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Opinion

Comprehensive coverage, analysis, and breaking news on opinion.

Why the US Supreme Court’s tariff verdict offers lessons for India’s Supreme Court on SIR’s constitutional validity

Why the US Supreme Court’s tariff verdict offers lessons for India’s Supreme Court on SIR’s constitutional validity

Editor's Pick•22 Feb 2026

Why the US Supreme Court’s tariff verdict offers lessons for India’s Supreme Court on SIR’s constitutional validity

The SCOTUS’s rejection of Trump’s tariff regime highlights the judiciary’s role in safeguarding constitutional limits on executive power, offering lessons for the Indian Supreme Court’s review of the SIR process.

S.N. Sahu

Staff Writer

Latest in Opinion

Trump’s Tariff Defeat: Legal history not so much, political turning point quite likely

International Law & World Affairs•21 Feb 2026

Trump’s Tariff Defeat: Legal history not so much, political turning point quite likely

The US Supreme Court’s ruling against President Trump’s tariff regime reasserts congressional authority over taxation, raising fundamental questions about executive power, economic policy and the political future of the administration.

Is the Gender Stereotypes Handbook truly too aspirational for our courts?

Supreme Court•14 Feb 2026

Is the Gender Stereotypes Handbook truly too aspirational for our courts?

CJI Surya Kant’s proposal misses the point that the 2023 Handbook could be made more accessible to trial judges, not through ‘fine-tuning’, but through supplementary training.

Why PMO’s instructions to Lok Sabha Secretariat raises serious questions on the Speaker’s autonomy

Governance and Policy•10 Feb 2026

Why PMO’s instructions to Lok Sabha Secretariat raises serious questions on the Speaker’s autonomy

Amidst eroding trust on the Speaker’s impartiality, a recent instruction by PMO to block discussions on PM-CARES fund is constitutionally worrisome.

‘Majestic Equality of the Laws’ prevails?: How protests against UGC Regulations threaten decades of jurisprudential progress on equality and justice

Equality•8 Feb 2026

‘Majestic Equality of the Laws’ prevails?: How protests against UGC Regulations threaten decades of jurisprudential progress on equality and justice

The Chief Justice of India’s recent remarks, and a spate of agitations led by the Hindu right against the new UGC Regulations to tackle caste-discrimination in campuses seek to undo our progress towards substantive equality.

Torture Trumps Tradition: Can religion or custom give Female Genital Mutilation a carte blanche? – Part II

Women and Children•7 Feb 2026

Torture Trumps Tradition: Can religion or custom give Female Genital Mutilation a carte blanche? – Part II

Part II of our two-part special on the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation explores how India is in violation of domestic, international and universal law on the issue of FGM.

Torture Trumps Tradition: Can religion or custom give Female Genital Mutilation a carte blanche?

Women and Children•6 Feb 2026

Torture Trumps Tradition: Can religion or custom give Female Genital Mutilation a carte blanche?

On the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation, Part I of this two-part series explores how international law recognizes FGM as torture—and why, as a jus cogens norm, the prohibition against torture cannot be derogated from under any circumstances.

Final Hearing

The Bitter Brief•4 Feb 2026

Final Hearing

Lost submissions and a preparation in vain – just another Tuesday where ‘final’ arguments are not so final.

Justice Ujjal Bhuyan rings the warning bells on judicial independence

Judicial Accountability•2 Feb 2026

Justice Ujjal Bhuyan rings the warning bells on judicial independence

Justice Bhuyan’s recent critical remarks on the Collegium transferring judges at the ‘government’s request’ brings to memory a long list of judicial transfers that denote executive interference in judicial appointments.

Constitution and its Discontents: Taking the Constitution seriously as a political document

Equality•1 Feb 2026

Constitution and its Discontents: Taking the Constitution seriously as a political document

While elitist historiography has predominantly narrated the Constitution as a liberal achievement, its radical re-reading reveals an exclusionary framework towards religious minorities, sexual subalterns, the disabled and the labouring bodies.

Will the Supreme Court ever effectively confront ‘caste’ in India’s student suicide problem?

Equality•29 Jan 2026

Will the Supreme Court ever effectively confront ‘caste’ in India’s student suicide problem?

A decade after Rohith Vemula’s passing, a series of matters before the Supreme Court - Amit Kumar, Abeda Tadvi, and now challenge to the new UGC Regulations - are testing its ability to account for structural factors behind student suicides across India’s higher education spaces.

Reclaiming Private Law in India: A New Column on Private and Commercial Law

Relief Pending•28 Jan 2026

Reclaiming Private Law in India: A New Column on Private and Commercial Law

In his new monthly column for The Leaflet, ‘Relief Pending’, lawyer Anirudh Gotety seeks to examine the state of private law adjudication in India and highlight gaps in private and commercial law with a view to informing policy reform.

The Constitution in ideology and utopia: A Survey of ‘75 year’ commentaries on Constitution and the Supreme Court | Foreword

Republic Day Special Issue 2026•26 Jan 2026

The Constitution in ideology and utopia: A Survey of ‘75 year’ commentaries on Constitution and the Supreme Court | Foreword

In his foreword to The Leaflet’s Republic Day Special Issue 2026, Senior Advocate Mohan Katarki situates constitutional discourse around 75 years of the Constitution in an era of ideological contestation.

The Constitution in ideology and utopia: A Survey of ‘75 year’ commentaries on Constitution and the Supreme Court | Part I - Articles

Republic Day Special Issue 2026•26 Jan 2026

The Constitution in ideology and utopia: A Survey of ‘75 year’ commentaries on Constitution and the Supreme Court | Part I - Articles

We, at The Leaflet, synthesised nearly thirty pieces of public-facing short-form commentary, over forty hours of panels and speeches, and five books – all commemorating the Constitution and Supreme Court at 75 – to read between the lines of how India’s commentators debated its constitutional legacy.

Reimagining judicial appointments: Why India needs a Judicial Council

Judicial Accountability•24 Jan 2026

Reimagining judicial appointments: Why India needs a Judicial Council

As structural vulnerabilities in the Collegium system become harder to ignore, the need for a Judicial Council emerges as a constitutional necessity, not a political concession.

Reading against the times in 2025: Arvind Narrain's book recommendations on law, culture and resistance - Part II

Book Review•22 Jan 2026

Reading against the times in 2025: Arvind Narrain's book recommendations on law, culture and resistance - Part II

Legal scholar Arvind Narrain reviews ten books he read over last year that engage with the complex truths of law and political transformations - from a post-370 Kashmir to an alternative thinking on the Indian Constitution.

The Peace of Imperialism and the Violence of International Law

International Law & World Affairs•20 Jan 2026

The Peace of Imperialism and the Violence of International Law

From Macaulay’s push for British conquest of India to the US’s takeover of Venezuela, the idea of peace has remained a crucial instrument of violent modern imperialism, all upheld through the structure of the liberal international legal order.

Lonely Knights

The Bitter Brief•15 Jan 2026

Lonely Knights

Between urgent briefs and empty corridors, India’s young lawyers learn the cost of ambition showing up every day – bruised, hopeful, and calling survival a career.

How the new Labour Codes undid 70 years of labour rights progress of working journalists

Labour Law•13 Jan 2026

How the new Labour Codes undid 70 years of labour rights progress of working journalists

With one stroke, working journalists and other workmen in newspaper establishments have lost labour benefits they have enjoyed since 1955, when two protective laws were first legislated to protect their service conditions and rates of wages.

Reading against the times in 2025: Arvind Narrain’s book recommendations on law, culture and resistance - Part I

Book Review•12 Jan 2026

Reading against the times in 2025: Arvind Narrain’s book recommendations on law, culture and resistance - Part I

Legal scholar Arvind Narrain reviews ten books he read over last year that engage with the complex truths of law and political transformations - from a post-370 Kashmir to an alternative thinking on the Indian Constitution.

Secularism in India is a foundational constitutional norm, not a postscript to the Preamble

Freedom•11 Jan 2026

Secularism in India is a foundational constitutional norm, not a postscript to the Preamble

Far from being a political afterthought, India's secular character is deeply rooted in the freedom struggle, Constituent Assembly debates, and the Constitution's core guarantees of equality and religious freedom

Ignoring binding precedent does not make good law, it only undermines judicial discipline

Sedition & UAPA•9 Jan 2026

Ignoring binding precedent does not make good law, it only undermines judicial discipline

How the Supreme Court’s differential approach to bail for Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam undermines binding precedent on bail and personal liberty

Shadows of Judicial Indiscipline: On the Supreme Court’s bail denial to Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam

Sedition & UAPA•7 Jan 2026

Shadows of Judicial Indiscipline: On the Supreme Court’s bail denial to Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam

In both the Bhima Koregaon and Delhi riots cases, a wrongful invoking of UAPA and obdurate refusal to follow precedent on delay in trial, raise legitimate questions on the independence of the judiciary.

The Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam case: An international campaign within the realm of possibility

Life and Liberty•7 Jan 2026

The Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam case: An international campaign within the realm of possibility

India’s refusal to accept individual complaints under the ICCPR leaves political prisoners without international recourse, unless civil society chooses to act.

Is the Delhi High Court’s suspension of Kuldeep Sengar’s sentence a de facto appellate adjudication?

Criminal Justice•6 Jan 2026

Is the Delhi High Court’s suspension of Kuldeep Sengar’s sentence a de facto appellate adjudication?

A close reading of the Delhi High Court’s suspension of sentence in the Unnao rape case highlights the risks of resolving statutory meanings at the interim stage.

This Side of the Vacation

The Bitter Brief•31 Dec 2025

This Side of the Vacation

Let's not get negative this new year. The lawyers will travel. The juniors will stay back. The files will wait. Justice takes its annual breath—shallow, insincere, and expected by everyone.

Blockade, aggression, and jus cogens: Why Trump’s restriction on Venezuela’s oil tankers tests the limits of international law

International Law & World Affairs•30 Dec 2025

Blockade, aggression, and jus cogens: Why Trump’s restriction on Venezuela’s oil tankers tests the limits of international law

The US blockade of Venezuela implicates aggression, self-defence, and the prohibition on the use of force under international law.

How the G RAM G Bill marks the end of India’s rural employment revolution

Governance and Policy•23 Dec 2025

How the G RAM G Bill marks the end of India’s rural employment revolution

The question of whether the VB G RAM G bill ushers in a new era of rural employment guarantee or completely dissolves its future is a weighty one.

Supreme Court’s dismissal in Samuel Kamalesan shows why Article 33 needs specific parliamentary calibration

Religion•19 Dec 2025

Supreme Court’s dismissal in Samuel Kamalesan shows why Article 33 needs specific parliamentary calibration

The Supreme Court’s refusal to intervene in Samuel Kamalesan exposes how judicial deference and legislative silence together shape the operation of Article 33.

The constitutional stakes of Assam’s polygamy ban

Equality•14 Dec 2025

The constitutional stakes of Assam’s polygamy ban

As courts move away from insulating personal laws, Assam’s new law brings long-standing tensions between personal law, gender justice, and fundamental rights back into sharp focus.

How the Code on Social Security overlooks two groundbreaking national labour commission reports

Labour Law•14 Dec 2025

How the Code on Social Security overlooks two groundbreaking national labour commission reports

Two forgotten labour commission reports from the early 2000s had key lessons for the future of social security in India.

“We the People”: How the Constituent Assembly acquired the authority to frame the Constitution

History•9 Dec 2025

“We the People”: How the Constituent Assembly acquired the authority to frame the Constitution

The authority of the Indian Constitution was not divinely ordained or violently seized, but legally transferred and morally grounded in the will of the people.

How a seventy-year-old Presidential Order still shapes Dalit life after conversion

Equality•5 Dec 2025

How a seventy-year-old Presidential Order still shapes Dalit life after conversion

Even after embracing new faiths, Dalit Christians and Dalit Muslims continue to face caste-based exclusion. Yet a 1950 Presidential Order blocks them from constitutional protection.

The Perils and Discontents of ‘Swadeshi’ Jurisprudence

Supreme Court•3 Dec 2025

The Perils and Discontents of ‘Swadeshi’ Jurisprudence

An insistence on a ‘Swadeshi’ interpretation without addressing the question of social inequities in our society will roll back our progress on constitutional governance and liberties.

The Degeneration of the CRZ Notification

Environment/Animal Rights•1 Dec 2025

The Degeneration of the CRZ Notification

A law that was once envisioned to protect the coast has now been converted into an instrument for steady erasure of coastal assets, clearly signalling the Environment Ministry’s abandoning of its mandate to look after India’s coasts.

Anatomy of a Demolition: How a High Court order erased Gurugram’s Prem Nagar Basti amid broken promises of rehabilitation

Law and Citizenship•30 Nov 2025

Anatomy of a Demolition: How a High Court order erased Gurugram’s Prem Nagar Basti amid broken promises of rehabilitation

On October 8, when over 170 huts in Prem Nagar basti were demolished, the Haryana government cited a Punjab and Haryana HC order. The residents, however, contest the grounds.

Editor’s Note: The betrayals and futures of the Collegium system

Constitution Day Special Issue•26 Nov 2025

Editor’s Note: The betrayals and futures of the Collegium system

Our Constitution Day Special Issue poses one simple question: Without morally conceding to executive primacy in appointments, is there a way to imagine a more democratic future to how our judges are appointed?

"I, too, became a judge": What my own appointment revealed about the Collegium system’s undemocratic faultlines

Constitution Day Special Issue•26 Nov 2025

"I, too, became a judge": What my own appointment revealed about the Collegium system’s undemocratic faultlines

12 years after his retirement, Justice Chandru recalls the many twists and turns that preceded his appointment as a judge of the Madras HC, and what they revealed about the Collegium system’s deepest problems.

Judicial discretion in the era of Illiberalism

Constitution Day Special Issue•26 Nov 2025

Judicial discretion in the era of Illiberalism

Despite the wide ambit of discretion our judges are required to exercise, our legal system tries to ensure at the time of appointments that judges’ decisions conform to the legal method. But what happens when these mechanisms start failing?

The missing links in the Supreme Court’s released documents on judicial appointments

Constitution Day Special Issue•26 Nov 2025

The missing links in the Supreme Court’s released documents on judicial appointments

In May 2025, CJI Sanjiv Khanna released two documents on the processes behind appointments to the Supreme Court and High Courts. But why have successive CJIs meandered on the question of making judicial appointments transparent?