Appeal Without Remedy: GST Appellate System's Fatal Flaw

When the Goods and Services Tax (GST) launched in July 2017, policymakers hailed it as a "good and simple tax" to streamline compliance and unify India's fractured indirect tax landscape. Eight years later, however, a glaring procedural defect in its appellate framework forces taxpayers into a grim dilemma: accept flawed orders or endure endless restarts. Under Section 107(11) of the...

Extraordinary Powers, Ordinary Rights: ED–Mamata Banerjee Tussle and the Deeper Crisis in PMLA Law

The ongoing confrontation between West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the Enforcement Directorate (ED), now playing out before the Supreme Court, is not merely a political flashpoint. At its core, it exposes a deeper constitutional unease surrounding the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) and the extraordinary powers it confers upon the ED. While the immediate controversy revolves around ED searches, seizures, and alleged overreach in West Bengal, the legal questions...

No Sex Ed, No Romeo-Juliet: Why India's Curriculum Betrays POCSO Reforms

The Romeo-Juliet clause, as suggested by the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India, aims to protect teenage relationships, as the name itself indicates. However, in the absence of comprehensive sex education among adolescents, how they are expected to make an informed decision about consent remains a valid question that the apex court does not address. The Supreme Court has asked the Central Government to introduce a 'Romeo-Juliet' clause as an exemption in the Prevention of Children from Sexual...

Can Regulation Curb The Spread? Evaluating Social Media Controls Against Misinformation

Misinformation in the contemporary era is mushrooming at a brisk pace. Recently, the World Economic Forum in its Global Risk Report 2025[1], listed misinformation as the second-most significant risk in India. Despite this, India continues to lack a comprehensive framework specifically aimed at stifling the dissemination of misinformation. Even the Centre for International Media Assistance also reported that between 2011 and 2022, 78 countries have passed laws to limit the spread of...

SEBI's Merchant Banker Reforms: From Information Disclosure To Ex-Ante Discipline

Merchant Bankers (“MBs”) play a central role in India's capital market as intermediaries between the issuers and the investors. Their primary role and functions include but are not restricted to management of issues, compliance with laws, ensuring due diligence, and providing corporate advisory services, but over time, the absence of clearly demarcated boundaries governing the scope of activities to be undertaken by MBs resulted in a significant expansion of their roles, even in fields that did...

Old Wine in a New Bottle? The Constitutional Battle Over Section 17A Of PCA

On January 13, 2026, the Supreme Court experienced a rift in the matter of Centre for Public Interest Litigation versus Unon of India, leading to a split verdict regarding the constitutionality of Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA), 1988. Introduced in 2018, this contentious provision acts as a statutory embargo, necessitating prior governmental approval before investigating agencies can initiate even a preliminary enquiry against a public servant. The Division Bench...

Right To Privacy Vs Regulation Of Pornographic Content: A Jurisprudential Dilemma

The regulation of pornographic materials is one of the most complex issues contested on today's social and political arena questions in contemporary constitutional law. Traditionally, such regulation was justified on provisions for regulating films in respect of grounds of public morality and decency. The right to privacy is also identified by some as a fundamental human right in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This approach to the treatment of mentally ill offenders is being reviewed...

Dead on Arrival: How the NSGA 2025 Risks Derailing the 2036 Olympic Bid

In 2023, Prime Minister Narendra Modi framed India's 2036 Olympic bid as the “age-old dream of 140 crore Indians”. With Ahmedabad now officially ratified as the host for the 2030 Commonwealth Games, the government is visibly leveraging its geopolitical capital to secure this crowning institutional achievement. Yet, the legislative cornerstone of this ambition—the National Sports Governance Act (NSGA), 2025—threatens to kill the bid before it even clears the first hurdle.By centralising...

Anathema to Life and Liberty: The Supreme Court's Bail Reasoning in Gulfisha Fatima

The new year did not turn out to be upbeat for Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam, as the Apex Court, in a judgment spanning 142 pages in the case of GULFISHA FATIMA VS STATE (GOVT. OF NCT OF DELHI) 2026 INSC 2, refused bail to the two persons arrayed as accused and their freedom was denied for the umpteenth time. On the contrary, the Court granted bail to the other 5 co-accused, citing the non-seriousness of their role. The constitutional spirit finds a speck of much place in the judgment since...

The Void Between Return And Retention: Deconstructing Motherhood Penalty In India

In the era of women empowerment, our country is making significant strides with progressive Constitutional amendments like the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, 2023 providing 33% reservation frameworks. India's constitutional commitment to equality and dignity, encouraging increasing women participation in the public arena has often been lauded. Yet, a persistent hindrance pervasive across sectors remains largely unaddressed. It is a matter of grave national concern that a significant number of...

CLAT Results And Reality Of Legal Education: A Note To Students At Threshold

The moment has come that i have to recount the story of my CLAT 2025 result which by the way was a bad night until it was revealed the results the next day and my fate was sealedThe night of the CLAT 2025 scores was not spectacular at all; it felt more like a regular night, which was the opposite of what most people think it would be. There was no immediate understanding or feeling of release, just a silent struggle with a rank that seemed to summarize the months of hard work into a single...

Replacing MNREGA: Reform Or Retreat From Livelihood Security?

India is the world's most populous country, and a large part of its population continues to live in villages. As per the Census of India 2011, nearly 69 percent of Indians resided in rural areas, and despite increasing urbanisation, millions still depends on rural livelihoods for survival. This makes policies aimed at rural development and employment not just welfare measures, but a necessity for the country's social and economic stability. MNREGA's FoundationIt was in this context that the...