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.
What’s new at LAOT
1. Arima Kaushal & Shashyak Roy, Beyond Newborns: Rethinking Maternity Benefits for Adoptive Mothers [Part I]- this article argues that the age-cut-off of three months for maternity leave for adoptive mothers under Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 is arbitrary, conflicts with adoption laws, and discriminates against adoptive mothers of older or special-needs children.
2. Arima Kaushal & Shashyak Roy, Beyond Newborns: Rethinking Maternity Benefits for Adoptive Mothers [Part II]- this follow-up critically analyses Section 5(4) of the MBA under the equality mandate of Article 14, arguing that the law lacks intelligible differentia or rational nexus and is manifestly arbitrary, and calls for either striking down the cap or harmonising it with broader caregiving needs.
3. Shreyas Mishra, Balancing Boundaries: The Case for a Right to Disconnect in India’s Modern Work Landscape– the article makes a principled case for legally recognising a “right to disconnect” to protect workers’ personal time, autonomy and dignity from the encroachment of work beyond official hours under modern labour conditions.
3. LAOT Podcast Series: Assembling India’s Constitution: A Conversation with Professors Rohit De and Ornit Shani– this podcast discussion re-examines the making of the Indian Constitution, showing it was not just an elite endeavour in Delhi but a pan-Indian process involving diverse publics, princes, tribal communities, ordinary citizens, thereby reframing constitution-making as a plural, participatory and democratic exercise.
4. Calvert Nazareth, Reimagining Justice for Stray Dogs in India– this article critiques recent orders of the Supreme Court of India regarding stray-dog relocation, arguing that human-centred legal responses ignore animal agency and calling instead for habitat-informed, inclusive legal frameworks that respect co-existence and justice for non-human beings.
Elsewhere Online
1. Gautam Bhatia, The Chief in his Chiefdom: On the legacy of Chief Justice B. R. Gavai, Constitutional Law and Philosophy Blog.
2. Anup Surendranath and Aparna Bhatnagar, Decriminalising Defamation – Constitutional Silences, Square Circle Criminal Law Blog.
3. Krishaan Doctor, Facilitating Digital Censorship – IV: The Use And Abuse of History in the Karnataka High Court’s Decision in X Corp v Union of India, Constitutional Law and Philosophy Blog.
4. Pranav Verma, The Supreme Court’s retreat from holding Governors accountable, SCO Observer.
5. Anshul Dalmia, Can States conduct a census? A critique of the Patna HC’s order on the State’s Legislative Competence, Constitutional Law Society.
6. Gurmehar Bedi and Ashwath Ram, Fredman’s four dimensions and the Supreme Court’s pursuit of Transgender Equality, Vidhi Legal Policy Blog.
7. Akhil Yadav, India’s New Data Protection Rules Put State Above Privacy, Imperil Democracy & Investigative Journalism, Article 14.
Lately in Academic Article
1. Angad Singh Ahuja, Beyond Heteronormativity in Indian Family Law, Economic and Political Weekly. (Argues for recognising queer chosen families through constitutional rights to dignity, equality, and association.)
2. Nidah Kaiser, Buried Rights and Grave Politics: The Supreme Court’s Dilemma between Religious Freedom and Public Order, Economic and Political Weekly. (Examines a burial-rights case to show how judicial balancing often disadvantages religious minorities.)
3. Aisarya Dutt Roy, Perils of Law: Trans Subjectivities at the Limits of Legality, Economic and Political Weekly. (Critiques how NALSA and the 2020 Rules construct state-defined trans identities against activist perspectives.)
4. Philip Alston, Criminalizing Human Rights, Journal of Human Rights Practice. (Warns that an atrocity-centric turn in human rights law sidelines structural violations and over-criminalises global governance.)
5. Rebecca Fenn, Systemic Biodiversity Litigation: How Litigation Addresses Structural Causes and Drivers of Biodiversity Loss, Journal of Environmental Law. (Maps eight litigation strategies showing how systemic cases target deeper structural drivers of biodiversity loss.)
6. Maria-Augusta Paim, Greenwashing in the Oil and Gas Sector: Limitations of Climate Change Litigation on Advertising in Brazil, Journal of Environmental Law. (Shows how Brazil’s self-regulatory system fails to curb greenwashing and argues for stronger judicial oversight.)
Listen up
1. The Right’s Leading Thinker on AI this episode features AI policy expert Dean W. Ball discussing why he views superintelligence within the next 20 years as plausible, argues that premature regulation could lock in suboptimal political and economic outcomes, and suggests focusing governance on robust, adaptive mechanisms rather than early heavy regulation
2. Interpreting the 2025 Bihar Verdict this episode analyses the Bihar State Election 2025 results—highlighting the NDA’s landslide win, the JD(U)–BJP alliance’s resilience, opposition weaknesses, voter roll debates, and implications for India’s broader political economy
3. Foetal Disability and Abortion Rights with Dr. Zoe Tongue this episode talks about abortion access and disability rights are not incompatible, using reproductive and disability justice frameworks to show that permitting abortion for foetal impairment fits within a broader social-justice agenda.
4. The Presidential Reference: Is the Supreme Court’s opinion a blow against Federalism? This episode discusses the Supreme Court’s 5-judge Bench held that Governors and the President cannot be bound by timelines or “deemed assent,” allowing only limited review of prolonged inaction. The divergence creates uncertainty about whether the April ruling still restrains “pocket vetoes” or if the Centre and Governors can now delay state Bills indefinitely unless taken to court.
5. Is federalism in retreat under single-party hegemony? This episode discusses the GST rationalisation that has reignited Centre–State tensions, with several States fearing revenue losses amid broader disputes over funds and federal powers. These conflicts have raised fresh concerns about whether Indian federalism is weakening under single-party dominance.
6. What does the latest petition before the Supreme Court mean for surrogacy in India? This episode debates the Surrogacy Act’s restrictions that are to be examined by the Supreme Court, particularly on couples with an existing child, which may unconstitutionally limit reproductive choice, raising broader questions about the Act’s effectiveness, its enforcement, and whether surrogates and egg donors require stronger protections.
7. Young love vs POCSO Act: the hidden realities behind the low conviction rates, this episode dives into why conviction rates under POCSO can be misleading, as Vidya from Tulir joins us to unpack the law’s real-world impact on young people, accused families, and the reforms needed for a more just system.
8. Bihar SIR: what the Supreme Court’s intervention has achieved and what lies ahead, his episode breaks down the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, the Supreme Court’s scrutiny of the Bihar process, and what ongoing challenges in multiple States could mean for voter rights and electoral transparency.
Opportunities and other things
1. Call for Abstracts by NUALS Kochi for International ADR Seminar. The last date to submit an abstract is December 25, 2025.
2. 5th NLIU-CLT Policy Case Competition The last date to register is December 25, 2025.
3. Call for Abstracts by NLIU Bhopal for the 4th NLIU-India Foundation Constitutional Law Symposium. The last date to submit the paper is December 25, 2025.
4. Call for Papers by National Conference on Recognition, Rights and Realities: Tribal Identity, Governance and Justice in Contemporary India organised by HPNLU. Last date to send abstract is 5th January 2026.
