Author: Law Files Bureau
For thirteen long years, Harish Rana has existed somewhere between life and death — a 32-year-old man whose body breathes but whose mind has long ceased to respond. His parents have not slept peacefully in over a decade. His father has haunted hospitals, courtrooms, and corridors of power, carrying a grief too heavy for words. On Wednesday, the Supreme Court of India finally heard him — and in doing so, made legal history. In a watershed ruling, a bench comprising Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice KV Viswanathan granted India’s first-ever judicially approved passive euthanasia order, permitting the withdrawal of all…
In a heartfelt ruling that blends modern technology with age-old family law, the Gujarat High Court has opened doors for Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) facing marital breakdowns. Imagine a husband oceans away, yearning to mend or end a troubled marriage, yet shackled by distance—this is the human story behind a landmark decision allowing virtual conciliation in mutual divorce proceedings. Legal Breakthrough for NRI Couples The case spotlights Section 13B of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, which governs mutual consent divorces. Traditionally, courts insist on physical presence during the mandatory conciliation phase to explore reconciliation chances. But for NRIs, international travel often…
Waived notice sparks questions over corporate safeguards Pieter Elbers’ abrupt departure from IndiGo, with his notice period reportedly waived and no successor named, has left India’s largest airline confronting not just a leadership vacuum but also a thicket of legal and governance questions. For thousands of IndiGo employees, the development adds an unexpected layer of uncertainty to an industry already used to volatility in fuel prices, competition and regulation. Externally, investors and passengers may see only a brief announcement and a change of nameplate, but in corporate law terms, a sudden exit at the very top of a listed company…
In a powerful assertion of judicial oversight and human empathy, the Supreme Court of India has issued a stern warning to the Union Secretaries of Defence and Finance. The bench, led by Justices B.V. Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan, expressed profound “disapproval” over the bureaucratic inertia stalling financial and medical benefits for military cadets who are “boarded out” due to injuries sustained during training. The Legal Crux: A Gap in Protection At the heart of this suo motu proceeding is a glaring legal disparity. Currently, soldier recruits who suffer disabilities during training are entitled to certain pensionary and medical benefits. However,…
In a landmark ruling that balances public health safeguards with victims’ rights, India’s Supreme Court has ordered the government to establish a no-fault compensation policy for serious adverse events linked to COVID-19 vaccinations. This decision, delivered on March 10, 2026, by Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta, addresses long-standing pleas from grieving families while upholding existing monitoring systems. The Human Stories Fueling the Fight Picture families shattered by sudden tragedies: Rachna Gangu and Venugopalan Govindan lost their daughters in 2021 after the first Covishield dose, alleging vaccine-induced harm. Similarly, Sayeeda K.A. mourned her husband’s death post-vaccination. These petitioners approached the…
When Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) announced it would maximise LPG output at Jamnagar and redirect KG-D6 gas to “priority sectors,” the boardroom language was measured. The legal implications, however, are anything but. The PSC: A Contract Above Contracts The KG-D6 block does not operate under ordinary commercial law. It is governed by a Production Sharing Contract (PSC) — a tripartite instrument between RIL, its consortium partners, and the Union of India, administered by the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) under the Petroleum and Natural Gas Rules, 1959. The PSC carries quasi-statutory force: it is not merely a private agreement but…
India’s quasi-judicial framework came under intense scrutiny this week as the Supreme Court trained its lens on a troubling institutional blind spot — the near-complete absence of accountability mechanisms governing the heads and members of the country’s statutory tribunals. A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi did not mince words while deliberating on petitions challenging provisions of the Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021, raising a question that strikes at the heart of judicial governance: if tribunal members answer neither to the government nor to the judiciary, who exactly are they answerable to? The Court’s discomfort was rooted…
When Sonam Wangchuk — the soft-spoken Ladakhi innovator turned fierce environmental voice — was locked away under the National Security Act, the legal battle to free him was always going to be messy. But few could have predicted just how drawn out and frustrating that fight would become. On Monday, March 10, India’s Supreme Court once again postponed hearing the habeas corpus petition challenging his detention, pushing it to March 17. For Wangchuk’s family, supporters, and the broader public watching this case unfold, it was yet another week of waiting — and the silence from the bench was loud enough…
In a significant step consolidating India’s bustling payments ecosystem, the esteemed law firm Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co. has stepped in to counsel IndiaIdeas.com Limited—better known as BillDesk—on its ambitious plan to snap up the Indian payment operations of global player Worldline. This proposed transaction isn’t just another merger; it’s a savvy play amid tightening RBI regulations on payment aggregators, where seamless compliance with KYC norms, data localization, and transaction monitoring is non-negotiable. From a legal standpoint, the deal highlights the critical role of due diligence in cross-border fintech M&A. Shardul Amarchand’s team, leveraging deep expertise in corporate structuring and…
India’s Highest Court Sounds the Alarm: Hundreds of Criminal Trials in J&K Stuck in a Legal Limbo There is a quiet injustice unfolding in the courts of Jammu and Kashmir — one that doesn’t make headlines as loudly as a verdict, but cuts just as deep. Hundreds of people are sitting behind bars, day after day, year after year, waiting for a trial that never seems to arrive. On March 10, India’s Supreme Court finally said, in unmistakable terms, that this is simply unacceptable. A bench comprising Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice KV Viswanathan expressed deep dismay after being informed…