Articles
A Fillip To Democracy : Supreme Court's Electoral Bonds Case Verdict
On Thursday(February 15), the Supreme Court of India gave a much needed fillip to our democracy. Through a unanimous verdict of five judges, in Association for Democratic Reforms v. Union of India (with opinions written by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud for himself and three others and by Justice Sanjiv Khanna for himself), the Court affirmed the central idea that our freedom to vote...
Anti-Arbitration Injunctions: Stepping Towards Uniform Jurisprudence
Recently, the Delhi High Court issued an anti-arbitration injunction (AAIs) with respect to arbitration proceedings before the Permanent Court of Arbitration, The Hague, in the case of Techfab International Private Limited v. Midima Holdings Limited citing the lack of party consent as a bar to the jurisdiction of the arbitral institution. AAIs have long been a subject of controversy...
Censorship Or Modernization? India's Broadcasting Bill 2023
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting ("MIB") on November 10, 2023, issued the draft Broadcasting Services (Regulation) Bill, 2023 (the "Bill") to receive feedback from public and/or the concerned stakeholders. The Bill certainly attempts to consolidate the existing regulatory laws and regulations that apply across the broadcasting industry in India into a single legislative...
Is The Consent Of A Minor Victim Of Rape Required For DNA Testing Of Products Of Conception (PoC) Or Of The Baby Born As A Result Of The Assault?
The article deals with consent requirements for a DNA test of a child or products of conception (PoC)[1] of a minor victim of rape in two situations - a. As part of medical examination for offences under the POCSO Act and rape and b. As part of declaration of a surrendered child legally free of adoption under the Adoption Regulations, 2022, by the Child Welfare Committee. ...
Artificial Intelligence: India Lacks Clear IP Laws Around AI Results
With recent advancements in artificial intelligence technologies, such as ChatGPT, the days of searching several results on Google for a single inquiry are long gone. Instead, material tailored to the user's query is now provided. OpenAI created the ChatGPT AI model, which is intended for conversational exchanges. It can produce content, respond to inquiries, provide clarifications,...
Paternalistic Approach Of Family Law Towards Woman
The subject of religion-based personal legislation in India is a complex and multifaceted one, encompassing various aspects such as secularism, modernism, national cohesion, communal identity, religious liberty, and the principle of equality. India's legal framework operates under the umbrella of legal pluralism, commonly referred to as a personal law system. In this system,...
Unilateral Appointment Of Arbitrators: Whether Sustainable In Law?
Unlike an ordinary court proceeding, arbitration requires parties to choose their own decision maker/the arbitrator. This is the crux of arbitration and no procedure can vitiate this very essence of arbitration. In fact, the most fatal blow that an Award can receive is the fact that it is passed by an arbitrator who was appointed without the consent of both the parties. In such a case,...
Need Of A Case Management System In The Supreme Court
Recently, the Supreme Court had stopped the practice of letter circulation by lawyers and today, the Court has come out with a new standard procedure of permitting the circulation, subject to certain conditions.The 'Letter Circulation' in the Supreme Court is nothing but a simple letter addressed to the Registrar of the Court, seeking adjournment, The practice has been there for decades,...
Life Imprisonment Quandaries: Legal Perspectives And Sentencing Complexity
During the pronouncement of capital punishment in a criminal trial, a scenario may emerge where the court determines that the imposed sentence could be overly severe and harsh However in such cases, a sentence of life imprisonment, even with the possibility of remission that typically amounts to a 14-year term, might be deemed disproportionately insufficient. What then should the Court...
RBI Proceedings Against Paytm Payment Bank: Regulatory Compliances
The recent action of the Reserve Bank of India (“RBI”) against Paytm's subsidiary, the Paytm Payment Bank has sent ripples across the fintech industry. The payment bank has been barred by RBI from engaging in any further activities that involve accepting deposits or top-ups in any customer account, prepaid instruments, FASTags, wallets, and more, post-February 29, 2024. In addition...
A Marriage Of Convenience: Arbitrability Under The SARFAESI Act, 2002
Since the enactment of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (“Arbitration Act”), there has been an inception of various special legislations. Although, when a legislation provides for a special forum, the question arises whether the parties refer the matter to arbitration. The Supreme Court, in Vidya Drolia and others vs Durga Trading Corporation (“Vidya Drolia”),...
Competition Law vis-à-vis Aviation Sector
The aviation sector is an oligopolistic in nature. That means, it has few players but extremely strong players. Between 2000-2010, there was an intense competition between 8 to 10 players. However with the massive down fall of Kingfisher airlines and Jet Airways and the sudden monopolistic rise of the concept of low cost career like Indigo there has been major shift in the market space of...