Post Facto Environmental Clearance: Whose fault Is It Anyway?

What does a 962-bed AIIMS hospital in Odisha, a greenfield airport in Karnataka and a cancer research institute in Tamil Nadu have in common? These are all infrastructure projects that commenced construction or operations without obtaining the mandatory “prior environmental clearance” under the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification, 2006. On 29 July 2026, a three-judge Bench of the Supreme Court ('SC') saved these and several other non-compliant projects from potential closure or...

Unseen Burden Of Electronic Evidence

Today, digital evidence has changed the way criminal investigations are conducted. Mobile phones, laptops, CCTV cameras, emails, cloud storage and messaging applications have become important sources of evidence. The Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 (“BSA”) recognises electronic records as documentary evidence [Sections 2(1)(d) and 2(1)(e)] and provides a special mechanism for proving secondary electronic records u/s 63. Under Section 63(4), such records must be accompanied by a certificate in...

One Missing Judge, Many Missing Communities

On 20 August 2026, the Department of Justice notified nine advocates who will take the oath as Additional Judges of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. On 4 May, the Supreme Court Collegium had approved ten, on a list that began in the High Court collegium and carried the endorsement of every constitutional functionary consulted along the way. The nine who have taken oath deserve every good wish, and nothing here reflects on them. The tenth name, that of Major Navdeep Singh, Senior Advocate,...

From Policy Deference To Disclosure: Shifting Legal Battle Over India's E20 Petrol Mandate

India does not have to borrow right to know from anywhere. Courts here have used Articles 19(1)(a) and 21 for decades to compel disclosure from manufacturers who would rather have avoided, from what a soft drink contains to whether a snack is vegetarian. The E20 controversy poses the question whether that same right reaches the fuel every vehicle owner must now buy. It rose through a dispute over what the government's own counsel had actually told the Court.During the hearing of a Special Leave...

Parity In Pay

For the purpose of this article, parity in pay can be claimed for basic pay, pay scale, pay band, allowance, all of these, or just wages.Ordinarily, fixation of pay is in the domain of executive authorities, which can only be brought under the purview of judicial review if the fixation is improper, discriminatory, patently irrational, unjust and prejudicial. The courts generally approach such matters with restraint. Thus, when matters pertaining to parity in pay are entertained, the courts take...

Cauvery 2026: Karnataka Owns River. Who Owns Drought?

On July 28, the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee met for the 139th time and did what such committees do in a deficient monsoon. It ordered Karnataka to release 3,500 cusecs of water a day to Tamil Nadu at Biligundlu, for fifteen days. The Cauvery Water Management Authority ratified the order two days later at an emergency sitting. Karnataka complied on paper and barely at all in practice - inflows at Biligundlu between July 29 and August 2 ranged between 158 and 550 cusecs, a fraction of what...

Tribunal Reform 2026: Old Wine, New Label, Same bottle?

Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose, as the French critic Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr put it in Les Guêpes. The more things change, the more they remain the same. And in the case of NCLT, they haven't changed at all.There is something faintly Sisyphean about tribunal reform in India. Every few years, the Government rolls the stone up the hill, gives it a new name, changes a few provisions and sends it back down towards the Supreme Court. The bottle is old, the label is new. The real...

Digital Courts And Cyber Justice: Is India's Legal Infrastructure Ready For Future?

A litigant from a remote district could check the status of her case on her mobile phone. A lawyer from Chennai could argue in front of a bench in Delhi without getting on a plane. A law student from a small town could watch a hearing of the Constitution Bench, perhaps for the first time, without setting foot in a courtroom. None of this is incidental. It is the product of nearly two decades of meticulous planning and execution by India's judiciary and executive in one of the most ambitious...

SEBI'S Proposed Settlement Regulations, 2026: Towards More Rational, Predictable And Effective Settlement Regime

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (“SEBI”) has released a consultation paper proposing a comprehensive overhaul of its settlement framework through the draft Securities and Exchange Board of India (Settlement of Proceedings) Regulations, 2026 (“Proposed Regulations”). The Proposed Regulations are intended to replace the SEBI (Settlement Proceedings) Regulations, 2018 (“2018 Regulations”) and are accompanied by a clause-by-clause list of changes and a full draft of the new...

Gender Sensitivity And Compassion In Writing Judgments

Last year, a judge in a POCSO matter asked the mother of a nine-year-old victim whether her daughter had been "playing outside unsupervised" at the time of the assault. The question was not about evidence. It was about blame. The mother understood what was being asked. So did I. The child's location was being treated as an explanation for the crime committed against her.That question would not survive the Supreme Court's new report. Whether the judge who asked it will read the report is a...

Register Or Not? Madras High Court's Long Road To Clarity Under TNRRRLT Act

'A roof over your head' has always been described as a core necessity for every individual. The importance of housing is evinced from the fact that it is judicially read into, as a fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution of India, and is also envisioned as directive principle of state policy, under Articles 38, 39(b) and 41 of the Constitution. Rent legislation in Tamil Nadu traces its lineage to the erstwhile Madras Presidency, where rent laws essentially emerged as an emergency...

CCTV In Hotel Restaurant Kitchens, Digital Extension Of FSS Act

Live streaming any process or event stands as a hallmark of transparency, fairness, and accountability, offering reassurance that actions are conducted directly in full view. Generally, restaurants and food establishments serve dishes designed to appear delicious and healthy. The professional appearance and uniforms of service staff further reassure consumers that food is prepared and served under strict safety and hygiene standards but in most of the cases, the picture is otherwise.The right to...