Articles
Dependent Domicile: How Indian Law Still Chains Married Women To Their Husband's Identity
I. The Archaic Anchor in Private International LawIn a period where legal systems assert gender equality and women's empowerment in India's private international law, there is still a single fossilised rule lingering: the married woman's dependent domicile.Under the Indian Succession Act, 1925, a woman “by marriage acquires the domicile of her husband” and her domicile during marriage “follows the domicile of her husband,” a rule that operates irrespective of the woman's actual residence,...
Tort Of Alienation Of Affection (AoA): A Critique
Recently, the Delhi High Court ruled that a spouse can sue the partner's lover and claim compensation for interference in the marriage and causing loss of affection and companionship between the husband and wife. The third person could be treated as a disruptor causing the breakdown of the marriage. According to the court, even post Joseph Shine, adultery can still have civil consequences.The court has reignited the liability question on adultery. The question of law put to rest is being...
When High Court Appoints, High Court Extends: Clarifying Jurisdictional Anomaly Under Section 29A Of Arbitration Act
When Parliament introduced Section 29A into the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (“Arbitration Act”) it was hailed as a reform that would make arbitration faster and more disciplined.Section 29A of the Arbitration Act mandates that an arbitral award must be passed within twelve months from the date of completion of pleadings. This period may be further extended by mutual consent of the parties for an additional six months. Once this statutory period expires, the mandate of the arbitral...
Deadly Cost Of Truth: Brutal Reality Of Journalist Killings In India
On September 28, 2025, a journalist named Rajeev Pratap's dead body was found in the Bhagirathi River, Uttarakhand. He had been missing since past ten days and he was reportedly known to be a freelancer journalist who was primarily involved in working on issues surrounding corruptions and government mis-managements. It's not the first time that a journalist has been murdered, prior to him a journalist named Mukesh Chandrashekhar was found dead, with his body stuffed in a tank, also in 2017, a...
The Time Paradox: When The Tool Becomes The Master
It was just another leisurely holiday morning, and I had gone to the gym for my usual routine. As I warmed up on the treadmill, running at my own pace, my eyes drifted towards the wall clock. That silent, unmoving face with two hands ticking away suddenly struck me with the force of a bolt out of the blue. Here was a small man-made machine showing me “time.” But what exactly is this time that has ruled over me, and over all of us? How did this abstraction, born for convenience, come to dominate...
Legitimacy In Limbo: Judicial Endorsement And Legislative Silence On CBI
While police investigations in politically sensitive cases are shrouded in skepticism, in such cases, a clarion call for a CBI investigation emerges from all the relevant stakeholders in unison. Considering the confidence that the Central Bureau of Investigation commands amongst the people of this country, despite certain aberrations, it is extremely troubling that the premiere investigation agency of the country with the powers of broad amplitude and overarching jurisdiction is dependent on a...
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...