Will India Finally Build Breastfeeding Rooms After Supreme Court Order?

Public spaces in India are often described as “for everyone.” It sounds inclusive. It reads well in policy documents. But step into a railway station, a crowded bus stand, or a government office, and a simple question arises, does “everyone” truly include a mother with an infant?For most women, the answer is still no. A basic, non-negotiable need - safe, clean, and private space for breastfeeding remains largely invisible in the design of public infrastructure. What should be routine is treated...

Notice Of Peril: Why Special Marriage Act's 30-Day Notice Must Fall

Put yourself in a hypothetical situation where you have decided to marry someone whom you love but who is from a different religion than you are. In order to legalize your marriage, you approach the marriage officer's office, complete all the paperwork, and then wait. Meanwhile, your name, address, and intention to marry your love are posted on a public noticeboard, available for the general public to see, object to, or act upon the same. The people in your community who are against this...

Bail For Children In Conflict With Law

In recent years, many OTT web series and films have portrayed juvenile crime, highlighting the complexities of the debate surrounding it. These films and web series reflect public perceptions of law and crime, as well as how the legal system views these issues. One significant area of debate is bail for children in conflict with the law. With the growing number of heinous offences committed by minors, the public often feels that the severity of the crime should determine bail, and that the law...

Constitutional Peril Of 'Non-Speaking' Order

The summary rejection of the CEC removal notice by the Speaker and the Chairman—absent a reasoned explanation—marks a significant departure from the principles of natural justice. As "speaking orders" are foundational to the rule of law, presiding officers, when acting in an adjudicatory capacity, are bound by judicial precedents like Kihoto Hollohan to ensure transparency over institutional silence.The recent rejection of a removal notice against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar...

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

Part-2: Narrative, Capacity, and the Bypass of LawDissection of the Narrative of PendencyThe question then arises: why does the narrative of judicial pendency persist, so readily linked with inefficiency and even corruption? The answer lies not in data, but in its absence.There is no meaningful statistical framework that captures how a case actually moves through its lifespan—how much time is spent in investigation, in securing service, in awaiting witnesses, in execution, and where...

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...