A fortnightly feature inspired by I-CONnect’s weekly “What’s New in Public Law” feature that addresses the lacuna of a one-stop-shop public law newsletter in the Indian legal space.
Lately in LAOT
1. Abhay Shetty, The Perils of Unchecked Discretion: Examining the Powers of Preliminary Inquiry under the BNSS, 2023– this article critiques how the newly codified preliminary inquiry under Section 173(3) BNSS grants excessive discretionary power to investigators, risking arbitrary detentions and dilution of constitutional safeguards.
2. Kushagra Sharma & Azhan Saleem, Constitutional Silence or Judicial Activism? Dissecting the Tamil Nadu Case– this piece argues that the Supreme Court in State of Tamil Nadu v. Governor of Tamil Nadu overstepped by reading in timelines and “deemed assent” into Article 200, thus converting constitutional silence into active judicial rewriting of the Constitution.
3. Priyamvadha Shivaji & Shreya Tripathy, Designing Justice: The Need for Accessible User-Centric District Court Infrastructure in India: Introduction– this is the opening of a series advocating for courts designed around user needs, mapping out how physical design, accessibility, and inclusive features must align with justice delivery.
4. Aalokaa Verma & Atik Saiyed, Reserving the Right Post-NALSA: Need, State Discretion & Form of Parliamentary and Local Governance Representation for Transgender Persons– this article examines how, despite the NALSA judgment recognising transgender rights, they remain under-represented in political institutions. It argues for constitutionally sanctioned state discretion in reserving seats.
5. Priyamvadha Shivaji & Shreya Tripathy, Designing Justice: The Need for Accessible, User-Centric District Court Infrastructure in India: A Day in the Life of an Advocate– this installment of the JALDI series uses a day-in-the-life narrative of an advocate to highlight infrastructural burdens- like court layout, waiting spaces, digital access- that impair effective, dignified legal practice.
6. Tanishq Kabra & Prangana Singh, From Space to Labour Laws: Is ISRO an Industry?– this article tackles the novel question of whether ISRO qualifies as an ‘industry’ under the Industrial Disputes Act, arguing that the nature of its operations pushes it beyond traditional industrial classification.
Elsewhere Online
1. Aditya Gujarathi, Subverting Article 243-ZC: Creation of Legal Fiction to Apply Part IX-A of the Constitution to Scheduled Areas, Constitutional Law and Philosophy Blog
2. Kieran Correia, One Step Forward, Two Steps Back: The Supreme Court’s Waqf Stay Judgment, Constitutional Law and Philosophy Blog
3. Gautam Bhatia, Five Years of a Life II: The Bail Order in the Delhi Riots Case (Gulfisha Fatima, Sharjeel Imam and Others), Constitutional Law and Philosophy Blog
4. Sumedha Edara, WhatsApp Service of Summons, Vidhi Legal Policy Blog
5. Srijan Tripathi, Examining the Long Wait for the Labour Code, Vidhi Legal Policy Blog
6. Ritik Gupta, When Governors Block Democracy, Vidhi Legal Policy Blog
7. Aaratrika Pandey and Hartej Singh Koccher, Unfinished Question: PoSH & Politics, Economic & Political Weekly Constitutional Law and Philosophy
8. Gitanjali Joshua, Queering Marriage Law in India (Part 6 of 6), Oxford Human Rights Hub
9. Angshuman Choudhury, Assam’s Plan to Expel Illegal Migrants Overnight Is a New Extrajudicial Model of Mass Disenfranchisement, Article 14
Lately in Academic Articles
1. Priya Mathur and Gouri Agarwal, Reframing Persecutions: A Socio-Legal Analysis of Asylum Claims Based on Climate Change-Induced Conditions, Christ University Law Journal, (Analyzes how asylum tribunals frame “persecution” in cases involving climate-induced displacement, questioning whether the definition can be expanded to include climate-affected persons given the humanitarian crisis and lack of legal recognition under the 1951 Refugee Convention.)
2. Sairam Bhat and Gayathri K. K., Restorative Justice and Environmental Compensation: A Critical Evaluation of Law and Policy, Christ University Law Journal, (Examines how restorative justice can address ecological harm more effectively than retributive models, situating the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023, within emerging global and national trends toward nature restoration and compensation-based accountability.)
3. Jayna Kothari, Nithya Rajshekhar, and Naibedya Dash, What Stories Do the Numbers Tell? A Data-Driven Narrative to Seek Women’s Equal Opportunity in the Higher Judiciary in India, Socio-Legal Review (NLSIU), (Uses empirical data to trace gender disparities in India’s higher judiciary, revealing how appointment pathways, delayed promotions, and structural gatekeeping hinder women’s representation in judicial leadership.)
4. Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy and Keshav Suri Foundation, Queering the Law: Beyond Supriyo, Policy Brief Series, (Proposes actionable law and policy reforms to recognize LGBTQIA+ rights across family, healthcare, anti-discrimination, and anti-violence frameworks, aiming to guide advocacy and inclusive reform at both Union and State levels.)
5. Anindita Mukherjee, The Law of the Bulldozer, Economic and Political Weekly, (Critiques the Supreme Court’s response to state-led property demolitions targeting accused individuals, arguing that the Court depoliticized the issue by ignoring structural illegality and discrimination embedded in India’s land regimes.)
6. Alok Prasanna Kumar, The Delhi High Court’s Lost Credibility, Economic and Political Weekly, (Condemns the Delhi High Court’s denial of bail to Umar Khalid and others in CAA–NRC protest cases, framing it as evidence of judicial deference to executive power and the erosion of institutional integrity.)
Listen Up
1. In Focus by the Hindu, Decoding the Supreme Court’s interim order on Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, (explores the context, reasons, and the implications of the recent Supreme Court order which required a person intending to create a Waqf, to prove that he had been practising Islam for five years, among other provisions. She talks about how things will change on the ground pursuant to this order)
2. In Focus by the Hindu, 20 years of Forest Rights Act (FRA): Can it work without a tribal policy?, (discusses about the Forest Rights Act’s two-decade journey as a tool for tribal empowerment, highlighting persistent implementation challenges, and critically analysing the UNDP’s controversial proposal for a “sunset clause” that could limit future recognition of forest rights)
3. Indian Express, Sonam Wangchul’s Detention, Uttarakhand Exam Row, and Modi on Meloni’s memoir-‘ (talks about Ladakh, where protests demanding statehood turned violent last week, leaving four people dead and activist Sonam Wangchuk detained. The Indian Express’ Aiswarya Raj discusses Uttarakhand, where a recruitment exam scandal has triggered fierce protests after allegations of paper leaks. In the end, we also discuss P.M Narendra Modi writing the foreword to Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s autobiography. )
Opportunities and Other Things
1. Call for Papers by NLUD Journal on Labour. The last date for submission of papers is October 30th, 2025.
2. Call for Papers by NALSAR Student Law Review. The last date for submission of papers is October 31st, 2025.
3. Call for Papers by HPNLU Journal of Tax Law. The last date for submission of papers is October 31st, 2025.
4. Call for Papers by Journal of National Law University, Delhi. The last date for submission of papers is December 31st, 2025.
This edition has been prepared by the LAOT team composed of Hansika, Nida, Ira, Saloni led by Jeetendra Vishwakarma. Nividita managed the social media outreach. The newsletter is published under the guidance of Surbhi Karwa and Anubhav Kumar from the senior editorial board.
