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The Madras High Court has reaffirmed that the judiciary’s responsibility extends beyond statutory interpretation—it also includes safeguarding the dignity, autonomy, and peace of women, especially after matrimonial disputes have lawfully ended. In a significant judgment delivered by Justice L. Victoria Gowri on November 13, the Madurai Bench dismissed a maintenance plea that sought to drag a divorced woman back into litigation nearly a decade after her mutual-consent divorce. This decision reasserts the Constitutional mandate under Article 21 and clarifies the limits of maintainability and locus standi in maintenance proceedings. Background of the Case Divorce and Settlement in 2014 The woman and her estranged husband obtained a mutual consent divorce in 2014. As part of the agreement: The mother voluntarily declined maintenance. Custody of the minor son was granted to the father. The father agreed to bear all maintenance expenses for the child. Both parties subsequent...

The Unending Cycle of Smoke and Inaction Despite years of judicial intervention and environmental alarm, Punjab’s farm fire problem remains unresolved . Between 2022 and 2024 , nearly 7,000 FIRs were filed against farmers for paddy stubble burning , a practice that contributes significantly to North India’s toxic air every winter. Yet, most of these cases have not resulted in chargesheets, convictions, or substantial penalties . The data reveals that Punjab registered 5,783 FIRs in 2024 , compared to 1,144 in 2023 and just 44 in 2022 . However, police and prosecution records show that these cases are either pending, withdrawn, or closed after nominal fines ranging from ₹500 to ₹1,000 — a symbolic rather than substantive enforcement.

The recent hostage crisis in Mumbai’s Powai area involving Rohit Arya , a 50-year-old project director, has reignited debates surrounding mental distress, administrative accountability, and the limits of police force under Indian law . While the tragedy ended with the safe rescue of 17 children and Arya’s subsequent death in police firing , several legal and ethical questions emerge regarding state responsibility, unpaid contractual dues, and the use of lethal force in hostage situations . The Incident: From Protest to Tragedy According to reports, Rohit Arya had previously worked as the Project Director for Project Let’s Change – PLC Swachhata Monitor , an initiative under the Majhi Shala, Sundar Shala campaign of the Maharashtra government’s primary education department . Arya allegedly held grievances over unpaid dues worth ₹2 crore , claiming that his project work had been completed but never compensated. During negotiations, Arya released a video statement , asserting: ...

The Incident: Allegations of Harassment and Financial Exploitation A shocking case from Bengaluru has raised troubling questions about workplace culture and mental health in India’s corporate sector. An Ola Electric engineer , aged 38, allegedly died by suicide on September 28, 2025 , after consuming poison at his residence. The engineer, who worked as a Homologation Engineer at Ola Electric since 2022, reportedly left behind a 28-page handwritten note accusing his superiors — including Ola founder Bhavish Aggarwal and Subrat Kumar Das , Head of Vehicle Homologations and Regulations — of mental harassment and financial exploitation . His friends discovered him in distress and rushed him to a hospital, but he succumbed the same day. Initially, an Unnatural Death Report (UDR) was filed. Later, his brother found the suicide note and approached the police, leading to a formal FIR against Aggarwal, Das, and other senior officials. The FIR and Legal Proceedings The Karnataka Poli...

The Madras High Court has directed Air India Limited to compensate a passenger with ₹35,000 after he suffered vomiting sensations and stomach pain from consuming a meal that contained a strand of hair . The ruling reinforces the principle that airlines are liable for negligence in services provided to passengers, even when outsourced to third-party caterers. Background of the Case The case arose when a passenger onboard an Air India flight consumed food supplied by the airline, only to find a hair follicle in the meal. The passenger experienced immediate nausea, vomiting, and stomach pain, and subsequently lodged a complaint upon landing. The trial court had earlier directed Air India to pay ₹1 lakh in damages for negligence. Air India appealed against this decision, arguing that the food was prepared by an external caterer — Ambassador Pallava Hotel — and that the airline itself could not be held directly responsible. Court’s Observations and Findings Justice P. B. Ba...

The Supreme Court of India has reignited the debate around capital punishment methods, questioning whether the colonial-era practice of death by hanging should continue to be India’s sole means of execution. On October 9, 2025 , a bench comprising Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta suggested that the Union Government should consider giving death row convicts the option to choose between hanging and lethal injection , observing that “methods of execution across the world have undergone significant change” since India codified hanging into law. The Case and the Challenge The issue arises from a petition filed by advocate Rishi Malhotra , challenging the constitutional validity of Section 354(5) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) , which mandated that a person sentenced to death “shall be hanged by the neck till he is dead.” This provision has now been replaced by Section 393(5) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023 , but the method of hangin...

The Supreme Court of India, in a significant ruling, has reiterated that the gravity of a crime alone is insufficient to impose the death penalty unless the judicial process leading to the sentencing is scrupulously fair, transparent, and in strict compliance with constitutional safeguards . This judgment, delivered in the case involving death row convict Vasant Sampat Dupare , is a reminder of India’s strong constitutional framework that upholds life, dignity, and justice , even for those convicted of heinous crimes. The Fragility of the Death Penalty System A bench of Justices Vikram Nath, Sanjay Karol, and Sandeep Mehta emphasized the irreversible nature of capital punishment and the risk of wrongful convictions. The judgment pointed out that investigations in India often rely on confessions extracted under opacity, contested recoveries, and forensic material of doubtful rigor , which when coupled with an overburdened trial system, increases the risk of errors. “A Constituti...

Delhi Riots Bail Hearing: ASG Opposes Bail, Highlights Right to Life and Public Safety The ongoing legal proceedings regarding the Delhi riots of December 2019 and February 2020 took center stage in the Delhi High Court, where the police opposed the bail pleas of multiple accused individuals. The case sheds light on the intricate balance between individual rights and collective safety . Right to Life: A Comprehensive Perspective The Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Sharma , representing the Delhi police, argued vehemently against granting bail to the accused, stressing that the right to life should not be viewed solely in favor of the accused. The ASG highlighted the loss of lives during the riots, emphasizing that the victims and injured also had their right to life violated. He asserted that the violence, which led to 53 deaths and hundreds of injuries , was the result of a planned conspiracy orchestrated by forces hostile to India. Details of the Incident and Casualt...

Supreme Court Puts Order on Hold: Balwant Singh Rajoana's Mercy Plea to be Heard on November 25   In a significant turn of events, the Supreme Court of India put on hold its earlier directive requiring the President of India to decide on the mercy petition of Balwant Singh Rajoana, a death-row prisoner convicted for the 1995 assassination of Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh. The court, responding to the Centre's request, will now hear the matter on November 25, 2024. Background: The Case of Balwant Singh Rajoana Balwant Singh Rajoana, a member of the Babbar Khalsa militant group, was sentenced to death for his role in the 1995 assassination of Beant Singh , who was killed in a bomb explosion in Chandigarh. Rajoana has been in prison for nearly 29 years , much of this time on death row.   The assassination was a high-profile incident, reflecting the volatile political environment in Punjab during the 1990s. Beant Singh was targeted for his efforts to combat militancy...