Judicial Pendency: Accountability—Or Misattribution? [Part I]

The recent NCERT textbook reference linking judicial pendency with corruption—met with sharp disapproval from the Supreme Court—was followed by an equally sharp public response: when over 55 million cases remain pending, the judiciary cannot claim to be beyond criticism. This exchange has reopened a familiar but inadequately examined debate. Pendency is repeatedly invoked as evidence of judicial failure. Yet before accepting that conclusion, a more fundamental question must be asked—what do...

Cheating And Criminal Breach Of Trust: Can Both Be Invoked Together?

A recent order of the Allahabad High Court in Vikash Kumar v. State of U.P. prompted a closer look at a question that often arises before the higher courts. While dealing with a bail application, the Court observed that merely because cheating and criminal breach of trust are invoked together, the proceedings do not become illegal, particularly at a stage where the exact nature of the offence is still being examined.[1] This observation reflects what is frequently seen on the ground, where both...

Death Of "Paper Shield": Re-Evaluating CA Certificates In Indian Construction Arbitration

For decades, the Indian construction arbitration landscape has been dominated by a convenient fiction: the "Certificate Culture." Claimants, faced with the daunting task of proving voluminous damages for idling, overheads, or loss of profit, have historically relied on a single sheet of paper, a Chartered Accountant (CA) certificate, as a proxy for thousands of pages of primary...

Reform Before Uniformity: Case For Repairing Personal Laws Rather Than Replacing Them

The recent proceedings before the Supreme Court of India, seeking the Union's response to a challenge against aspects of Muslim inheritance law as discriminatory to women, have predictably reignited the call for a Uniform Civil Code (UCC). The instinct is familiar: when confronted with inequity within a system, replace the system altogether. When the Court expressed a poignant concern: that merely striking down the 1937 Act might create a "legal vacuum," leaving Muslim women without the...

Jurisprudential Dilemma Of Algorithmic Cartels

The law on competition was constructed against human wrongs in a market. The essence of cartels is one that assumes the existence of people, executives in hotel rooms, exchanging messages, creating a meeting of minds. Yet what happens when those who do not meet, do not communicate and do not even have the intention of colluding yet the market prices go up, even, and markets silently compete away? This is no more a hypothetical issue. Even without human coordination, global regulators publicly...

Why Cabinet's Proposed Delimitation Amendment Violates Constitutional Compact

The Constitution (One Hundred and Sixth Amendment) Act, 2023, known as the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, was passed with rare cross-party consensus.[1] It promised one-third reservation for women in the Lok Sabha, state legislative assemblies, and the Delhi Assembly, with sub-reservation for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. What Parliament also did, was insert a time-lock into the very same provision. Article 334A stipulated that the reservation would take effect only after the publication...

Critical Analysis Of Supreme Court's Approach To WB SIR Exercise

The Supreme Court's recent hearings on the West Bengal Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise raise fundamental concerns. At the centre of the controversy is the large-scale deletion of over 27 lakh voters, many of whom claim to have been previously included in the 2002 electoral rolls, coupled with the system's inability to rectify the genuine exclusions before the polling dates.The...

A Veto On Justice: 18,000 CAPF Officers And India's Looming Constitutional Crisis

“The legislature cannot set aside a judgment. It can only remove the defect in the law that formed the basis of that judgment. The moment it attempts more, it ceases to legislate — it usurps.”— Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, Constituent Assembly Debates, 1949On 25 March 2026, a four-page legislative measure was introduced in the Council of States. It was subsequently passed by both Houses following deliberation and opposition, before receiving Presidential assent on 9 April 2026 and being formally brought...

Life Lessons In Transfer Of Property Act, 1882

The Transfer of Property Act, 1882 is one of the most important legislations in the field of private law in India. Besides formulating the general principles of transfer governing both movable and immovable property, it provides five ways of transferring a property (in most cases, immovable) through sale, mortgage, lease, exchange and gift. The law is particularly relevant in a country like India where property disputes constitute nearly sixty-six per cent of civil litigation.[1]Among all those...

Rarest Of Rare : Nine Policemen Sentenced To Death In Sathankulam Custodial Killings

In a ruling that'll probably get dissected in law classrooms for a long time, a Madurai court delivered one of India's harshest punishments yet for custodial violence yesterday. Nine police personnel were sentenced to death for the brutal torture and killing of P. Jayaraj (58) and his son J. Bennix (31), a father and son whose only “crime” was keeping their mobile phone shop open a few minutes past closing time during the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown.What Happened in Sathankulam?Most people across the...

Situs Of Office; Cyber-Freezes And Jurisdictional Trap

In the digital age, money moves in milliseconds across state borders, but the legal remedies for innocent account holders remain shackled to physical geography. As India pushes for "Digital Inclusion," a parallel and dangerous "Financial Exclusion" is occurring. Investigating agencies, in their zeal to trace "proceeds of crime," are using a borderless digital trail to impose a medieval form...

Ambedkar Jayanti: Reminiscing A Legacy Of Equality

As we celebrate the 135th Ambedkar Jayanti, we reflect on the egalitarian principle of 'one man, one value.' As the father of our Constitution, he fought against a social system that treated people unequally despite democratic promises. Today, Dr. Ambedkar is honored everywhere with statues and memorials, and we even dedicated a year to Social Justice in his name. However, much of this praise feels hollow. While we celebrate his legacy, the tragic death of a Dalit medical student in Kerala...