Fair dealing operates as a statutory limitation on the exclusive rights of copyright holders, seeking to reconcile the protection of creative expression with the public’s right to access knowledge. In India, this balance is embodied in Section 52 of the Copyright Act, 1957, which adopts a closed-list approach by enumerating specific permissible purposes such as private use, research, education, criticism, review, and reporting of current events. Unlike the open-ended fair use doctrine in the United States, India’s framework affords limited judicial discretion, thereby prioritising legal certainty over flexibility. This paper analyses the scope and evolution of India’s fair dealing provisions through doctrinal and comparative perspectives, with particular emphasis on judicial interpretation in the context of education, research, and free expression. Landmark decisions, including The Chancellor, Masters & Scholars of the University of Oxford v. Rameshwari Photocopy Services, underscore the judiciary’s recognition of access to education as a paramount public interest in a developing economy. While Indian courts do not formally apply a multi-factor test akin to U.S. fair use, they have increasingly considered purpose, proportionality, and market impact to ensure that fair dealing does not undermine the legitimate interests of copyright holders. By situating India’s fair dealing regime within global copyright discourse, this paper argues that although the Indian approach remains narrower than that of the United States and less flexible than models adopted in jurisdictions such as the United Kingdom and Canada, it reflects a context-sensitive legal framework. The study concludes that judicially guided evolution, rather than wholesale statutory reform, has enabled Indian fair dealing to balance innovation with access while responding cautiously to emerging digital and educational challenges.