LIJDLR

Volume IV Issue II

IN RE: SECTION 6A OF THE CITIZENSHIP ACT, 1955: PARLIAMENT’S POWER, EQUALITY AND ASSAM’S EXCEPTIONALISM

Volume IV Issue II /

IN RE: SECTION 6A OF THE CITIZENSHIP ACT, 1955: PARLIAMENT’S POWER, EQUALITY AND ASSAM’S EXCEPTIONALISM Aditya Kumar, Research Scholar at NUSRL, Ranchi (India) Download Manuscript doi.org/10.70183/lijdlr.2026.v04.254 The Supreme Court’s judgment in the case In Re: Section 6A of The Citizenship Act, 1955 marks a defining moment in Indian citizenship jurisprudence especially at a time when citizenship as concept is one of the most important topics discussed around the world. The judgment puts to the end the long-standing controversy around the legitimacy of Section 6A of The Citizenship Act, 1955 since 1985. The judgment addresses major question related to parliament’s power under Article 11 of the constitution especially relating to whether any exercise under Article 11 would require altering other provisions of the constitution within part II of the constitution. The judgment further evaluated the scope of Article 14, 29 and 355 in context of parliamentary legislative authority on citizenship laws. This case commentary examines the factual background, constitutional issues, arguments advanced by the parties, and the reasoning adopted by both the majority and the dissent. It critically evaluates the Court’s interpretation of Articles 11, 14, 29(1), and 355, as well as Justice Pardiwala’s dissent questioning the validity of Section 6A. The commentary reinforces Parliament’s legislative discretion in enacting laws on citizenship while accepting that constitutional validity does not mean effective implementation. The commentary reinstates that the decision will definitely shape future debates on citizenship, illegal immigration, federalism, and migration governance on citizenship in contemporary India.

IN RE: SECTION 6A OF THE CITIZENSHIP ACT, 1955: PARLIAMENT’S POWER, EQUALITY AND ASSAM’S EXCEPTIONALISM Read More »

THE TYRANNY OF CONSTITUTIONAL SILENCE: ANALYZING THE VACUUM OF BINDING LAW IN INDIAN HUNG ASSEMBLIES

Volume IV Issue II /

THE TYRANNY OF CONSTITUTIONAL SILENCE: ANALYZING THE VACUUM OF BINDING LAW IN INDIAN HUNG ASSEMBLIES Gowthaman. M, Advocate at High court of Madras (India) Selvaprasad. T, LL.M (IPR Law), 3rd Semester, Student at Government Law College Thiruchirappalli, affiliated with Tamil Nadu Dr. Ambedkar Law University, Chennai (India) Download Manuscript doi.org/10.70183/lijdlr.2026.v04.253 This paper analyses the profound legal vacuum and structural vulnerabilities embedded in the Indian constitutional framework during a “Hung Assembly.” While Article 164(1) empowers the Governor to appoint the Chief Minister, the text remains entirely silent on the procedure to be followed when an absolute electoral majority is absent. Consequently, this constitutional silence transforms an otherwise formal executive function into an unregulated exercise of “situational discretion.” By critically examining historical and contemporary political crises, including Karnataka 2018, Maharashtra 2019, and Tamil Nadu 2026, this study highlights how the lack of binding law fosters partisan gubernatorial action, encourages unethical horse-trading, and undermines the anti-defection ethos of the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution.  While judicial interventions most notably the landmark S.R. Bommai v. Union of India (1994) 3 SCC 1 established the “floor test” as the definitive laboratory for proving a majority, the initial window of invitation granted by a Governor remains a lawless zone prone to manipulation. Furthermore, this paper evaluates the recommendatory frameworks offered by the Sarkaria Commission (1988) and the Punchhi Commission (2010), contrasting their lack of statutory teeth with the urgent necessity for a codified, binding instrument of instructions. Using a doctrinal and analytical research methodology, this paper argues that relying on unwritten constitutional conventions is no longer sustainable in India’s highly fragmented, multi-party federal polity. Ultimately, the study concludes with an actionable legislative proposal to formally codify the order of preference for government formation, thereby safeguarding democratic legitimacy from executive overreach.

THE TYRANNY OF CONSTITUTIONAL SILENCE: ANALYZING THE VACUUM OF BINDING LAW IN INDIAN HUNG ASSEMBLIES Read More »

RIGHT TO INTERNET ACCESS: A CONSTITUTIONAL AND HUMAN RIGHTS PERSPECTIVE IN THE DIGITAL AGE

Volume IV Issue II /

RIGHT TO INTERNET ACCESS: A CONSTITUTIONAL AND HUMAN RIGHTS PERSPECTIVE IN THE DIGITAL AGE Gautam Kumar Mahto, Phd Scholar at Radha Govind University, Ramgarh, Jharkhand (India) Download Manuscript doi.org/10.70183/lijdlr.2026.v04.252 In the digital age, access to the Internet has become central to the effective enjoyment of constitutional freedoms and human rights. This paper examines whether Internet access should be recognised as an independent fundamental right or as a derivative right that enables the exercise of existing rights such as freedom of speech and expression, education, privacy, trade, access to information, and democratic participation. The study adopts a doctrinal and comparative legal methodology, relying on constitutional provisions, judicial decisions, international human rights instruments, United Nations resolutions, policy documents, and scholarly literature. It also considers comparative developments in selected jurisdictions to understand how different legal systems have approached digital connectivity and Internet-related rights. The paper finds that although the Indian Constitution does not expressly guarantee a right to Internet access, judicial interpretation has increasingly linked Internet access with Articles 19 and 21. Decisions such as Anuradha Bhasin v. Union of India and Faheema Shirin R.K. v. State of Kerala demonstrate that Internet connectivity is constitutionally significant for speech, profession, education, and privacy. At the international level, United Nations human rights standards affirm that rights protected offline must also be protected online and condemn arbitrary disruptions of access to information. The paper further argues that Internet shutdowns must satisfy the tests of legality, necessity, proportionality, and reasonableness. It concludes that meaningful, affordable, and non-discriminatory Internet access is no longer a mere technological convenience but an essential condition for dignity, equality, democratic participation, access to public services, and inclusive development in contemporary modern society.

RIGHT TO INTERNET ACCESS: A CONSTITUTIONAL AND HUMAN RIGHTS PERSPECTIVE IN THE DIGITAL AGE Read More »

MISAPPROPRIATION OF INDIGENOUS TRADITIONAL DESIGNS: THE NEED FOR SUI GENERIS PROTECTION

Volume IV Issue II /

MISAPPROPRIATION OF INDIGENOUS TRADITIONAL DESIGNS: THE NEED FOR SUI GENERIS PROTECTION Zainab Zubair, BA.LLB (H), 9th Semester, Student at UPES, Dehradun (India) Download Manuscript doi.org/10.70183/lijdlr.2026.v04.251 There exists a vast cultural heritage of indigenous peoples all over the globe, which is demonstrated through traditional artistic patterns and designs, bearing significant cosmological and spiritual importance for communities of indigenous peoples. Yet, intellectual property law of today is hardly designed to protect it. Indigenous traditional knowledge (ITK) and traditional cultural expressions (TCEs) are communal, intergenerational, and spiritually rooted knowledge systems that existing legal regimes including copyright, trademark, and design patent protection — were not designed to accommodate. The weaknesses inherent in the existing intellectual property systems in protecting indigenous traditional designs against commercial exploitation are analyzed in this research, which posits that only a sui generis legal system can provide effective protection. This study evaluates the various domestic sui generis initiatives in four different nations – New Zealand, Panama, Australia, and India, using a comparative approach to identify the common elements of successful design protection systems. In addition, this study considers the existing international legal framework in relation to the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing, the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), and WIPO-IGC negotiations on genetic resources, traditional knowledge and folklore. The research work provides the sui generis model framework based on the comparative and normative analysis. Some of its elements are voluntary registration, moral rights for the sake of cultural integrity, obligation to share benefits, prior informed consent, collective rights of indigenous people, and enforceable civil remedies. According to the conclusions reached by the research work, the protection of indigenous traditional designs should include legislative measures both on the national and international levels because it involves matters of cultural self-determination and indigenous dignity.

MISAPPROPRIATION OF INDIGENOUS TRADITIONAL DESIGNS: THE NEED FOR SUI GENERIS PROTECTION Read More »

ROLE OF ARBITRATION IN CROSS-BORDER MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS: LEGAL LANDSCAPE AND ENFORCEMENT CHALLENGES

Volume IV Issue II /

ROLE OF ARBITRATION IN CROSS-BORDER MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS: LEGAL LANDSCAPE AND ENFORCEMENT CHALLENGES Dr. Shreya Bhardwaj, Assistant Professor at Gitarattan International Business School Affiliated with Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University (GGSIPU) (India) Herambh Bhatia, 3rd year, Student at Gitarattan International Business School Affiliated with Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University (GSSIPU) (India) Download Manuscript doi.org/10.70183/lijdlr.2026.v04.250 Cross-border mergers and acquisitions sit at the intersection of corporate law, private international law, and commercial risk allocation, and disputes arising from them rarely fit neatly inside the courts of a single jurisdiction. Arbitration has become the dispute resolution mechanism of choice for such transactions because it offers a neutral forum, confidentiality, party autonomy in selecting decision-makers, and most importantly a relatively reliable path to cross-border enforcement under the New York Convention. This paper examines the legal architecture that supports arbitration in cross-border M&A and tests that architecture against the practical reality of enforcement. Rather than retelling the familiar doctrinal story of arbitration’s rise, the paper concentrates on three friction points that recur in M&A arbitration practice: first, the arbitrability of disputes that straddle private contract and public corporate-law remedies, particularly shareholder oppression and minority-protection claims; second, the interpretation of risk-allocation devices such as Material Adverse Change (“MAC”) clauses when tested through arbitration rather than litigation; and third, the structural gap between an arbitral award on paper and an arbitral award actually collected, given the discretionary refusal grounds under Article V of the New York Convention. Drawing on current institutional data from the ICC and SIAC, recent case law including the NSW Supreme Court’s decision in Cosette Pharmaceuticals Inc v Mayne Pharma Group Limited on MAC-based termination, the English Commercial Court’s decision in BM Brazil v Sibanye, and the evolving Indian arbitrability jurisprudence culminating in Vidya Drolia and the Anupam Mittal litigation, the paper argues that the legal landscape is converging toward arbitration-friendliness in principle while remaining fragmented in enforcement practice. The paper closes with a set of practical drafting and policy recommendations directed at transactional lawyers, arbitral institutions, and legislators, aimed at narrowing the gap between the promise of arbitral finality and the reality of cross-border collection.

ROLE OF ARBITRATION IN CROSS-BORDER MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS: LEGAL LANDSCAPE AND ENFORCEMENT CHALLENGES Read More »

THE PRECAUTIONARY PRINCIPLE IN BILATERAL INVESTMENT TREATIES: BALANCING ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AND FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT

Volume IV Issue II /

THE PRECAUTIONARY PRINCIPLE IN BILATERAL INVESTMENT TREATIES: BALANCING ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AND FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT Kadidja Said, PhD Candidate in International Law at Southwest University of Political Science and Law (SWUPL), Chongqing, China Download Manuscript doi.org/10.70183/lijdlr.2026.v04.249 This paper examines the integration of the precautionary principle (PP) into Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs) as a legal mechanism for reconciling environmental protection with foreign direct investment (FDI). It traces the evolution of the PP from international environmental law, particularly the Rio Declaration, into international economic and investment law, with attention to its treatment in the European Union and the World Trade Organization. The paper first explains the conceptual and normative foundations of precaution, including its relevance where scientific uncertainty surrounds risks of serious or irreversible environmental harm. It then considers the WTO experience, including EC–Hormones, to show how precautionary reasoning remains constrained by requirements of scientific evidence, risk assessment, and proportionality. Thereafter, the paper assesses the gradual and still cautious incorporation of environmental and sustainable development provisions into modern BITs and related treaty models, including examples such as CETA, the EU–Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement, the BLEU Model BIT, and the Morocco–Nigeria BIT. It further analyses the tensions that may arise between precautionary environmental measures and traditional investment protection standards, particularly fair and equitable treatment and indirect expropriation, with reference to arbitral practice such as Chemtura v Canada. Through doctrinal and comparative analysis of treaty practice, arbitral decisions, and academic literature, the paper argues that these tensions are not irreconcilable. It proposes clearer treaty drafting, express recognition of States’ regulatory autonomy, and the promotion of sustainable and green investment policies. Ultimately, the paper concludes that the precautionary principle can assist in aligning international investment governance with sustainable development while preserving investor confidence and environmental protection.

THE PRECAUTIONARY PRINCIPLE IN BILATERAL INVESTMENT TREATIES: BALANCING ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AND FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT Read More »

ROLE OF JUDICIARY IN THE PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN INDIA

Volume IV Issue II /

ROLE OF JUDICIARY IN THE PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN INDIA Yashika Walia, LL.M, 2nd Semester, Student at Rayat Bahra University (India) Parul Singh, Assistant Prof. at Rayat Bahra University (India) Download Manuscript doi.org/10.70183/lijdlr.2026.v04.248 The value of human rights becomes meaningful only when legal guarantees are supported by effective and enforceable remedies. In India, the judiciary has played a decisive role in transforming constitutional promises into practical protection through judicial review, writ jurisdiction, public interest litigation and purposive interpretation of fundamental rights. This dissertation examines the role of the Supreme Court of India and the High Courts in protecting human rights, with particular reference to Articles 32, 226 and 21 of the Constitution. It traces the doctrinal development of Indian human-rights jurisprudence through leading decisions including Kesavananda Bharati, Maneka Gandhi, Hussainara Khatoon, Olga Tellis, Vishaka, D.K. Basu, Justice K.S. Puttaswamy and Navtej Singh Johar. The study adopts a doctrinal and analytical methodology based on constitutional provisions, statutes, landmark judgments, international human-rights instruments and selected scholarly literature. It argues that the judiciary has been most effective where it has widened access to justice, protected vulnerable groups, restrained executive arbitrariness and interpreted life and liberty in terms of dignity, fairness and autonomy. At the same time, judicial protection is limited by implementation deficits, docket pressure, institutional capacity and the need to respect separation of powers. The dissertation concludes that while the Indian judiciary remains central to the protection of human rights, sustainable protection requires legal aid, administrative accountability, legislative support, police and prison reform, rights education and faithful adherence to constitutional values.

ROLE OF JUDICIARY IN THE PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN INDIA Read More »

A PROCEDURAL SHIFT IN CRIMINAL LAW: PRE-COGNIZANCE HEARINGS UNDER SECTION 223 OF THE BHARATIYA NAGARIK SURAKSHA SANHITA, 2023

Volume IV Issue II /

A PROCEDURAL SHIFT IN CRIMINAL LAW: PRE-COGNIZANCE HEARINGS UNDER SECTION 223 OF THE BHARATIYA NAGARIK SURAKSHA SANHITA, 2023 Vivek Kulshrestha, B.Sc. LL.B. (H), 5th Semester, Student at National Law Institute University, Bhopal (India) Download Manuscript doi.org/10.70183/lijdlr.2026.v04.247 Section 223 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (“BNSS”) fundamentally alters the procedural architecture of complaint-case adjudication in Indian criminal law. Under the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (“CrPC”), the stage preceding issuance of process was ordinarily ex parte: the Magistrate examined the complainant, evaluated the threshold material and, if sufficient ground existed, issued process without any participation by the proposed accused. The first proviso to Section 223(1) now prohibits cognizance without giving the accused an opportunity of being heard. The Supreme Court of India, in its landmark decisions in Kushal Kumar Agarwal v Directorate of Enforcement (2025) and Parvinder Singh v Directorate of Enforcement (2026), has characterised this protection as mandatory, substantive and integral to the Article 21 guarantee of fair trial. Yet the provision leaves several critical questions unresolved: the precise point at which the hearing must occur, the materials that may be considered, the permissible degree of participation, its interaction with special statutes such as the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 and the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, and the consequences for expeditious justice. This paper employs doctrinal and comparative legal research methodology to argue that Section 223 should be understood as creating “controlled threshold adversariality”—a meaningful but confined hearing directed to legal maintainability and the existence of a prima facie basis for cognizance, without permitting cross-examination, contested defence evidence or a premature trial. Through a comprehensive analysis of the emerging judicial precedent, statutory architecture and constitutional implications, this paper further proposes a uniform procedural framework of ten practice directions designed to reconcile the protection against abusive prosecution with the complainant’s right of access to justice.

A PROCEDURAL SHIFT IN CRIMINAL LAW: PRE-COGNIZANCE HEARINGS UNDER SECTION 223 OF THE BHARATIYA NAGARIK SURAKSHA SANHITA, 2023 Read More »

LAND, ENVIRONMENT, AND THE CONSTITUTION: CONTEMPORARY CHALLENGES IN URBAN DEVELOPMENT

Volume IV Issue II /

LAND, ENVIRONMENT, AND THE CONSTITUTION: CONTEMPORARY CHALLENGES IN URBAN DEVELOPMENT Mayur Mahajan, BBA LLB (H), 5th Semester, Student at Jaipur National University (India) Mayank Sharma, BBA LLB (H), 5th Semester, Student at Jaipur National University (India) Lokender Singh, BBA LLB (H), 3th Semester, Student at Jaipur National University (India) Download Manuscript doi.org/10.70183/lijdlr.2026.v04.246 India’s accelerated urbanisation has intensified conflicts between private land interests and environmental protection in infrastructure, housing, and industrial development, particularly within wetlands, floodplains, forest margins, coastal zones, and other ecologically sensitive areas. This study examines the constitutional balance between property rights under Article 300A and environmental obligations flowing from Articles 21, 48A, and 51A(g) of the Constitution of India. Adopting a doctrinal and analytical methodology, it analyses the Environment (Protection) Act 1986, the Environmental Impact Assessment Notification 2006, the Water and Air pollution-control statutes, the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act 2013, the National Green Tribunal Act 2010, representative town-planning laws, and relevant judicial precedents. Particular attention is given to the Supreme Court’s and the National Green Tribunal’s application of sustainable development, the precautionary principle, the polluter-pays principle, and the public trust doctrine in resolving land-use conflicts. The study finds that, although the legal framework recognises both ecological protection and procedural safeguards against arbitrary deprivation of property, its implementation is weakened by fragmented institutional authority, project-specific rather than strategic assessment, inadequate post-clearance monitoring, and limited meaningful public participation. It further compares India’s framework with the European Union’s Strategic Environmental Assessment model, the United States’ National Environmental Policy Act process, Singapore’s integrated statutory land-use planning, and Australia’s environmental assessment and biodiversity-protection regime. Drawing on these approaches, the article proposes statutory adoption of strategic environmental assessment for metropolitan and regional plans; concurrent integration of environmental clearances, ecological inventories, and master-plan zoning; accessible local-language consultation; independent lifecycle compliance audits supported by digital and GIS-based monitoring; strengthened municipal capacity; and a principled compensation framework where environmental restrictions substantially impair land use. The study argues that sustainable and equitable urban development requires coordinated governance that treats ecological resilience as integral, rather than incidental, to constitutionally lawful development.

LAND, ENVIRONMENT, AND THE CONSTITUTION: CONTEMPORARY CHALLENGES IN URBAN DEVELOPMENT Read More »

PROTECTION OF VULNERABLE WITNESSES IN SEXUAL OFFENCE TRIALS: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF VULNERABLE WITNESS DEPOSITION CENTRES IN JHARSUGUDA DISTRICT

Volume IV Issue II /

PROTECTION OF VULNERABLE WITNESSES IN SEXUAL OFFENCE TRIALS: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF VULNERABLE WITNESS DEPOSITION CENTRES IN JHARSUGUDA DISTRICT Khetramani Ati, Assistant Professor at P.G Department of Law, Sambalpur University, Odisha (India) Samyak Nayak, LL.M, Student at P.G Department of Law, Sambalpur University, Odisha (India) Download Manuscript doi.org/10.70183/lijdlr.2026.v04.245 The protection of vulnerable witnesses has become a cornerstone of India’s evolving victim-centric criminal justice system, particularly in the prosecution of sexual offences. Victims and other vulnerable witnesses often face intimidation, psychological trauma, social stigma, and secondary victimisation during criminal proceedings, adversely affecting both the quality of evidence and the administration of justice. In response, India has undertaken significant legal reforms through the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, and the continued implementation of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012. Complementing these legislative measures, the High Court of Orissa issued the Guidelines for Recording Evidence of Vulnerable Witnesses and Functioning of Vulnerable Witness Deposition Centres, 2024, to facilitate trauma-informed judicial processes. This study critically examines the effectiveness of the legal and institutional framework governing the protection of vulnerable witnesses in sexual offence trials through an empirical study conducted in Jharsuguda District, Odisha. Adopting a socio-legal research methodology, the study integrates doctrinal analysis with empirical data collected through structured questionnaires and semi-structured interviews involving advocates, public prosecutors, District Legal Services Authority officials, and vulnerable witnesses. The findings indicate that despite a robust legal framework, implementation remains inconsistent due to limited awareness, inadequate stakeholder training, insufficient institutional coordination, underutilisation of Vulnerable Witness Deposition Centres, and the absence of comprehensive psychological support services. The study concludes that recent legislative and judicial reforms have considerably strengthened witness protection mechanisms; however, their effectiveness depends upon sustained capacity building, improved infrastructure, institutional accountability, and coordinated victim support services. It recommends regular monitoring, specialised training, enhanced awareness programmes, and inter-agency collaboration to ensure a more accessible, trauma-informed, and victim-centred criminal justice system in India.

PROTECTION OF VULNERABLE WITNESSES IN SEXUAL OFFENCE TRIALS: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF VULNERABLE WITNESS DEPOSITION CENTRES IN JHARSUGUDA DISTRICT Read More »