Data Privacy & IT

Google's April 2026 review policy update introduced the most significant changes to its review guidelines in years, banning AI-generated reviews, on-site review kiosks, staff review quotas, and review gating. These platform-level changes coincide with India's own regulatory push against fake and manipulated online reviews, anchored in the Bureau of Indian Standards IS 19000:2022 standard for online consumer reviews, the CCPA's Dark Patterns Guidelines 2023, and the Consumer P

The Bombay High Court has ordered the removal of AI-generated deepfake content involving actress Shilpa Shetty Kundra, holding that personality rights serve as a shield for women against privacy violations in the digital age. The Court directed multiple social media platforms and websites to take down the offending content, recognising that deepfake technology poses a unique and severe threat to the dignity, reputation, and privacy of individuals, particularly women. This rul

The Karnataka High Court on May 14, 2026, directed the state government and police to remove AI-generated deepfake and morphed content targeting Dharmasthala Dharmadhikari Dr. D Veerendra Heggade and his family from all social media platforms, press outlets, and URLs. Justice SR Krishna Kumar passed the order on a petition that documented the circulation of defamatory AI-manipulated content on social media. This order comes at a time when Indian courts are increasingly grappl

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India notified the Food Safety and Standards (Licensing and Registration of Food Businesses) Amendment Regulations, 2026, effective from April 1, 2026. The most significant change is the introduction of perpetual validity for FSSAI licenses and registrations, eliminating the need for periodic renewals. The amendment also revises turnover thresholds for registration and licensing categories, expands the definition of petty food busine

The Advertising Standards Council of India has updated its influencer advertising guidelines for 2026, strengthening disclosure requirements for paid content across social media platforms. The updated ASCI influencer guidelines now cover AI-generated virtual influencers, require specific disclosure formats for different content types, and introduce monitoring through the National Advertising Monitoring Service. These guidelines apply to all influencers, content creators, and

The Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Amendment Rules, 2026 represent a fundamental shift in how India regulates digital content creators. Notified on 10 February 2026 and effective from 20 February 2026, the amendments transform safe harbour protection from a presumptive right into a conditional privilege. Content creators on YouTube, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), and other platforms now face direct regulatory exposure if they

The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 and its accompanying Rules came into force on 1 May 2026, fundamentally reshaping the regulatory landscape for online gaming in India. The framework creates a distinction between prohibited "online money games" and permissible "online social games," establishes the Online Gaming Authority of India (OGAI) as the central regulator, and introduces criminal penalties of up to three years imprisonment and fines up to Rs 1 cro

The Calcutta High Court, in its judgment in CRR 2270 of 2025 decided on May 8, 2026, quashed criminal proceedings under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 (NI Act) against the wife of a sole proprietor. Justice Uday Kumar held that criminal liability for cheque dishonour cannot be imposed on a non-signatory spouse merely on the basis of vague allegations of "dominion and control" over the proprietorship firm. The ruling draws a clear boundary on vicarious lia

The Gujarat High Court in May 2026 dismissed the plea filed by Narayan Sai, son of self-styled godman Asaram, seeking suspension of his life sentence in the 2013 Surat rape case. A bench of Justices Ilesh J. Vora and R.T. Vachhani rejected the application, observing that Sai was not interested in the expeditious hearing of his appeal against conviction and had instead adopted delay tactics. The dismissal means Sai will continue to serve his life sentence while his appeal agai

The Supreme Court of India has reiterated a critical principle in specific performance litigation: when a court grants a decree of specific performance directing the plaintiff to deposit the balance sale consideration within a stipulated timeframe, the failure to deposit that amount within the specified period renders the decree inexecutable. The ruling reinforces the well-settled position that time-bound conditions in specific performance decrees are not mere procedural form

The Bombay High Court in 2026 dismissed a petition challenging the discharge of Amit Shah, now Union Home Minister, from the Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case. The petitioner sought to challenge the CBI special court's 2014 order that had discharged Shah from the case, arguing that the discharge was improper and that sufficient evidence existed to frame charges. The High Court upheld the discharge order, finding no grounds to interfere with the trial court's assessment o

In a significant development that raises fundamental questions about the integrity of judicial reasoning, the Delhi High Court in February 2026 flagged the possible use of artificial intelligence in drafting a trial court judgment. The case, RFA(COMM) 284/2026, arose from a commercial dispute between SNS Airways Private Limited (operating as Akasa Air) and a travel company. The appellate bench, while hearing the appeal, noted serious discrepancies in the impugned judgment tha

Through a circular dated April 30, 2026, the Securities and Exchange Board of India introduced a fast-track mechanism for processing Placement Memorandums (PPMs) of Alternative Investment Funds. This procedural reform aims to reduce the time taken for AIF scheme launches by streamlining the review process for fund managers with a demonstrated compliance track record. The circular applies to all three categories of AIFs registered under the SEBI (Alternative Investment Funds)

In a significant ruling delivered on 24 April 2026, the Principal Bench of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) held that a creditor's secured status survives the restructuring of debt without requiring fresh modification or registration of the charge with the Registrar of Companies (ROC). The common judgment dismissed three appeals filed by Kotak Mahindra Bank, which had challenged the classification of another lender as a secured financial creditor on the gro

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) notified the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Amendment Rules, 2026 on 10 February 2026, with the rules taking effect from 20 February 2026. These amendments introduce a comprehensive regulatory framework for synthetically generated information (SGI), commonly known as deepfakes and AI-generated content. The centrepiece of the new regime is the compression of two exist