Tightrope Of Parody: Intellectual Property And Limits Of Comic Freedom In Baburao Controversy

When comedy meets the copyright claim, the laughter comes with a heavy receipt. The gag has proved expensive for Netflix and Kapil Sharma's team, who were served with a ₹25 crore legal notice over the performance of an iconic character Baburao Ganpatrao Apte[1].On 22nd September 2025, a legal notice was served against Great Indian Kapil Show airing in Netflix prepared to air its final episode with Actor Akshay Kumar. The legal controversy emerged when Firoz A. Nadiadwala, the producer and the...

When There Are Nine

To the oft asked question as to how many women on the Bench of the Supreme Court of the United States would be “enough” – the iconic Ruth Bader Ginsburg – without batting an eyelid – would say “when there are nine”. After all, for most part of the history of the Supreme Court, it was normal for nine men to adorn the Bench. From one amongst the nine women in a class of five hundred at the Harvard Law School – where Dean Griswold asked every first-year woman “Why are you at Harvard Law School,...

No Rest For The Weary: Impaired State Of Disability Rights Enforcement In India

This piece examines the Court on its own motion v. KVS[1] and the operational realities that continue to obstruct people with disabilities in India from fully exercising their rights.A letter from the National Association of the Deaf to the courts in December 2022, highlighting the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan's institutional refusal to incorporate disabled individuals into their recruitment processes, evolved into a significant precedent in the realm of disability law in India. In Court on its...

Remembering Justice M.C. Chagla On His 125th Birth Anniversary

Today is Justice M.C. Chagla's 125th birth anniversary. It is only appropriate that we remember him with respect, affection and gratitude- one about whom it can rightly be said “so great a name no praise can match”.Justice Chagla is considered as one of the greatest judges of India. He was a judge in the Bombay High Court from 1941 to 1947 and Chief Justice from 1947 to 1958.Mahamedali Curreem Chagla was born on 30 September, 1900. He was educated at St. Xavier's School and College, Bombay....

Customs Finalisation Regulations, 2025- Efficiency At The Cost Of Accuracy?

On 12 September 2025, CBIC implemented the Customs (Finalisation of Provisional Assessments) Regulations, 2025 (hereinafter “the 2025 Regulations”) by Notification No. 55/2025-Cus (N.T.), exercising powers under Section 157 read with Section 18 of the Customs Act, 1962. These Regulations operationalise amendments effected by the Finance Act, 2025, most notably a statutory two-year long-stop for finalising provisional assessments and a presumption that legacy provisional cases pending as on 29...

India's Maritime Reset: Unpacking Merchant Shipping Act, 2025

After 67 years, India has charted a new course with a modernized merchant shipping legislation, poised to reshape the nation's maritime future. After a decade-long legislative process that began in 2015, the new Merchant Shipping Act, 2025 (2025 Act) was finally passed by both Houses of the Parliament of India during the Monsoon Session in August 2025. On 18th August 2025, the Act received the assent of the President of India, marking its formal enactment as the official law of the land on that...

A Deeper Thought On The “Pre-Trial Detention” Of An Accused Person Under Section 187 Of BNSS

C O N T E N T SQ.No:I N N E R T I T L E SCOMPARATIVE TABLE OF S. 167 Cr.P.C. AND S.187 BNSSTHE MECHANICS OF “DETENTION” UNDER SECTION 167 Cr.P.C. AS JUDICIALLY SETTLED ARRESTING OFFICER'S DUTY1What are the pre-requisites and modalities to be followed by an “arresting officer” while arresting a person ?2What are the arresting officer's duty “under Section 167 (1) Cr.P.C.” ? The nearest Magistrate referred to in S.167 (1) Cr.P.C.?3Should not the “nearest Magistrate” envisaged under Section 167...

Territorial Jurisdiction In Cheque Dishonour Cases: Post-2015 Amendment Position

The territorial jurisdiction of courts in cheque dishonour prosecutions under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 ('N.I. Act') has long been a contested issue. Until the N.I. (Amendment) Act, 2015, Section 142 did not clarify jurisdiction, forcing courts to rely on Sections 177–179 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 ('CrPC'). These provisions proved ill-suited to the multi-step nature of cheque transactions, leading to conflicting Supreme Court...

'Lawful' Patently Illegal International Commercial Arbitration Awards – A Dichotomy

Sub-Section 2A of Section 34 of the Arbitration & Conciliation Act, 1996, introduced on October 15, 2015, apparently on account of the presumed negative fallout of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd. v. Saw Pipes Ltd., (2003) 5 SCC 705 for foreign business entities in India and 246th Report of the Law Commission of India (August, 2014), makes a clear distinction between a Domestic Arbitration award and an International Commercial Arbitration award, when it comes to “Patent Illegality”,...

Women In Law: A Long Wait For Justice

As a nation, we recently commemorated 75 years since the Indian Constitution was established and the Supreme Court and High Courts started functioning under the constitution. These institutions have been steadfast protectors of fundamental rights, including the right to equality for all citizens. While women lawyers, alongside their male colleagues, champion these rights in courtrooms nationwide, their own struggle for equal representation in the higher judiciary remains unfulfilled. The wait...

Audit Of Arbitration Awards In J&K: A Long-Overdue Accountability Mechanism

The Delhi Government's recent directive to audit all arbitration awards above ₹1 crore passed against government departments in the last 20 years is a watershed moment in public accountability. The Public Works Department (PWD), Water Department, and Irrigation & Flood Control Department have been ordered to submit detailed records of such cases. This measure aims not only to review potential misuse of public funds but also to identify officials whose negligence or collusion may have caused...

Bombay High Court Strikes Down Illegal Transfer Fee Charged By Bar Council

Echoes Supreme Court's concern on Bar Councils' breach of public duty in Gaurav Kumar caseIn a significant judgment reinforcing the rights of advocates and curbing arbitrary practices of State Bar Councils, the Bombay High Court has ruled that the Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa acted illegally in charging transfer fees for shifting the enrolment of an advocate from one State Bar Council to another.Delivering the verdict in Devendra Nath Tripathi v. Union of India & Ors (Writ Petition No....