Sansa Law Desk

A will is a legal declaration of how a person wishes their property to be distributed after death. Making a valid will in India is one of the most effective ways to avoid disputes among heirs, ensure that your assets go to the people you intend, and provide for dependants. The good news is that a will need not be complicated or expensive; what matters is that it meets the legal requirements for validity. This guide explains who can make a will, how it should be drafted and si

A court marriage in India is solemnised under the Special Marriage Act, 1954, a central law that allows any two persons to marry regardless of their religion, caste or community. Because it is secular and does not require any religious ceremony, the Act is widely used by inter faith and inter caste couples, as well as by anyone who simply prefers a civil marriage before a Marriage Officer. This guide explains who is eligible, the mandatory thirty day notice, the documents you

A legal notice is a formal written communication that tells the recipient about a grievance and demands a specific action within a stated time, failing which the sender intends to take legal proceedings. Knowing how to send a legal notice in India is useful in a wide range of situations, from recovering an unpaid debt or a bounced cheque to disputes over property, employment, consumer goods and rent. While a legal notice is not always legally compulsory, it is often the sensi

The Bombay High Court has set aside a tax demand of about Rs 1,524 crore raised on Tata Sons in connection with the payment it made to Japan's NTT Docomo under an international arbitral award. In its judgment of 30 April 2026 in Tata Sons Private Limited versus Union of India, the Court held that money paid as damages pursuant to an arbitral award is not a taxable supply of service under the goods and services tax framework. The decision is significant for businesses because

A question that affects thousands of law students across India is now before the Supreme Court: can a college bar a student from sitting examinations only because the student has fallen short of the minimum attendance requirement? In May 2026 the Supreme Court declined to stay a Delhi High Court ruling that had answered this question in favour of students, while making clear that it would hear the matter fully and lay down the correct legal position. The case touches the long

On 25 May 2026 the Supreme Court of India drew attention to a long standing weakness in the civil justice system: the difficulty litigants face in actually enforcing decrees they have won. A Bench of Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Justice Pankaj Mithal took suo motu note of the fact that the draft Commercial Courts Rules, 2021 had still not been notified, and observed that the country faces a huge challenge in the effective and expeditious disposal of execution petitions. For ord

The Kerala High Court on 25 May 2026 enhanced the punishment of twelve persons convicted in the Attappadi Madhu lynching case to life imprisonment, marking a significant moment in one of Kerala's most closely watched mob violence prosecutions. Madhu, a young Adivasi man with a mental illness, was assaulted by a group of people in February 2018 at Attappadi in Palakkad district after being accused of stealing rice and groceries from a local shop. He died shortly after the assa

Many people want to know how to change their name legally in India, whether after marriage, for personal reasons, or to correct a spelling. The legal name change process in India follows a well-established three-step route: executing an affidavit, publishing a notice in a newspaper, and notifying the change in the Gazette of India. This guide explains each step, the documents you need, the fees involved, and how to use your new name across official records. Step 1: Execute a

When a family member passes away, one of the first practical questions is how to establish who the legal heirs are and how to claim the deceased person's assets. In India this involves two distinct documents that are often confused: the legal heir certificate and the succession certificate. They are issued by different authorities, under different laws, and for different purposes. This guide explains the difference, when you need each, and the step-by-step process to obtain t

Filing for mutual consent divorce in India is the quickest and least adversarial way for a married couple to end their marriage when both spouses agree to separate. For Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, and Sikhs, the process is governed by Section 13B of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955. This guide explains the step-by-step procedure, the documents required, the cooling-off period, and how the Supreme Court has allowed that waiting period to be waived in appropriate cases. Who Can File

Knowing how to file an FIR in India is one of the most useful pieces of legal knowledge an ordinary citizen can have, because the First Information Report is the document that sets the criminal justice process in motion. Under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, which replaced the Code of Criminal Procedure from 1 July 2024, the registration of an FIR is governed by Section 173, and the law now expressly allows information to be given electronically. This guide expl

The Delhi High Court has restrained an electronics retailer from screening cinematograph films on televisions in its stores without obtaining a licence from the relevant copyright society. The order, passed in a suit filed by a copyright society that administers public performance rights in films, is a useful reminder that playing films or music in a commercial space is a regulated act under the Copyright Act, 1957, and not a free incidental use simply because the business is

The Supreme Court is hearing a constitutional challenge to the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023, the law that removed the Chief Justice of India from the panel that selects Election Commissioners. A bench of Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Satish Chandra Sharma is examining whether the 2023 Act undermines the independence of the Election Commission by leaving the appointment proce

The Supreme Court has empowered District Collectors across the country to enforce the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2026 by directing that statutory powers under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 be delegated to them. A bench of Justice Pankaj Mithal and Justice S.V.N. Bhatti issued the directions, treating the failure of waste management as a matter requiring coercive enforcement at the district level rather than distant regulatory oversight. The order gives district ad

The Supreme Court has held that meritorious candidates with disabilities who clear a selection on their own merit are entitled to be appointed against unreserved vacancies, and not adjusted against the quota reserved for persons with benchmark disabilities. The direction, issued in proceedings linked to Justice Sunanda Bhandare Foundation v. Union of India, reinforces the principle of upward movement and clarifies a long-running confusion about how disability reservation inte