Indian law by practice area

The law on bail and arrest — anticipatory bail, default (statutory) bail, the safeguards around arrest under Article 22 and the BNSS, and the special bail regimes under the PMLA and UAPA. Close digests of the judgments that govern when liberty must be granted and when custody is justified.

Dishonour of cheques under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 — the statutory notice and limitation, the Section 139 presumption of a legally enforceable debt, vicarious liability of directors under Section 141, interim compensation under Section 143A, compounding, and territorial jurisdiction. The judgments every cheque-dishonour practitioner relies on.

Matrimonial litigation — cruelty and dowry harassment under Section 498A (and its misuse), maintenance and permanent alimony, divorce on irretrievable breakdown, the Section 13B cooling-off period, and child custody. Digests tracking how the courts balance protection against weaponisation.

Sexual harassment at the workplace — from the Vishaka guidelines to the POSH Act, 2013. What counts as a "workplace" and an "employee", how the Internal Complaints Committee is constituted and exercises jurisdiction, limitation, confidentiality, retaliation, and the treatment of false complaints.

Compensation under the Motor Vehicles Act — the multiplier method and just compensation, future prospects and notional income, functional disability, the "pay and recover" rule, hit-and-run claims, and the insurer's liability. The framework that MACTs and High Courts apply to quantify awards.

Real-estate regulation under RERA — delayed-possession refunds and interest, the RERA-versus-consumer-forum and RERA-versus-arbitration questions, occupancy certificates, promoter liability, and the homebuyer's position in insolvency. How the statutory forum protects allottees.

The standard of care in medical negligence (the Bolam / Jacob Mathew line), res ipsa loquitur, hospital vicarious liability, deficiency of service, and the quantification of compensation before the consumer fora and the NCDRC.

Arbitration under the 1996 Act — arbitrability, the appointment of arbitrators under Section 11, the seat-versus-venue question, interim measures under Section 17, and the limited grounds to set aside or refuse enforcement of an award under Sections 34 and 37.

The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 — admission and the corporate insolvency resolution process, the moratorium, the resolution plan and the "clean slate", the position of operational and financial creditors, liquidation, and the jurisdiction of the NCLT and NCLAT.

Indirect taxation — GST (input tax credit, classification, procedure), and the legacy customs, central excise and service-tax regimes litigated before the CESTAT and the courts.

Direct taxation — income-tax assessment and reassessment, the faceless regime, transfer pricing and advance pricing agreements, and the appeals litigated before the ITAT and the courts.

Intellectual property — trademark deceptive similarity and passing off, the heightened standard for pharmaceutical marks, well-known marks and dilution, copyright originality and the idea-expression divide, and patentability under Section 3(d).

Public employment and service law — regularisation, pension as a deferred wage, the proportionality of disciplinary punishment, compassionate appointment, and the industrial and labour-law disputes that shape the employment relationship.

Criminal procedure — the transition from the CrPC to the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, FIR registration and investigation, cognizance, and the inherent power to quash proceedings under Section 482 CrPC / Section 528 BNSS.

Article 19(1)(a) and the digital public sphere — content blocking under Section 69A, intermediary liability and safe harbour, the IT Rules, online defamation, and the boundary between regulation and censorship.

Article 21 — the expanding content of the right to life and personal liberty: privacy, dignity, the right to a speedy trial, due process, and the procedural fairness the State owes before depriving a person of liberty.

The equality code — Article 14 and the test against arbitrariness, and the reservation jurisprudence under Articles 15 and 16: the 50% ceiling, creamy layer, EWS, sub-classification, and the interplay of horizontal and vertical reservation.

Environmental jurisprudence — the precautionary and polluter-pays principles, sustainable development, environmental clearance and the bar on ex post facto approvals, and the National Green Tribunal's balancing of development against ecology.

Securities regulation — insider trading and the communication of unpublished price-sensitive information, fraudulent and unfair trade practices (PFUTP), front-running, disgorgement, and the appeals before the Securities Appellate Tribunal.

Corporate law under the Companies Act, 2013 — oppression and mismanagement, the exclusive jurisdiction of the NCLT, director disqualification, derivative actions, and schemes of arrangement.

Property and succession — coparcenary and ancestral property, partition, the daughter's rights after the 2005 amendment, testamentary and intestate succession, and the protections under the Transfer of Property Act.

Election law — the bar on mid-poll interference and the election-petition remedy, corrupt practices, candidate disclosure, NOTA, electoral bonds, EVM-VVPAT, and the model code of conduct.

The Constitution Bench decisions that set the structure of Indian public law — basic structure, federalism, separation of powers, and judicial review.