Procedure For Service Of Summons Abroad

The procedure for the service of summons abroad has seen significant judicial development in India. A three-judge Bench of the Kerala High Court recently had restricted the direct service of summons on parties residing abroad, mandating the procedure prescribed in The Hague Convention, 1965 (“the Convention”). The Kerala High Court's judgment, specifically in Charuvila Philippose Sundaran Pillai and Another v. P.N. Sivadasan and Others , relied on Order 5 Rule 25 of the Code of Civil Procedure...

US Shutdown – Lesson On Checks And Balances

Recently, the US government went into a shutdown as the ruling Republicans couldn't muster enough votes in the Senate. The reaction of many Indians to this news was how great the Indian system is, where such a thing is impossible. The US system is conceptualized on the idea of the Separation of Powers. The President is directly elected and heads the executive, and in that capacity, he has several powers independent of the Congress (the US legislature). However, the legislature also has its own...

The Platonic-Benthamite Logic Of Total Visibility: Haryana Community Service Guidelines

“If no one could see us, would we still act justly?” Plato posed this in the Republic through the parable 'The Ring of Gyges', where a shepherd's invisibility tempted him to abandon justice. Visibility, the fable suggests, dictates conduct. Centuries later, legal positivist Jeremy Bentham in the late 18th Century made the intuition concrete, both in reality and metaphorically, into the Panopticon, laying an architectural design of modern-day prison and a theory of disciplinary control. In a...

AI In Policing: Framing Issue Of Regulation

Several police forces in India are embracing artificial intelligence (AI) tools to enhance their capabilities in areas such as preventing, detecting and investigating crime, apprehending offenders, and managing traffic operations. For example, Visakhapatnam Police has recently announced plans to implement AI-powered automatic number plate recognition cameras along with facial recognition cameras at key traffic junctions. These technologies are intended to improve the identification and...

Article 17 Of Indian Constitution: “Untouchability” In Quotation Marks

The Constitution of India has been designed with its own specificity where the founding members choose to write down the social, political and economic transformation. Various constitutions around the globe may have inspired the making of the Indian Constitution, however, the choice of words, style and specificity in drafting has been unique to India. One such instance is the inclusion of a provision relating to untouchability. Article 17 of the Constitution states:“Untouchability” is abolished...

Rules Conflicting With Act: Analysis Of Penalty Clauses In Draft Sustainable Harnessing Of Fisheries In Indian EZZ Rules, 2025

IntroductionCan a delegated legislation create an offence or prescribe a penalty? Also, can it lay down procedures for adjudication of penalties in a manner that conflicts with the scheme of offences, their investigation and trial as provided under the parent law? These are questions that immediately come to mind when one reads the draft of the Sustainable Harnessing of Fisheries in Indian Exclusive Economic Zone of India Rules, 2025 (hereinafter referred to as 'Draft Rules 2025') which was...

Beneath The Smog: Constitutional Mandates And Strategies For Air Pollution Remediation In India

The directive, enshrined in Article 48A of the Indian Constitution, reflects the state's constitutional obligation to uphold environmental integrity and ensure the preservation of natural ecosystems as a matter of national priority. Whereas Article 51-A(g) imposes a fundamental duty on every citizen of India to protect the environment. In spite of this, India has become the fifth most populated nation in the world. Whether it is the overnight destruction of the Kancha Gachibowli forest or the...

Irretrievable Breakdown Of Marriage: Right Of Spouses Or Court's Prerogative?

“A marriage that is dead for all purposes cannot be revived by a judicial verdict.” – Naveen Kohli v. Neelu Kohli (2006) 4 SCC 558, ¶62.This observation from the Supreme Court continues to shape one of the most debated issues in Indian family law: should irretrievable breakdown of marriage (IBM) be recognised as a statutory ground for divorce under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, or should it remain a remedy available only through the Court's extraordinary power under Article 142 of the...

The Mole That AI Revealed: Hallucinations And Biometric Privacy Risks

A recent viral post shook Instagram's vintage saree trend. A user generated her photo through Gemini and was startled to see a mole appear on her left arm; a detail true in real life but hidden in the original, full-sleeved picture she had uploaded[1]. The uncanny addition sparked questions: did the AI somehow “know,” or was it simply inventing features? And more importantly, what does this mean for our privacy when we share images with AI tools? At the outset, the real question is:...

Are Judgments Of A High Court Applicable Throughout India?

India is a common law country and hence precedent is one of the sources of law. The doctrine of stare decisis is the most exhausted doctrine in the Indian Courts. But in the federal scheme of things in the Indian Constitution, whether a judgment rendered by a High Court applicable to the whole of India?Under Article 215 of the Constitution, a High Court like Supreme Court is a Court of record and have the powers to punish contempt of itself. Both the High Courts and the Supreme Court of India...

The Calamitous Miseducation Of Sanjeev Sanyal

Sanjeev Sanyal, a member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister publicly asserted that the Indian judicial system “is the single biggest hurdle” to achieving the goal of 'Viksit Bharat (Developed India). If he had studied economics with some intensity, he would have found this sentiment in a celebrated book of 1789 titled 'The Theory of Moral Sentiments':“If [justice] is removed, the great, the immense fabric of human society, that fabric which to raise and support seems in this...

Section 9 As An Eviction Shortcut? Why Mumbai's Re-Development Battles Keep Coming To Court

Re-development in Mumbai is both necessary and contentious – thousands of dilapidated buildings need re-building, but the viability of each project depends on residents vacating their homes. Most residents cooperate, but a few resist re-development. When that happens, in some cases, housing societies, with the support of a the majority, nevertheless enter into development agreements with developers. The developers then often rush to the Bombay High Court under Section 9 of the Arbitration and...