Custody Of Two Years and Four Months The New Norm For Bail In PMLA Cases?

Bail in cases registered under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (“PMLA”) is granted under Section 45 of the Act which requires two conditions to be satisfied. The first is that the public prosecutor is to be heard before granting of bail. The second requires the satisfaction of the court that “there are reasonable grounds for believing” that an accused is not guilty of such offence and that they are not likely to commit any offence after being released on bail. A person is presumed...

Justice Rekha Palli: Recollections Of A Law Researcher

As the month of February, 2024 was drawing to a close, I arrived at the Delhi High Court for my interview for the position of a Law Researcher in the Court of Justice Rekha Palli. Winter had begun to fade, giving way to the warmth of spring. The autos and cars parked on the side of the road coupled with the slow moving traffic on Sher Shah Road was a sight I would become accustomed to over the course of the upcoming year. I walked into the court premises and made my way towards Court No. 4 on...

A Relook At Custodial Legal Framework: An Argument For Shared Custody Between Parents

“...We have also interviewed minor child in our chamber. He frankly told us that he loves both Mummy and Papa.Considering his age, in our opinion, he can not be judgmental[1]…”These observations by the Bombay High Court sum up the natural bond which a child shares with both his mother and father. The institution of marriage in India is going through a change with the evolving socio-cultural churning in the society which is evident from the rising divorce rates. In families with children, when a...

Valuation Under Insolvency And Bankruptcy Code, 2016

Justice Brandeius in Missouri ex rel. Southwestern Bell Telephone Co v Public Service Commission[1] Mentioned that- “value is the word of many meanings”. The concept of value includes market value, value to owner, utility cost, fair value, intrinsic value or justified price and normal value critical to all parties in any bankruptcy proceeding (Thomas, 1990). Valuation in simpler terms means the economic value or worth of a business, asset or company.Objective of Valuation under IBCValuation of...

IPR Law And Atrocities Act: Intersectionality Of Identity Politics And Knowledge Economy

On 24 January 2025, a seminal judgement on the scope of intellectual property law and its correlation with human rights and criminal law came from the Supreme Court. In the case titled The Principal Secretary Government of Maharashtra & Anr. vs. Kshipra Kamlesh Uke & Ors.[1] the Supreme Court dismissed the Special Leave Petition filed by the Government of Maharashtra and upheld the decision of the Bombay High Court wherein the scope and protection given by the Atrocities Act was expanded...

NHRC, Fall From 'A' Status And Its Fading Credibility

President of India on December 23, 2024 appointed retired Supreme Court Justice V. Ramasubramanian as the Chairperson of National Human Rights Commission. The post of NHRC chairperson was lying vacant since June 2024. At the inaugural session of the 13th ThinkEdu Conclave held on January 27, 2025 Justice V. Ramasubramanian raised strong objections to the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI) for postponing its decision as to whether the National Human Rights Commission...

Evolving Standards Of Child Witness Testimony: A Comparative Analysis Of English And Indian Jurisprudence

Child witness testimony has been a fiercely debated legal issue for a long time. The latest Supreme Court ruling in the case of State of Madhya Pradesh v. Balveer Singh (2025 LiveLaw (SC) 243) makes this adjudication even more relevant, stressing that age cannot be a blanket reason to disallow consideration of the testimony of a child witness. This decision also takes head-on the historically cynical opposition to child witness testimonies, seeking to create a lot more subtle standard for...

Taxability On Transaction Of Vouchers

Recently, the domain of e-commerce has witnessed a remarkable and rapid expansion. E- commerce entails the exchange of goods and services through digital platforms. In light of the intense competition characterizing today's market, businesses are increasingly driven to outshine their counterparts by offering a diverse array of attractive and beneficial schemes to consumers. A notable component of e-commerce transactions is the issuance of gifts, vouchers, promotional codes, and similar...

Contestatory Federalism As A Means To Ensure Constitutional Stability

The fundamental theory of federalism was best explained by President James Madison, in his seminal work “The Federalist Papers”, published in 1787-1788. His philosophy was reflected in this pithy sentence- “Ambition must be made to counteract ambition”. He believed that one branch's desire for power is always checked by the other branch. Madison contemplated a system where the subnational units of the Government, say States, will be at constant contestation with the national unit, the Federal...

Which Jurisdictional Route Should 'Personal Guarantors' Take - NCLT Or DRT?

The excerpts from the famous poem by Robert Frost, The Road Not Taken,—“Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both…”—aptly illustrate the challenge of choosing the right forum or the 'Adjudicating Authority' for insolvency resolution process of personal guarantors under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (IBC/ the Code). While one way leads to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT); the other leads to the Debt Recovery Tribunal (DRT). Both roads are sometimes...

Stamping Out Arbitration: How Maharashtra's Stamp Duty Act Amendment Hampers Mumbai's Arbitration Aspirations

The Government of Maharashtra recently made radical amendments to the Maharashtra Stamp Duty Act, 1958, by enacting the Maharashtra Stamp Duty (Amendment) Act, 2024. One of the amendments was to increase the stamp duty payable on an arbitral award, which was earlier fixed at five hundred rupees. However, after the amendment, an arbitral award concerning immovable property is subject to the same stamp duty as would be levied on a conveyance document in respect of the same property. The stamp duty...

The Case For Commemorating The International Day Of Women Judges : Justice Maria Clete Writes

On March 10th each year, the world acknowledges the International Day of Women Judges (IDWJ)—a day established by the United Nations General Assembly to recognise and promote the role of women in the judiciary. The observance of this day is not merely symbolic; it serves as a reaffirmation of the principles of gender equality, judicial integrity, and inclusivity within the legal profession. Why IDWJ Matters Historically, the judiciary has been a male-dominated institution. Although...