother For Third Child, What Madras High Court Said ?

Shayee Nisha works in the district judiciary in Villupuram, Tamil Nadu. In January 2026, she applied for maternity leave for her third pregnancy. The Principal District Judge rejected her application. The reason was a Government Order issued on March 13, 2026, by the Tamil Nadu Human Resource Management Department, restricting maternity leave for a third pregnancy to 12 weeks. For her first and second children, she would have received full maternity leave. For her third, the state decided she...

Regulating Artificial Intelligence In Indian Judiciary: From Institutional Experimentation To A National Framework

The Indian judiciary's experiments with digital technology began in earnest with the e-Courts Mission Mode Project,[2] which consists of three phases. Phase I (2007-2015) focused on foundational infrastructure, while Phase II (2015-2023) saw system-wide digital maturity via the Case and Information System 3.0, and the setting up of the National Judicial Data Grid. Phase III (2023–present) explicitly focuses on AI, Machine Learning, Optical Character Recognition, and Natural Language Processing...

Women's Property Rights In India: Law On Paper Vs. Reality

In India, after 79 years of independence, women have gained significant legal ground, and they are being treated equally to men. Several other rights have also been given with a view to protecting their independence, including modesty and dignity. They have entered the arena of competition with a framework of rights so extensive that some argue they now outweigh those of men. From equality...

Constitutional Pathology Of Delayed Adjudication: Reservation Without Preservation

Cessante ratione legis, cessat ipsa lex- when the reason for a law ceases, so does the law. Few maxims have travelled as quietly through the centuries, and fewer have aged with such inconvenient accuracy. It is among the boldest claims the common law has inherited, and for that reason among the most decorated and the least invoked. Treatises preserve it, judgments invoke it with deliberation, and its actual application has remained rare by design. To apply it is to assert that a law, though...

Cross Border Insolvency In India: What Rules Must Say

A view from the corridorIn May 2023, Go First – an Indian low-cost airline – filed for voluntary insolvency under section 10 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (IBC). The Adjudicating Authority (NCLT) admitted the application and imposed a moratorium under section 14.[1]That much was routine. What followed was not.The aircraft lessors – companies such as Pembroke Aircraft Leasing, SMBC Aviation Capital and Accipiter Investments – had already terminated their lease agreements. They...

Banking On Takeovers: RBI's New Acquisition Finance Regime In India

The Reserve Bank of India has issued the Amendment Directions under the Reserve Bank of India (Commercial Banks Credit Facilities) Directions, 2026 (Revised) dated 30 March 2026. The Directions will take effect on 1 July 2026. They have introduced a structured framework for commercial bank financing of corporate acquisitions, a type of commercial lending that had only been given a few carve-outs in the regulatory framework. The Directions also restated the regime relating to loans against...

Coded Collusion: Algorithmic Pricing In Indian Aviation And Structural Failure Of Competition Law

The Pricing Paradox: When Algorithms Converge Without ConspiringAviation market in India presents one of the sharpest paradoxes in the modern competition law under which the prices of competing airlines tend to move in the perfect symmetry, yet no agreement, communication, and conspiracy can be demonstrated. In India four major domestic airlines control more than 90% of the seats like IndiGo, Air India, Spice Jet, and Akasa Air. The pricing engines of these airlines empowered by reinforcement...

Mihir Rajesh Shah : Did Supreme Court Create Two Classes Of Arrestees?

On 06.11.2025, the Supreme Court of India delivered a landmark judgment in Mihir Rajesh Shah Vs State of Maharashtra[1] to ensure that constitutional and statutory mandates cannot be sidestepped while curtailing the liberty of an individual, accused of committing an offence under any penal statutes. However, the application of the judgment was made prospective and this seems to be the hole in the boat. This article shall discuss as to how the 'henceforth' application of the judgment has raised a...

Rule Of Law As Economic Infrastructure: Why The Bar Remains Its Most Immediate Guardian

The quality of a nation's legal and regulatory framework is a decisive determinant of business confidence, investment decisions, and long-term economic growth. Debates on economic reform often caricature regulation as a drag on enterprise. A more accurate proposition is that sustainable growth depends not on less regulation, but on intelligent regulation, rules that are clear, predictable, proportionate, and subject to meaningful legal scrutiny. At the foundation of such a framework...

Leaked Chats, Media Trials And Growing Privacy Debate In India

Digital communications are increasingly shaping public discourse in India. In recent years, private WhatsApp chats, email exchanges, social media posts and screenshots have entered mainstream public discourse in India. Where previously these were private communications limited to individuals, today they appear in an increasing number of investigations, crime reports, political controversies, celebrity disputes, and matrimonial litigation. In many cases, leaked chats form the basis of public...

The Devil Claims Jhumkas, And India Cannot Defend It! Why Traditional Cultural Expressions Need Serious Legal Attention

The Devil no longer wears Prada, the Devil now wears Jhumkas, Bandhini printed skirts, styled with kohlapuri chappals and rebrands it as its own invention, something 'never seen before'.The Devil in question, that the author here refers to, is not Miranda Priestly, but something way more dangerous - the Global multimillion-dollar, high-end luxury brands, who have lately been attracting much online backlash for stealing India's lived identity and culture in the name of fashion. Be it Ralph...