Sansa Law Desk

In Jyoti Sharma v Vishnu Goyal, the Supreme Court of India has ruled that a tenant can never become the owner of a rented property through adverse possession, regardless of the duration of occupation. The bench of Justices J.K. Maheshwari and K. Vinod Chandran held that tenancy is a legal relationship based on permission, not hostility, and that a tenant's possession cannot transform into adverse possession against the landlord. The ruling overturned a lower court decision th

The Reserve Bank of India has issued revised guidelines on the opening and operation of current accounts, cash credit accounts, and overdraft facilities by borrowers with aggregate banking exposure of Rs 10 crore or more. The new framework, effective from April 1, 2026, tightens controls on where large borrowers can maintain current accounts, imposes periodic review obligations on banks, and introduces stricter timelines for addressing non-compliance. The rules apply to all s

In M.K. Ranjitsinh v Union of India, the Supreme Court of India has, for the first time, explicitly recognised that the right to be free from the adverse effects of climate change is a fundamental right under the Constitution. A Division Bench led by the then Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud held that Articles 14 (right to equality) and 21 (right to life and personal liberty) together confer upon every citizen the right against the adverse effects of climate change. This ruling

India's Green Credit Programme, established under the Green Credit Rules, 2023, notified on October 12, 2023, under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, creates a market-based mechanism to incentivise environmentally positive activities. Participants who undertake qualifying activities, such as tree plantation, water conservation, or sustainable agriculture, can earn tradable Green Credits. These credits can be bought and sold on a dedicated platform, creating a financial

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has notified the New Drugs and Clinical Trials (Amendment) Rules, 2026, introducing significant changes to the regulatory framework governing drug approvals, clinical trials, and non-commercial manufacture in India. The amendment, which became effective on March 7, 2026, refines the New Drugs and Clinical Trials Rules, 2019 by introducing prior-intimation pathways for lower-risk activities and halving the regulatory review timeline fr

The Central Drugs Standard Control Organization has issued a directive to all State Drug Controllers requiring strict enforcement of licensing requirements for medical devices used in In Vitro Fertilisation and Assisted Reproductive Technology procedures. The directive targets the widespread sale and distribution of IVF-related devices, including intrauterine insemination kits and centrifuges for sperm washing, by firms that have not obtained the requisite licence under the M

The Union Budget 2026 introduced a significant increase in Securities Transaction Tax rates on futures and options contracts, effective from April 1, 2026. STT on the sale of futures contracts has been raised from 0.02 percent to 0.05 percent, a 150 percent increase. On the sale of options, the rate on premium has been raised from 0.10 percent to 0.15 percent, while the rate on exercise of options has moved from 0.125 percent to 0.15 percent. These increases apply to all deri

The Directorate General of Foreign Trade has removed the Rs 10 lakh per-consignment value cap on exports made through courier services and foreign post offices. Notification No. 67/2025-26, dated March 27, 2026, amends Paragraph 9.05 of the Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) 2023 and takes effect from April 1, 2026. The change eliminates a structural bottleneck that forced exporters shipping higher-value goods through courier to switch to traditional cargo channels, a process that in

The Reserve Bank of India has introduced a new regulatory classification for non-banking financial companies that neither accept public funds nor maintain a customer interface and hold assets below Rs 1,000 crore. Termed "Unregistered Type I NBFCs," these entities are now exempt from the requirement of registration under Section 45-IA of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934, with effect from April 1, 2026. The move is part of RBI's broader recalibration of NBFC regulation unde

The Industrial Relations Code (Amendment) Act, 2026, passed by Parliament in February 2026, marks a significant milestone in India's labour law reform journey. The amendment formally repeals three foundational labour statutes: the Trade Unions Act, 1926, the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946, and the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947. These three laws, which governed trade union registration, employment conditions in industrial establishments, and the resolution o

Parliament has passed the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2026, marking the largest single-stroke decriminalisation exercise in Indian legislative history. The Lok Sabha approved the Bill on April 1 and the Rajya Sabha on April 3, 2026. The legislation amends 784 provisions across 79 Central Acts administered by 23 Ministries, decriminalising 717 provisions to promote ease of doing business and rationalising 67 provisions to improve ease of living. For businesses,

India has formally moved to regulate deepfakes and AI-generated content through the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Amendment Rules, 2026. These amendments introduce a structured regime for synthetically generated information, imposing a three-hour takedown deadline for certain categories of harmful AI content and new labelling, traceability, and due diligence requirements for intermediaries. For social media platforms, AI compan

The Karnataka Labour Welfare Fund (Amendment) Act, 2025, which came into effect on January 7, 2026, has significantly expanded the scope of the state's labour welfare fund by reducing the mandatory applicability threshold from establishments employing 50 or more persons to those employing 10 or more persons. This change brings thousands of additional small and medium businesses in Karnataka under the fund's compliance requirements. For employers operating in the state, unders

The Income-tax Rules, 2026, notified by the Central Board of Direct Taxes on March 20, 2026, have expanded the list of cities eligible for the higher 50 percent House Rent Allowance exemption from four to eight. Effective April 1, 2026, salaried employees in Bengaluru, Pune, Hyderabad, and Ahmedabad now qualify for the same 50 percent HRA deduction that was previously available only to employees in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, and Kolkata. This change recognises the rapid urbanisa

The Securities and Exchange Board of India notified the SEBI (Mutual Funds) Regulations, 2026, effective from April 1, 2026, replacing the earlier SEBI (Mutual Funds) Regulations, 1996. Alongside, SEBI released a comprehensive Master Circular dated March 20, 2026, consolidating all existing circulars, guidelines, and directives applicable to mutual funds into a single reference document. Together, these instruments create a modernised regulatory framework for India's rapidly