Author: Anvita Dwivedi
New Delhi, 28 February 2026: The Supreme Court of India has temporarily stayed a copyright litigation involving competing claims to the audio rights of musical sound recordings from seven classic South Indian films, including the Kamal Haasan-starrer Salangai Oli, Saagara Sangamam, Sankarabharanam, Seetha Kokila Chiluka, Sithara and Thayaramma Bangariah. The top court’s order halts the Madras High Court’s November 2025 decision that had revived portions of the long-running lawsuit between Sreedevi Video Corporation and Saregama India Limited. This dispute titled Saregama India Ltd. v. Sreedevi Video Corporation stems from conflicting claims over copyright ownership in the sound recordings of the…
New Delhi/Calcutta, 28 February 2026: The All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) has announced senior advocate Menaka Guruswamy as one of its candidates for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections scheduled on 16 March 2026. Guruswamy’s nomination has attracted widespread attention, not only for her legal stature but also because she could become India’s first openly LGBTQ Member of Parliament if elected to the Upper House. West Bengal is set to return five members to the Rajya Sabha this year as terms of sitting members expire. With a strong majority in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly, the ruling Trinamool Congress is poised…
New Delhi, 28 February 2026: Justice BV Nagarathna of the Supreme Court of India delivered a powerful keynote address this week on the state of press freedom in the country, cautioning that economic and regulatory pressures pose a serious threat to independent journalism, even where direct censorship is constitutionally prohibited. She emphasised that a press sustained by its readers rather than reliant on corporate or state patronage is best placed to protect its independence and serve the public interest. Speaking at the International Press Institute (IPI) India Award for Excellence in Journalism 2025 event held at the Constitution Club in…
The Supreme Court of India on Friday delivered a strong rebuke to a practising advocate who had filed a petition seeking the registration of a First Information Report (FIR) against Narendra Modi and Amit Shah along with other political leaders in connection with the enactment of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA). The Court declined to entertain the petition and stayed a cost order from the Rajasthan High Court, while warning the advocate against filing similar suits in the future. The matter originated from a petition filed by advocate Puran Chander Sen, who urged the Rajasthan High Court to direct…
The Supreme Court of India has raised significant concerns over the interpretation and implementation of its landmark Lalita Kumari v. Government of Uttar Pradesh judgment, observing that the ruling which traditionally requires police to register a First Information Report (FIR) upon receipt of information disclosing a cognizable offence has been abused extensively, and that its application must be re-examined in the context of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), one of India’s new criminal statutes. A bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and comprising Justice Joymalya Bagchi was hearing a petition challenging several provisions of the BNSS,…
New Delhi, February 27, 2026: The Supreme Court of India has raised serious procedural questions about the nationwide enforcement of the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937 (“Shariat Act”), directing all States and Union Territories (UTs) to file a consolidated report outlining the status of rules framed under the statute. A Bench comprising Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice Augustine George Masih expressed concern that several States/UTs have not framed the requisite rules under Section 4 of the 1937 Act, effectively leaving the law inoperative in crucial aspects for Muslim citizens seeking its protections. Under the Shariat Act, a Muslim…
New Delhi, February 27, 2026: In a significant judicial decision, a special court at the Rouse Avenue Court Complex has discharged Arvind Kejriwal the national convenor of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and former Chief Minister of Delhi along with Manish Sisodia, former Deputy Chief Minister, in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)’s high-profile excise policy corruption case. The order also cleared all other accused, bringing a major turnaround to nearly three years of legal confrontation. Court’s Rationale: No Prima Facie Case, Flawed Chargesheet Presiding Special Judge Jitendra Singh declined to take cognizance of the CBI’s chargesheet, observing that the…
Indore, 27 February 2026: The Madhya Pradesh High Court has delivered a significant order addressing a habeas corpus petition filed by a Bangladeshi national detained in a detention centre for over six years, directing the State to expedite the long-pending criminal trial against her while declining to order her immediate release. The decision reflects the court’s attempt to balance individual liberty, public safety concerns, and the need for a speedy trial. The petitioner, identified as Lima @ Riya Sheikh, a citizen of Bangladesh, filed a writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution contending that her ongoing detention was illegal…
New Delhi, 27 February 2026: The Supreme Court of India has clarified a critical aspect of criminal procedure law holding that the limitation period for filing criminal complaints under the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) begins from the date on which the identity of the accused becomes known to the investigating authority, and not from the date when the first complaint is received. This landmark interpretation affects how time-bars are calculated in regulatory and economic offence prosecutions. A Division Bench of Justices Ahsanuddin Amanullah and S.V.N. Bhatti delivered the judgment in an appeal arising from Kerala, setting aside a Kerala…
Bhopal/Indore, 26 February 2026: The Madhya Pradesh High Court is hearing a significant challenge to the state’s medical admission framework relating to the treatment of Non-Resident Indian (NRI) quota seats in postgraduate medical counselling for NEET PG 2025. A postgraduate medical aspirant has approached the Court seeking a judicial review of Rule 14(2) of the Madhya Pradesh Medical Education Admission Rules, 2018 and an extension of NRI quota protection into the stray vacancy round of counselling. The petition, filed before a Division Bench of Justice Vijay Kumar Shukla and Justice Alok Awasthi, targets the provision in Rule 14(2) that permits…