Forced To Resign: A Legal Vacuum Being Exploited By IT Companies

The recent announcement of a planned mass layoff at Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), expected to affect around 12,000 employees globally, has caused widespread concern. It has once again highlighted the volatile nature of IT employment and the job insecurity haunting IT employees. One of the most troubling contributors to such insecurity is the practice of forced resignations, a deeply illegal and unjust method companies use to bypass labour law protections against arbitrary terminations....

Two Monumental Red Fort Trials - Bahadur Shah Zafar To INA

On 15 August 1947, the tricolour was unfurled at the Lahori Gate of the Red Fort, and every year since, this 17th-century monument has served as the venue for Independence Day celebrations. The Red Fort – once a symbol of native sovereignty, is a historically entrenched motif in India's march towards independence. Interestingly, the fort's Diwan-e-Khas and a nondescript second-floor dormitory were also the coloniser's choice of venues to serve as the courtroom for two monumental victors' trials...

Strange Things-Disquieting Times

Today's state of affairs sadly reminds us of George Orwell's anguished remark: “We have sunk to a depth at which restatement of the obvious is the first duty of intelligent men. If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.” All the wings of State seem to have lost their moorings and failed the people. We also recall what Yeats wrote: Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold. Every institution is human and liable to err. There can and will be...

A Court Closer To The People: Why The Kolhapur Circuit Bench Matters

If you have ever walked past the entrance of the Bombay High Court on the HSBC side, amid the rush of the lawyers heading for their hearings, you will observe a small crowd of villagers standing near the entrance, distinctly out of sync with the fast-paced surroundings. These perplexed villagers are not tourists who have arrived to marvel at the charm of the Gothic arches and corbelled walls of the colonial-era edifice housing the principal bench of the Bombay High Court. Instead, they are...

Election Commission: The Credibility Question

Every five years, India rehearses the most ambitious act in a constitutional democracy: transferring power by counting votes. The institution that superintends that act, the Election Commission of India (ECI) does not merely schedule dates and print symbols. Under Article 324, it holds a public trust: to ensure that elections are free, fair, and seen to be so. The law gives the Commission teeth; legitimacy gives it a heartbeat.That legitimacy has taken visible dents. The worry is not about one...

Citizenship Eroded: Systemic Violations Of Constitutional Norms In Assam's Foreigners Tribunal Regime

“Citizenship provides a sense of belongingness and esteem, apart from furthering the self-actualization needs of individuals.” So declared the Indian Supreme Court in 2024, affirming the connection between citizenship and the rights to life, dignity, and liberty. Yet this gateway to legal identity and rights is being steadily eroded in Assam.Foreigners Tribunals have already declared over 167,000 people as “foreigners,” with more than 85,000 cases still pending. The stakes are immense—and more...

Responsible Integration Of Artificial Intelligence In Kerala's District Judiciary: A Policy Analysis

Artificial Intelligence has become the part of every field today and it includes judiciary as well. To make sure that the evolving technology doesn't compromise fairness, privacy and public trust , the Kerala High Court has taken a significant step in this regard . It has introduced a policy titled “Policy Regarding The Use Of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Tools In District Judiciary.” This is the one of the first time when an Indian Court have taken efforts to clearly define the how AI &...

The Speaker's Dilemma In Telangana: Defections, Partisanship, And The Erosion Of Constitutional Integrity

I have been following Indian legislative politics for long enough to know that the story of defections is not new. It is as old as the very idea of party democracy in India. Yet, what continues to surprise me is not the act of defection itself—but how routinely the Speaker of a legislative house becomes a partisan actor in what ought to be a strictly constitutional function. The recent Supreme Court judgment directing the Telangana Legislative Assembly Speaker to decide within three months on...

Cooling‑Off And Committees: New Path For Section 85 BNS Reform

Section 85 of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (corresponding to the earlier section 498A of IPC) deals with instances of cruelty committed against married women in their matrimonial house by the husband or his relatives. However, over the years, it has become one of the most litigated and debated provisions in criminal law, with courts grappling to curb its widespread misuse without undermining its protective purpose. As per RTI data from five Delhi district courts, of 9,950 section 85 of BNS...

Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia : A Distinct Voice Not Swayed By Majoritarian Din

Justice Dhulia had a progressive and humanistic approach to issues, and his judgments reflected his deep understanding of the Indian society and wide reading of law, history and literature.

Consent At Crossroads: Sexual Autonomy, Minor Girls And Age Of Consent In Indian Criminal Law

In recent years the High Courts in India have witnessed a growing conflict between the law and the lived realities of adolescents, particularly the minor girls who find themselves caught at the intersection of state protection and personal autonomy. Criminal laws in India classify any sexual activity with a girl below the age of 18 years as rape, irrespective of consent. The Indian Penal Code, 1860 defined the age of consent as 16 years but it was increased to 18 years after the enactment of the...

Digital Turn In Land Law: Federalism, Privacy, And Registration Bill, 2025

In an effort to modernise land governance through digitisation, the Department of Land Resources, Ministry of Rural Development, has released the draft Registration Bill, 2025. With the objective of replacing the old Registration Act of 1908 with a contemporary, technologically advanced framework that permits end-to-end digital registration of property documents. The bill claims efficiency, accountability, transparency and a decline in property fraud by implementing online procedures,...