NCLAT's Firm Message On Liquidation: Lessons From Independent TV Case

The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal's (NCLAT) recent decision upholding the liquidation of Independent TV Ltd. marks a significant reaffirmation of one of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code's (IBC) core principles time-bound resolution. In dismissing Reliance Realty Ltd.'s appeal and directing that liquidation be completed “in the shortest possible time,” the NCLAT has sent a strong signal to stakeholders: liquidation is not to be stalled by belated claims or procedural...

Sixteen And Illusion Of Maturity: A Collision Of Consent, Health, And Vulnerability

The Supreme Court's ongoing deliberation on whether to reduce the age of consent under the POCSO Act from 18 to 16 has stirred intense debate across the country. The 'age of consent' — the age at which the law recognises an individual's ability to consent to sexual activity — has evolved over time in India, moving from 10 to 12, then 16, and finally 18 years, reflecting the nation's efforts to curb child marriage and sexual exploitation.But today, the issue is far more complex. With rising cases...

The Ghosts of Nithari: When Suspicion Cannot Substitute Justice

"When proof fails, the only lawful outcome is to set aside the conviction, even in a case involving horrific crimes. Suspicion, however grave, cannot replace proof beyond a reasonable doubt."[1] The Supreme Court stated while acquitting the accused in the present case.A Tragedy UnresolvedIn December 2006, India recoiled in horror. Skeletal remains of eight children emerged from a drain behind a bungalow in Noida's Nithari village. The discovery unveiled one of India's most appalling criminal...

The Tryst Renewed: Zohran Mamdani And Hint Of A Nehruvian Democratic Socialist Revival

A Moment Beyond New York: Why Mamdani MattersZohran Mamdani's rise from a grassroots assembly member in Queens to the Mayor of New York City marks not merely a political shift in America, but a philosophical one that resonates across continents. For Indian observers, his victory represents a symbolic renewal of Jawaharlal Nehru's democratic-socialist vision, once inscribed in the Preamble of India's Constitution: to secure justice social, economic, and political liberty, equality, and fraternity...

Lines That Blur: Recognition, Legitimacy, And India's Afghan Equation

After the second world war many colonies got independence. Some existed earlier as political entities or protectorates but gained international recognition post-war. The colonizers left few of these States with unsettled disputes over territories on which the struggle is still on. Some of States like Bangladesh was born much later than the decolonization era by cessation from Pakistan in, 1971. To recognise a State then became a practical necessity. India was the fist Country to recognize...

"This Bench Is Dissolved"

On the morning of 12th November 1975, with these words, Chief Justice A.N. Ray dissolved a bench of thirteen Judges that had been reviewing the seminal judgment of Kesavananda Bharati[2] – only five days after the judgment of the Supreme Court in Indira Gandhi[3] on the 7th of November 1975 – which applied the basic structure doctrine for the first time to test the validity of a constitutional amendment. It was not long ago, on 24th of April 1973 that a bench of thirteen Judges in Kesavananda...

Adolescents And Consent

Childhood can be described as that period of human existence, where one experiences the world, as magical realism, not because the fantastical is narrated as the ordinary, like in books, but because the ordinary is experienced as fantastical in life. However, the lack of experience and knowledge that makes every new experience seem like magic, also makes children vulnerable to bad things, bad people, and bad consequences. Therefore, the law has created separate categories for children both as...

Re-Arrest After Illegal Arrest: A Second Chance Police Shouldn't Get

The Supreme Court's 2024 rulings in Prabir Purkayastha v. Union of India and Pankaj Bansal v. Union of India have left no room for ambiguity that the communication of grounds of arrest or detention is not a procedural nicety but a constitutional necessity. The Court emphatically held that an arrest without such communication is illegal in the eyes of law.Building on this, the Supreme Court in Vihaan Kumar v. State of Haryana (2025) went a step further, reminding magistrates of their duty to...

Attendance, Classes And Law Students: Rethinking The 75% Rule In Indian Legal Education

“Debarred list,” “shortage of attendance,” and “not eligible for exam” — these are words that every law student in India has come to know too well. The 75% attendance rule, mandated by the Bar Council of India (BCI) and the University Grants Commission (UGC), was originally intended to promote regularity and discipline. However, what was once meant to encourage classroom engagement has today turned into a rigid barrier that often punishes students more than it educates them. Across law colleges,...

Post-Acquittal Remedies Under BNSS: Contrasting Full-Fledged Trial Acquittals And Preliminary Stage Acquittals

The landscape of criminal justice in India underwent significant transformation with the enactment of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, which replaced the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973. While procedural reforms have modernized the criminal justice apparatus, fundamental principles governing acquittals and their legal consequences remain anchored in established jurisprudence. This article examines the differential treatment accorded to acquittals under BNSS based on the stage...

The Secret Life Of India's 'Missing' Records

It's quite common to see Right to Information (RTI) applications being filed to obtain certain information, only to receive the standard response that the file has gone missing. Consider a case where a citizen files an RTI application seeking a copy of the sanctioned plans of a cooperative society, records of which should ideally be in the custody of the Corporation. Backdrop of the application: society opted for redevelopment, the applicant being a minority member with a commercial unit has...

Courts, Crackers, And Clean Air: The Legal Battle Over Celebration Vs. Sustainability

“Each Diwali's glow fades into a haze of smog – children stay indoors, expectant mothers, the elderly, and even the animals struggle to breathe. Amidst the conflict with right to celebrate festivities and joy, the right to breathe clean air must prevail.”The Environmental jurisprudence surrounding regulations, legislations and landmark judgements of Supreme Court and High Courts and Green Tribunals with regards to firecrackers in India, evolved a profound journey of the judiciary with India...