Constitutional Law

Industrialist Anil Ambani has filed a defamation suit before the Delhi High Court against New Delhi Television (NDTV), seeking damages exceeding Rs 2 crore over what he describes as a sustained campaign of defamatory reporting. The suit, filed in May 2026, alleges that NDTV, now owned by AMG Media Network (a unit of the Adani Group), has published approximately 72 targeted articles linking Ambani personally to CBI and ED proceedings involving Reliance Group entities, despite

The Madhya Pradesh High Court in a recent judgment reaffirmed the constitutional right of minority educational institutions to appoint their own principals without interference from state authorities. The Court held that this right flows directly from Article 30(1) of the Constitution, which guarantees all minorities, whether based on religion or language, the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice. The judgment is significant because it pu

The Supreme Court of India in 2026 took a proactive step towards evaluating how effectively the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 (RPwD Act) is being implemented across the country. In an initiative titled Project Ability Empowerment, the Court directed National Law Universities (NLUs) to conduct comprehensive assessments of RPwD Act compliance in their respective states. This marks a significant judicial effort to move beyond enacting disability rights legislatio

The Kerala High Court has directed the Sub-Registrar and Marriage Officer of Mavelikkara to process and solemnise the marriage of an Indian man and a Sri Lankan woman under the Special Marriage Act, 1954. The order, passed in May 2026, addresses the practical difficulties faced by cross-border couples seeking to register their marriage in India when one party is a foreign national. The ruling clarifies the obligations of Marriage Officers under the Special Marriage Act and re

The Supreme Court of India has raised serious concerns over a November 2025 Delhi High Court judgment that prohibited law colleges across the country from debarring students for shortage of attendance. The bench observed that the ruling may have created significant disruption in legal education institutions, particularly National Law Universities (NLUs), and questioned the Bar Council of India (BCI) on why the decision had not been challenged. This development has reignited t

In Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission v. Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited (2026 INSC 461), decided on May 7, 2026, the Supreme Court held that electricity consumers cannot be compelled to bear depreciation costs for a power plant that has stopped supplying electricity to them. The Court restored the order of the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) and set aside the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (APTEL) judgment that had permitted Tata Power Delhi Dis

The practice of excommunication, known as baraat, within the Dawoodi Bohra community is now being examined by a nine-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court of India. This matter has been clubbed with the larger reference arising from the Sabarimala judgment, which concerns the interplay between religious freedom under Articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution and other fundamental rights. The hearings, which resumed in May 2026, raise fundamental questions about whether r

The Delhi High Court has set aside a 2018 arbitral award in the dispute between PTC Techno Pvt. Ltd. and Samsung India Electronics Pvt. Ltd., holding that the appointment of the arbitrator by an official of Samsung was legally impermissible. The ruling reinforces the principle, now well-established through a series of Supreme Court judgments, that unilateral appointment of an arbitrator by one party to the dispute undermines the fundamental requirement of arbitrator independe

In M/s Steag Energy Services (India) Pvt. Ltd. v. GSPC Pipavav Power Company Ltd. (2026), the Supreme Court reaffirmed the fundamental principle that courts must exercise restraint when reviewing complex contractual and technical decisions made by evaluative authorities in high-value commercial procurement processes. The judgment underscores the importance of respecting the expertise and discretion of bodies constituted to evaluate commercial proposals, and sets clear limits

In Ahsan v. Shambhu Lal Vaishnav (2026 INSC 354), a bench of Justice J.K. Maheshwari and Justice Atul S. Chandurkar enhanced the motor accident compensation for a 14-year-old boy who suffered 100 per cent permanent disability from Rs 12.17 lakh (awarded by the Rajasthan High Court) to Rs 56.83 lakh. The judgment underscores the Supreme Court's approach to ensuring that compensation in motor accident cases reflects the true extent of loss suffered by victims, particularly mino

In Dr. Nigam Prakash Narain v. National Medical Commission (2026 INSC 453), decided on May 6, 2026, the Supreme Court held that a disciplinary authority cannot impose punishment on an employee for a charge that was never framed against him without issuing a fresh show-cause notice. The Court invoked Article 142 of the Constitution to grant relief to a 76-year-old paediatrician whose three-month removal from the Medical Register was reduced to a formal censure. Facts of the C

In a judgment delivered in May 2026, the Supreme Court quashed criminal proceedings against a man accused of rape on the basis of a false promise of marriage, holding that prolonged consensual cohabitation negates the charge under Section 376 of the Indian Penal Code. The bench of Justice K.V. Viswanathan and Justice Manmohan set aside the Bombay High Court's refusal to quash the FIR, emphasising that a consensual relationship that sours cannot be retroactively criminalised a

In Alpha Corp Development Private Limited v. Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority (2026 INSC 449), decided on May 5, 2026, the Supreme Court lifted the corporate veil to include the assets of subsidiary land-holding companies within the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) of the holding company, Earth Infrastructures Limited (EIL). Justices Sanjay Kumar and Alok Aradhe restored the NCLT-approved resolution plans, providing relief to over 4,200 homebuyers

The Telangana High Court has set aside a Family Court interim order that restrained a wife from approaching her husband, his residence, or workplace during pending divorce proceedings. A Division Bench of Justice Moushumi Bhattacharya and Justice Gadi Praveen Kumar held that courts cannot determine mental illness based solely on a spouse's allegations without any medical evidence, and that restricting a person's fundamental right to movement requires strong and credible reaso

On May 6, 2026, the Delhi High Court dismissed a petition seeking to increase the retirement age of doctors and medical officers working in the General Reserve Engineering Force (GREF) and the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) from 60 to 65 years. A division bench of Justices V. Kameswar Rao and Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora held that the fixation of superannuation age is a policy matter falling squarely within the domain of the executive, and courts cannot prescribe a different r