Author: Anvita Dwivedi

In a significant ruling that revisits the delicate boundary between civil banking disputes and criminal prosecution, the Supreme Court has quashed criminal proceedings for cheating and forgery initiated against borrowers after a loan dispute had already been resolved through a compromise settlement approved by the Debts Recovery Tribunal (DRT). The judgment is likely to have far-reaching implications for banking litigation, debt recovery mechanisms, and the growing tendency to invoke criminal law in commercial disputes. A Bench comprising Justice B.V. Nagarathna and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan held that allowing criminal prosecution to continue after a judicially recognised settlement of the loan account…

The Supreme Court’s recent refusal to entertain a plea filed by investigative news portal Cobrapost against a trial court order permitting industrialist Anil Ambani to withdraw his defamation suit with liberty to institute a fresh proceeding has once again brought into focus the uneasy intersection between reputation, media freedom, and procedural strategy in defamation litigation. The controversy stems from reports published by Cobrapost and other media organizations alleging that companies linked to Ambani were involved in financial irregularities amounting to over ₹41,000 crore allegations that Ambani has consistently disputed as false, malicious and defamatory. The litigation history itself is significant.…

In a judicial intervention that could fundamentally reshape India’s emergency healthcare landscape, the Supreme Court has ruled that the right to immediate trauma care is an inseparable facet of the Right to Life guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution. Observing that a fragmented emergency system costs thousands of preventable deaths every year, a vacation bench of Justices J.K. Maheshwari and Atul S. Chandurkar issued a comprehensive, time-bound directive to the Union Government, States, and Union Territories to overhaul the nation’s trauma response infrastructure. “When a person suffers an accident or any such similar incident which requires urgent trauma care,…

The constitutional mechanism governing presidential nominations to the Upper House of Parliament has once again withstood judicial scrutiny. The Delhi High Court recently dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) that sought to challenge the appointment of BJP veteran and educationist C. Sadanandan Master to the Rajya Sabha. Characterizing the petition as entirely “devoid of merits,” the bench reinforced the executive privilege in the  President of India under Article 80 of the Constitution. In July 2025, President Droupadi Murmu nominated four eminent personalities to fill long-standing vacancies in the Rajya Sabha under Article 80(1)(a). The elite cohort featured former Foreign Secretary…

In a ruling with significant implications for corporate criminal liability and labour law enforcement, the Allahabad High Court has quashed criminal proceedings initiated against Wipro founder and chairman Azim Premji in connection with alleged violations of labour legislation. The judgment reflects the judiciary’s continuing insistence that criminal prosecution of senior corporate officials cannot rest merely on designation or symbolic association with a company, absent specific allegations demonstrating direct involvement or statutory responsibility. The case originated from a complaint filed in 2016 concerning alleged violations of the Equal Remuneration Act, 1976 during an inspection of G4S Secure Solutions India Pvt. Ltd.,…

In a significant ruling reinforcing the principles of waiver, acquiescence, and procedural fairness in arbitral proceedings, the Supreme Court has held that a party which participated in arbitration proceedings and accepted extensions of the arbitrator’s mandate cannot subsequently challenge the arbitral award on the ground that the mandate had expired. The decision marks another important judicial attempt to preserve the efficacy and commercial credibility of India’s arbitration regime while discouraging tactical challenges raised only after an unfavourable award. The dispute before the Court arose from objections raised against an arbitral award on the plea that the arbitrator’s mandate had expired…

The Supreme Court’s recent refusal to interfere with a Delhi High Court order directing a journalist to delete social media posts accusing a male co-passenger of molestation during a flight has reignited a difficult constitutional debate: where should the law draw the line between a survivor’s right to narrate her experience and an individual’s right to reputation and due process? A Bench comprising Justices B.V. Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan dismissed the Special Leave Petition challenging the High Court’s interim injunction. During the hearing, Justice Nagarathna reportedly questioned the necessity of immediately approaching social media platforms with allegations that had not…

The Supreme Court’s recent observation that it cannot compel advocates to appear only through virtual mode and can merely “appeal” to the Bar has once again exposed the uneasy relationship between judicial modernisation, professional autonomy and the enduring culture of physical courtroom advocacy in India’s legal system. The remarks came amid concerns arising from the ongoing fuel crisis linked to escalating tensions in West Asia, which had prompted suggestions that lawyers be encouraged to attend hearings virtually to minimise disruption and logistical difficulties. The Court’s response may appear procedural at first glance, yet it raises far deeper institutional questions concerning…

The Supreme Court’s recent decision validating the Election Commission of India’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls has emerged as a defining constitutional moment in the continuing debate over electoral integrity, voter inclusion and the scope of institutional autonomy under Article 324 of the Constitution. By concluding that the exercise satisfies the constitutional test of proportionality, the Court has effectively strengthened the Election Commission’s authority to undertake rigorous verification of electoral rolls while simultaneously reopening larger concerns regarding disenfranchisement, citizenship scrutiny and procedural fairness in the world’s largest democracy. The litigation arose after several petitions challenged the legality of…

The Supreme Court of India refused to grant an urgent hearing for a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking the strict enforcement of anti-cow slaughter laws across states ahead of the upcoming Bakrid (Eid-al-Adha) festival on May 28, 2026. A Vacation Bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi made it clear that regular listing protocols cannot be bypassed for applications filed with sudden, eleventh-hour desperation. The matter was brought to the court’s attention via an oral mentioning by Advocate Barun Kumar Sinha, representing the petitioner, Satish Kumar Aggarwal former Vice-President of the Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha.…