Author: Anvita Dwivedi

The Delhi High Court has stepped into a significant controversy surrounding Jawaharlal Nehru University’s admission process for the 2026–27 academic session, where the university’s long-standing system of awarding “deprivation points” has come under judicial scrutiny. The proceedings concern whether additional points granted to certain candidates on the basis of factors such as the geographical location of their previous education, along with other specified categories, can legitimately be added to scores obtained in the Common University Entrance Test and consequently alter the merit position of candidates competing for admission. The case has acquired particular importance because the issue has arisen after…

The Allahabad High Court is examining an important dispute concerning the acquisition and use of private land in Ayodhya in the course of the city’s expanding development activity around the Ram Janmabhoomi area. The proceedings raise a question that is increasingly significant as Ayodhya undergoes large-scale infrastructure and tourism-related transformation: to what extent can the State acquire private property in the name of public development, and what safeguards must operate when such acquisition affects land situated in an area carrying exceptional religious, historical and public importance. The controversy has to be understood against the extraordinary transformation that Ayodhya has undergone…

The Supreme Court has issued a series of directions aimed at preventing foreign nationals accused under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act from securing bail through fictitious or impersonated sureties and subsequently absconding from the country. The directions have emerged from a case which initially concerned the bail granted to a Nigerian national in a serious narcotics prosecution but gradually developed into a much broader examination of the functioning of the bail and surety system across the country. What began as a dispute over one accused person’s release has consequently exposed a systemic vulnerability in criminal courts: the possibility…

The Supreme Court has referred to a larger Bench the important question whether a contractual clause requiring a party to make a pre-deposit before invoking arbitration can be enforced as a mandatory condition for commencement of arbitral proceedings. The reference assumes considerable significance because the Court’s arbitration jurisprudence presently contains two seemingly different approaches to such clauses, particularly when the earlier decision in S.K. Jain v. State of Haryana is considered alongside the later judgment in ICOMM Tele Ltd. v. Punjab State Water Supply & Sewerage Board. The issue is therefore not merely about the validity of one contractual term…

The Supreme Court has dismissed a plea seeking the abolition of hanging as the method of executing death sentences in India, while leaving it open to the Union Government to examine whether an alternative mode of execution should be introduced. The decision comes against the backdrop of a larger constitutional debate concerning whether the manner in which the State carries out a death sentence must satisfy the same standards of dignity, humanity and proportionality that govern the imposition of the punishment itself. Although the Court has not directed Parliament or the Government to replace hanging, the proceedings have once again…

The Supreme Court is examining a significant constitutional challenge to the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Amendment Act, 2026, with the Union Government informing the Court that transgender identity cards already issued under the earlier legal framework will continue to remain valid. The assurance assumes considerable importance because the amendment has substantially altered the statutory definition of a “transgender person” and removed the earlier express recognition of the right to self-perceived gender identity. The immediate question before the Court is therefore not confined to the validity of the amended law but also concerns the legal position of persons whose identities…

The Calcutta High Court has directed the competent authorities to take an urgent decision on the application of a NEET aspirant seeking an Economically Weaker Section (EWS) certificate, while making it clear that the deletion of the candidate’s mother’s name from the electoral roll could not, by itself, be treated as a ground to deny or indefinitely withhold the certificate. The Court’s intervention brings into focus an important issue concerning the manner in which administrative authorities verify reservation claims and, more importantly, the limits within which such verification must operate. The case assumes significance because an EWS certificate is not…

The Madras High Court has reiterated an important principle concerning the proof of bigamy, holding that a DNA test is not essential to establish the commission of the offence and that the existence of a child from an alleged second relationship cannot, by itself, establish that a legally valid second marriage had taken place. The ruling is significant because it places the legal focus where it properly belongs: on the solemnisation and validity of the alleged second marriage, rather than on biological paternity. The Court’s approach also reflects a larger judicial caution against treating DNA evidence as a universal shortcut…

The Gujarat High Court’s intervention in the criminal defamation proceedings against journalist Ravi Nair has brought into sharp focus the increasingly difficult relationship between investigative journalism, corporate reputation and the criminal law. The proceedings arise from an article co-authored by Nair and former Washington Post New Delhi bureau chief Pranshu Verma concerning alleged investments by the Life Insurance Corporation of India in companies associated with the Adani Group. What makes the matter legally significant is not merely the identity of the parties, but the larger question it presents: to what extent can investigative reporting on matters involving public institutions, public…

The Supreme Court has directed Meta to restore the Facebook page and Instagram account of the Gujarat unit of the Aam Aadmi Party, bringing into sharp focus the constitutional limits on the blocking or suspension of political parties from social-media platforms. The order assumes significance far beyond the immediate dispute because political communication in contemporary India increasingly takes place through privately owned digital platforms. When an established political party loses access to its official digital accounts, the consequence is not merely the temporary loss of an online profile. It can affect the party’s ability to communicate with voters, disseminate political…