Litigation, Success And Money

The New York Times recently published an article on Republican nominee Justice Patrick J. Schiltz, the Chief Judge of the District of Minnesota. Judge Schiltz, appointed by former President George W. Bush, recently passed orders against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for detaining people in an arbitrary manner. The Trump led Executive labelled the Judge an “activist” Judge. A common global trend, where populist Governments seek to delegitimize authorities not aligned with the...

Law Without Remedy: Unpaid Salaries In India's Online Work Economy

Salary theft in India's IT and online operational sector is no longer an exception. It has become a business model quiet, procedural, and legally sanitised.In India's fast-growing IT and online services ecosystem, non-payment of salary has become a disturbingly common experience. Employees are not just terminated; they are financially strangled. Performance bonuses are withheld without explanation, salaries for the last three to six months are stopped, and the employee is pushed into silence...

Public Exhibition Of Accused And Presumption Of Innocence

This is in the context of the public exhibition of accused persons, drawing from the Rajasthan High Court's recent order in Islam Khan & Ors. v. State of Rajasthan & Ors., S.B. Criminal Writ Petition No. 224/2026, decided on 20.01.2026 (Raj HC). It underscores the continued relevance of the presumption of innocence beyond the courtroom.An accused and a convict do not stand on the same footing. This distinction lies at the heart of criminal jurisprudence and underpins the necessity of the...

The Silent Capture Of Generic Terms

Indian trademark law insists that generic and descriptive terms must remain in the public domain, yet in practice, resource‑rich proprietors often succeed in fencing off such words through private litigation. In the absence of an institutional guardian of public interest, courts may, case by case, end up reinforcing monopolies over everyday language that the statute itself never intended to privatise. It is necessary that India now needs a dedicated public‑interest authority or structured...

Obituary-Au Revoir, Francis Chettan

A Tribute to Advocate C.V. Francis, 1st August 1935- 10th February 2026It was April 1989. Hardly, one year into the profession, I was chamber less, without a senior and in a city which I had never ever lived, but for the last one year. I was with a direction but without a boat to embark on this journey. It is here that my good friend and law classmate, Mathew Vellapally came to my rescue. He assured me that he will persuade advocate C.V. Francis with whom he recently got acquainted to take me...

Digital Scars: Why Deleting Your Chat History Doesn't Delete Your Data

In 2025 Chat GPT revealed that, each week 1 million people talk about mental health issues with Chat GPT[1]. So, let's take that example to start this article. Lets assume you used Chat GPT exact same way. With Chat History and Training on, you pour your heart onto the AI while it silently listens for months. Personal anxieties, family names and private details are all told into the chat so the AI also remembers and knows the context. Now all this information like your linguistic patterns and...

Policy Gap Between Solid Waste Management Rules And Carbon Credits

The MoEFCC notified the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2026 (“SWM Rules”) on January 27, 2026, effective April 1, 2026. These rules supersede the 2016 framework and create a comprehensive framework for waste management across urban and rural areas. The rules create specific waste management obligations:Four-Stream Segregation (Rule 5): Mandatory segregation into wet waste, dry waste, sanitary waste, and special care waste enables proper channelization to processing facilities. This segregation...

Between Progress And Pressure: A Woman Lawyer's Negotiation With Ambition

The legal profession trains us to measure our words carefully. Precision is discipline. Preparation is identity. For years, I believed that if I worked hard enough, understood the law thoroughly, and argued with clarity, that would be sufficient.Over time, I realised I was measuring something else too — my tone, my pauses, my reactions.There are days I replay not the submissions I made, but the ones I softened. The moment when a remark went uncorrected because responding might have appeared...

A Safety Valve, Not A Staffing Policy: Rethinking Article 224A

On the 3rd February 2026, the Supreme Court Collegium approved the appointment of retired judges as ad hoc judges to the Allahabad High Court under Article 224A of the Constitution. At the first glance, the decision appeared reassuring. It promised experience on the Bench, quicker disposal of cases, and some relief from an overwhelming backlog in cases.Yet the constitutional law requires more than reassurance. It requires the scrutiny of the act by collegium. The real question is not whether...

When Wealth Meets Crime: Lessons From The Epstein Case For Justice Systems Worldwide

The foundation of every democratic society rests upon the principle that justice must operate impartially and equally for all individuals, regardless of their wealth, influence, or social standing. Equality before law is not merely a constitutional guarantee but a fundamental expectation from legal institutions across the world. However, several high-profile criminal cases have raised serious concerns regarding whether this ideal is consistently implemented in practice. The intersection of...

Beyond Kartavya: Union Budget 2026 And The Legal Quietude

The Union Budget is no longer a neutral fiscal statement confined to revenue and expenditure. It has become a central instrument through which governance priorities are asserted, social choices are structured, and constitutional values are indirectly shaped. Union Budget 2026-27 must therefore be read not merely as an economic exercise, but as a document of constitutional consequence....

Examining Equity: Analysing UGC Regulations, 2026 And The Judicial Directive

The University Grants Commission (UGC) on 13th January notified the University Grants Commission (Promotion of Equity in Higher Educational Institutions) Regulations, 2026 (2026 Regulations). These Regulations were notified under the UGC Act, 1956 and replace the University Grants Commission (Promotion of Equity in Higher Educational Institutions) Regulations, 2012 (2012 Regulations), thus marking an important shift.The aim of the 2026 Regulations is to promote equity and inclusion and eradicate...