Prajwala's Consent Is Sovereign Until Someone Doubts It

The Supreme Court correctly placed a sex worker's consent at the centre of rescue and rehabilitation decisions. But having declared that consent unverifiable by any outsider, it tasked outsiders with verifying it. The structure that results does not make her consent sovereign, it makes it the first entry on a form someone else completes.The praise for Prajwala v. Union of India [2026 INSC 609], decided on 29 May 2026, has settled on a single word: consent. A Bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and...

Quantity Determination Under NDPS Act: Mixture Theory, Procedural Safeguards, And Scientific Challenges

NDPS (Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances) Act, 1985, is one of the stricter laws of India. It has the strictest punishment where the sentence of an accused is determined on the quantity of the contraband recovered from the accused during investigation, and also has the strictest conditions for bail under sec 37 of the Act. Chapter IV of the Act deals with offenses and penalties. When looking at the section dealing with the sentences for the offense, one would notice that the sentence...

Misdeclaration, Grid Discipline, And Strict Liability

The Supreme Court's ruling in Punjab State Power Corporation Ltd. v. Talwandi Sabo Power Ltd., Civil Appeal Nos. 7432 and 7436 of 2025, decided on 20 May 2026, marks a big deal for India's electricity rules. It's not just about settling a conflict between a power maker and grid bosses; it lays down a key rule for the whole industry. The court says grid trustworthiness hinges on being certain, accurate, and accountable, not on what the entities are meant to do.Electricity regulation depends on a...

Withdrawal Of Riot-Related Prosecutions In Karnataka: Reconciling Prosecutorial Discretion With Constitutional Accountability

Can an elected government seek withdrawal of criminal prosecutions arising out of riots, political agitations, communal disturbances, and protest movements in the larger interests of public welfare and social harmony? More importantly, where such prosecutions involve allegations relating to unlawful assembly, violence, attacks upon public institutions, or destruction of property, what safeguards does Indian law prescribe before criminal proceedings may legally be terminated? These questions have...

Intermediary Liability And Data Responsibility: Balancing Innovation With Accountability In Digital India

The role of social media platforms has changed from being passive conduits of information to being active arbiters of public discourse, content moderation, and the processing of personal data. Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, X (formerly Twitter), and TikTok facilitate Global communication, commerce, and political organising. The changes in these platforms will require a re-evaluation of the laws originally designed for traditional internet service providers.A fundamental question is...

Amazon's Pyrrhic Approval: Rewriting Merger Disclosure Rules

On May 27,2026, the Supreme Court delivered a judgment that will reshape how practitioners approach combination filings in India. In Amazon.com NV Investment Holdings LLC v. Competition Commission of India, the court set aside the CCI's 2021 order that had penalized Amazon, kept its 2019 approval in abeyance, and directed a fresh Form II notice for investment in Future Coupons Private Limited. Across six issues, the Court ruled entirely for Amazon. The judgment deserves a careful reading not as...

Future Of Tort Law In India: Opportunities And Challenges

In 2022, a schoolteacher in Lucknow had a routine appendix operation at a private hospital. A drain was left unchecked, due to doctor's clear act of negligence and because of this she got a second infection and had to stay in the hospital for three more weeks. Her extra expenses came to around ₹38,000. She went to a lawyer. The lawyer asked for ₹15,000 just as a retainer fee and said the case would take five to seven years. She went home, paid her bills, and stayed silent. Her ...

Copyright V. Copyleft: Future Of Creativity, Freedom, And Ownership

In today's digital world, creativity no longer exists in isolation. Innovation doesn't remain an individual thing anymore, it is now sharing across networks, platforms and nations. Innovation is like lightning, and collaboration is a core part of innovation. An American designer can build on the work of a Japanese coder, and a student in the other half of the world can access, interpret and edit the same idea in a matter of minutes. In this world, regulation of creativity is more complex.This is...

False Promise To Marry

Section 69 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 ('BNS') criminalises sexual intercourse by employing deceitful means. The language of the provision refers to two separate actions: first, using deceptive means to engage in sexual intercourse, and second, making a false promise to marry a woman without the intention of fulfilling it. Earlier, in the absence of an explicit provision in the Indian Penal Code, 1860, Section 90 (consent given under fear or misconception) read with Section 375 (rape)...

More Judges, More Justice: Addressing The Needs Of Apex Court

On 24th April, 2016 in the inauguration of the Joint Conference of Chief Ministers and Chief Justices of High Courts, the Hon'ble Chief Justice of India, Justice T.S. Thakur get emotional and said. “Therefore not only in the name of the litigant… the poor litigant (he pauses as his voice trembles with emotion) languishing in jail but also in the name of the country and progress, I beseech you to realise that it is not enough to criticise the judiciary… you cannot shift the entire burden to the...

Geo-Blocking Beyond Copyright: Can Territorial Licensing Become Anti-Competitive?

In today's rapidly growing digital ecosystem, OTT platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney Hotstar, etc., have experienced a boom in the consumer market, especially after the Covid 19 shutdown of cinema halls and the decline in the theatre culture. Initially, this growing trend began as a convenience model for the customers; however, the current situation says otherwise. Has it ever happened to you that one day you are watching your favourite show on one of these platforms and the...

When Consent Becomes Control: Spousal Veto And Reproductive Autonomy Under ART Act, 2021

For a woman navigating the uncertainty of age, health, or marital instability, the decision to preserve her reproductive capacity may be both urgent and deeply personal. Yet, under the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act, 2021, this decision is not hers alone. The statutory requirement of gamete cryopreservation for women stuck in unfortunate marital separation proceedings raises a fundamental question: Can the law permit a partner to exercise control over such an intimate and...