Articles
The Synthetic Victim: Why India's POCSO Law Must Interpret 'Child' as Appearance, Not Ontology
The Statutory Framework and the Problem of Synthetic MinorsIn 2012, the parliament came up with gender-neutral legislation under the title 'The Protection of Children from sexual offences act' to take care of children against sexual offences. The act refers to the child as any individual under the age of eighteen years. Later in the year 2019, the law sought to revise it and introduced a new provision, and a new section 2(1)(da), which deals with child pornography, was added. This amendment...
Section 29A(6) and the Perils of Mechanical Substitution: Reading Mohan Lal Fatehpuria Correctly
The decision of the Supreme Court in Mohan Lal Fatehpuria v. Bharat Textiles has led to considerable discussion on the interpretation of Section 29A(6) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. The concern that appears to have emerged is whether the judgment should be read to mean that the moment the statutory timeline for making an arbitral award expires, substitution of the...
Credibility Of India's Justice System: Appointment, Promotion, Transfer Of Judges
Independence of the judiciary The Constituent Assembly (CA) discussed the need for an independent judiciary, so that a constitution court would deliver justice to the People. This involved the appointment and tenure of judges, their retirement age, salary, etc. The CA drafted and promulgated the Constitution, which has basic characteristic features, the elements of which are: Supremacy of We the People; Primacy of the Constitution and its unitary character;...
Can Speech Be Qualified As A Terrorist Act?What Supreme Court's Expansive Definition Of S.15 UAPA Means
On January 5, the Supreme Court denied bail to Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam after prima facie observing that the prosecution's evidence suggests that they played a 'central and formative role' in the Delhi riots' larger conspiracy. It granted bail to five other co-accused, basing its arguments on the “hierarchy of participation” of the co-accused persons as only facilitative/mere association in the larger conspiracy, as against the two others who stand on a “qualitatively different footing”...
The Forgotten Right
In India's criminal justice system, arrest is a procedural mechanism intended to secure the presence of an accused for the purposes of investigation. In a catena of judgments, the Hon'ble Supreme Court and various High Courts across the country have consistently held that where this objective can be achieved through less intrusive means, the investigating agency must adopt such alternatives and refrain from unnecessary arrests. Despite these clear judicial pronouncements, arrest has increasingly...
Changing Dimensions Of S.125 Of Crpc – An Analysis Through Recent Judicial Pronouncements
It is indisputable that the application of S.125 of Code of Criminal Procedure would arise, when a man neglects or refrains from fulfilling his filial duty in terms of financial support towards his wife or children or his parents. Over time, the provision has acquired a distinct social welfare character through consistent judicial interpretation, positioning it as an important instrument for advancing substantive justice, especially by safeguarding the interests of vulnerable communities in the...
Voluntary Liquidation: A Strategically Sound Exit For Dormant Companies
In the Indian corporate environment, dormancy is often misunderstood as harmless inactivity. In law, however, a dormant company remains very much alive subject to statutory filings, regulatory oversight, penalties for non-compliance, and exposure to historical liabilities. For promoters, what appears to be a sleeping entity frequently becomes a source of recurring compliance cost and...
From Mediation To Mandate: Why Tirupparankundram Verdict May Finally Still The Hill
When I wrote earlier on the Tirupparankundram controversy (7th Dec 2025, ToI), my concluding plea was deliberately modest: that mediation, not mandamus, offered the best chance of restoring calm on a hill layered with faith, memory and law. That article was written at a moment when the dispute over lighting the Karthigai Deepam at the Deepathoon appeared destined to join India's long list of religious flashpoints—kept alive less by belief than by administrative hesitation.The Division Bench of...
Madras Bar Association And Economic Cost Of Tribunal Dysfunction
The Supreme Court of India's November 2025 judgment in Madras Bar Association v. Union of India (2025) may, at first glance, appear as yet another round in a familiar constitutional contest over tribunal independence. In substance, however, it carries consequences that extend well beyond doctrine. By striking down provisions of the Tribunal Reforms Act, 2021 – many of which were verbatim reproductions of the Tribunals Reforms Ordinance invalidated in July 2021 – the Court highlighted the gradual...
