Regulating Gatekeepers Across Borders: Apple-Meta Dispute And Limits Of International Competition Law

In April 2025, the European Commission (“EU”) issued its first ever fines under the Digital Markets Act (“DMA”) against Apple for violating app store obligations and €200 million against Meta over its 'pay or consent' advertising model, which required European users to either accept personalised advertising or pay for ad-free access to Facebook and Instagram. The fines followed yearlong investigations into conduct of the companies on European markets. Apple condemned the measures as coercive and...

Who Counts As A “Member”?

The Supreme Court Reads Substance into the Oppression RemedyIn a significant reaffirmation of the equitable foundations of company law, the Supreme Court has held that an investor whose name does not appear in the register of members may still maintain a petition alleging oppression and mismanagement, so long as the company's own conduct recognises him as a stakeholder. On 4 May 2026, a Division Bench comprising Justice Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha, who authored the opinion, and Justice Alok...

Blocking Telegram Won't Fix Leak

On 3rd May 2026, 22 lakh medical aspirants sat for the NEET examination, not knowing that a storm testing their patience and dedication lay ahead. For thousands of aspirants, stepping out of the examination hall marked the end of months of relentless preparation. It was a moment of relief, with many believing they could finally take a break before beginning college. What came next was something the aspirants could not have even thought of in their wildest dreams: news of a 'paper leak' over...

Advisories, Safe Harbour And Executive Power: Rethinking Draft 2026 IT Rules

A number of modifications has been proposed by the draft[1] to the amendment of Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 on the regulation of digital platforms. Among them, Rule 3(4) is particularly significant. The provision requires intermediaries to comply with advisories, guidelines, clarifications and other communications issued by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY). While such communications have long been used...

Analysing Bank Guarantee And Special Equities - Murky Line Between Pre-2019 And Post-2019 Ruling

Section 126 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872 talks about the invocation of guarantee in India. In commercial contracts, parties usually prefer to have a contract of bank guarantee to further assure payment of money. It is an independent contract, free from any dispute between the beneficiary and the applicant of the bank guarantee. While the grounds of fraud and irretrievable injustice against invocation of bank guarantee have been recognised through catena of judgements, the “special equities”...

Marriage Does Not End Daughterhood: SC Rewrites Definition of Family

There is a long-standing assumption in the Indian society that a married daughter belongs to her husband's family. This patriarchal belief leads to severance of emotional and economic ties with her natal family upon marriage. Women face these unfair beliefs even when they continue to discharge obligations towards their natal family. Many married women in rural and urban areas continue to support their parents, share resources and even head households. The presumption that she now 'resides...

CCI's Draft Amendments Clock, Not Architecture

The Competition Commission of India (CCI)'s recent proposed amendments (Draft Amendments) to the Competition Commission of India (Commitment) Regulations, 2024 are administrative housekeeping in nature. The Draft Amendments extend the window to file from 45 days to 60 days, allow for curing defects for 10 days, clarify fees, and increase the overall timeline from 130 to 180 working days. Each of those changes is commonsensical. But every one is a change to time, and none touches the three...

Ban App, Miss The Point

On June 16, 2026, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology issued two directions under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000. The first blocked all access to Telegram in India until midnight on June 22, the day after the NEET-UG 2026 re-examination. The second required Telegram to disable its message-editing feature for all previously posted content in India until June 30. Both directions were issued on the formal recommendation of the National Testing Agency. The...

Constitutional Critique Of Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026

The government of India, in a move to further tighten administrative control over non-profit organizations, charitable trusts, and other non-governmental institutions, introduced the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026, which vests the government with the power to strip these non-governmental organizations of their assets if they fail to comply with FCRA registration requirements. The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010, was enacted to ensure that foreign contributions...

When Anti-Defection Law Starts Defending Defectors

When the Tenth Schedule was enacted, its sole purpose was to slay the ghost of political opportunism and protect the sanctity of the people's mandate. But decades later, a striking paradox has emerged: has the anti-defection law transformed from a deterrent into a defence mechanism? The dramatic collapse of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) in June 2026 perfectly illustrates this systemic shift. Led by four-time MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, a staggering 20 out of 29 TMC Lok Sabha MPs broke away to...

Zombie Trademarks In Metaverse

Can a dead mark be revived again? Can a trademark ever truly be considered dead? These are the foundational questions that modern intellectual property law must confront as commerce shifts toward digital frontiers. Logically, when the owner of the mark abandons it, it enters the public domain, and anyone should be allowed to use it. However, the commercial reality is far more complex.When a mark is abandoned, it leaves behind a nostalgic consumer experience, has created its own Goodwill in the...

Participation Without Accountability: Limits Of India's Pre-Legislative Consultation Policy

The Pre-Legislative Consultation Policy (PLCP), 2014, has been around for more than a decade. For most of that time, a fairly basic question has gone unanswered: Is anybody actually following it?That question received an answer in Parliament in December 2025 through Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 2110, which asked whether the Government had reviewed the effectiveness of the policy, monitored compliance by Ministries and Departments, and considered making consultation and legislative impact...