General Legal

India's Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 (PROGA), which received Presidential assent on August 22, 2025, came into full force on May 1, 2026, following the notification of the Online Gaming Rules, 2026, by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) on April 22, 2026. The Act imposes a comprehensive ban on all forms of online money games in India, regardless of whether the game involves skill, chance, or a combination of both. What the Ac

The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has implemented a significant anti-fraud measure for UPI transactions, effective June 1, 2026. Under the new rule, all UPI applications must display only the recipient's official bank-registered name on the final confirmation screen before a payment is authorised. This applies to both person-to-person (P2P) and person-to-merchant (P2M) transactions, replacing custom names and aliases that were previously displayed. How the New

The News Broadcasting and Digital Standards Authority (NBDSA), chaired by Justice A.K. Sikri, on May 28, 2026, directed Aaj Tak to edit or suitably modify portions of a programme hosted by journalist Sudhir Chaudhary that claimed the Taj Mahal was originally a Hindu temple. The NBDSA found that the broadcast fell short of the standards of neutrality and impartiality prescribed under its Code of Conduct, marking a significant intervention in media self-regulation over historic

The Assam Legislative Assembly on May 27, 2026, passed the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) Bill, 2026, making Assam the third Indian state, after Uttarakhand and Gujarat, to clear such a law. The bill targets four core areas: a uniform marriage age, a ban on polygamy, gender-equal inheritance rights, and regulation of live-in relationships. The legislation applies to all communities in the state, with a complete exemption for Scheduled Tribes in both hill and plain areas. Ban on Pol

The National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) on May 27, 2026, launched the E-Prisons Early Release Processing Module at the pan-India level, marking a significant step towards technology-driven processing of remission and premature release cases for eligible prisoners across the country. The module was launched by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, in the presence of Justice Vikram Nath, Executive Chairman of NALSA, and Justice J.K. Maheshwari, Chairman of the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court Collegium, in meetings held on May 22 and 27, 2026, has recommended the elevation of five distinguished legal professionals to the Supreme Court bench. The recommendations include four sitting Chief Justices of High Courts and one senior advocate, in what marks one of the most significant batches of judicial appointments in recent years. If all five are appointed, the Supreme Court's sitting strength will rise to 37 judges. The Five Recommended Names The Col

The Kerala High Court has raised a critical question regarding the classification of nursing services under essential services legislation, observing that the absence of such a declaration leaves public health infrastructure vulnerable during industrial action. The remarks came during hearings related to a statewide nursing strike that paralysed hospital operations across government and private healthcare facilities in Kerala during May 2026. Background of the Nursing Strike

On May 17, 2026, a demolition drive outside the Lucknow District Court complex led to a clash between lawyers and police after civic authorities began dismantling over 240 lawyers' chambers that had been identified as illegal encroachments in the Kaiserbagh area. The demolition was carried out following directions issued by the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court regarding illegal encroachments around the court complex. Protesting lawyers sat in front of bulldozers to h

The Meghalaya Official Language Ordinance, 2026, promulgated on 27 April 2026 with the assent of Governor Chandrashekhar H. Vijayashankar, has officially declared Khasi and Garo as the official languages of Meghalaya alongside English. The Ordinance was issued under Article 213(1) of the Constitution as the State Legislative Assembly was not in session. This ends decades of advocacy by Khasi and Garo linguistic communities, who constitute the overwhelming majority of the stat

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) issued a Gazette Notification dated February 4, 2026, replacing the startup recognition framework that had been in place since 2019. The 2026 Notification marks a significant policy shift by formally recognising and defining "deep tech startups" for the first time in Indian law, while expanding eligibility thresholds and strengthening the regulatory framework for innovation-driven enterprises. Deep tech start

The Ministry of Finance has approved UAE-based Emirates NBD Bank's proposal to acquire up to 74 per cent of the total paid-up equity share capital of RBL Bank Limited. The deal, valued at approximately $3 billion (Rs 26,850 crore), is the largest foreign direct investment in the history of India's financial services sector. The RBI had earlier accorded its approval for the acquisition. The investment agreement was first executed on October 18, 2025, when Emirates NBD expresse

The Delhi High Court on May 18, 2026, ordered the attachment of District Judge Rakesh Kumar V to the Delhi Judicial Academy after a video of a heated altercation between the judge and an advocate at Rohini Court went viral on social media. The incident, which took place on May 16 during court proceedings, involved a clash between the judge and Advocate Rajiv Tehlan, President of the Rohini Court Bar Association. The video showed an increasingly volatile courtroom environment

The Union Cabinet on May 5, 2026, approved an amendment to the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971, making any insult or obstruction to the singing of the national song Vande Mataram a punishable offence carrying up to three years of imprisonment, a fine, or both. The amendment places Vande Mataram on the same legal footing as the national anthem Jana Gana Mana, which has long been protected under the same Act. The proposed change follows the Home Ministry's Fe

The Assam Cabinet on May 13, 2026, approved the draft Uniform Civil Code (UCC) Bill, making Assam the latest Indian state to move towards implementing a uniform set of personal laws. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced that the Bill will be tabled in the Assam Legislative Assembly on May 26, the final day of the upcoming session. The Assam UCC Bill has been tailored to the state's demographic and cultural realities, with complete exemptions for tribal communities in

Chief Justice of India Surya Kant has constituted a Judicial Infrastructure Advisory Committee to prepare a comprehensive roadmap for strengthening judicial infrastructure across India. The committee's mandate includes identifying infrastructural constraints, recommending technology upgrades, and securing governmental support and funding in the range of Rs 40,000 crore to Rs 50,000 crore for courts nationwide. This initiative comes at a time when the Supreme Court's pendency

The Karnataka High Court passed an interim order permitting transwomen to continue their hormone replacement therapy while a constitutional challenge to the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Amendment Act remains pending. The order reflects the Court's recognition that abruptly discontinuing medically supervised hormone therapy poses serious health risks and that the right to healthcare and bodily autonomy cannot be suspended merely because the underlying legislation

The Supreme Court of India has clarified an important procedural aspect of criminal trials: an accused person can exhibit documents that form part of the chargesheet without being required to formally prove the signature or authorship of those documents under Section 294 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (now Section 293 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023). This ruling addresses a practical difficulty that accused persons frequently encounter when seeking t

The Delhi High Court in 2026 passed an order protecting the personality rights of Aman Gupta, co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer of boAt, the popular consumer electronics brand. The Court restrained unnamed entities from using Gupta's name, image, likeness, or voice without authorisation, particularly in connection with fraudulent endorsements, misleading advertisements, and AI-generated deepfake content. The order adds to a growing body of Indian jurisprudence recognisin

The Bombay High Court on May 7, 2026 dismissed the appeals filed by the family members of Sohrabuddin Shaikh, upholding the acquittal of all 22 accused in the 2005 alleged fake encounter case. A Division Bench of Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Gautam Ankhad found that the prosecution had failed to establish the essential elements of its case, including the alleged abduction, illegal detention, and staged encounter killing. The ruling brings to a close one of t

The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Rules 2026, which came into force on May 1, 2026, establish the Online Gaming Authority of India (OGAI) as the centralised regulator for the online gaming industry. Constituted as an attached office of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and headquartered in New Delhi, the OGAI represents a fundamental shift from the earlier fragmented state-level regulatory approach to a unified national framework. This article