As we go to the press, the assembly election results signalled a major shift in opposition politics. It not only raises question about the future of the INDIA bloc but also indicate the BJP’s electoral dominance, its strategies across States, and the structural challenges faced by regional parties. While the congress won Kerala as leader of the UDF, and we witnessed a change in Tamil Nadu politics, the question whether these changes are enough for a revival of an alternative looms large.
Furthermore, with the NEET paper leak controversy and alleged irregularities in the CBSE evaluation process has dented the trust in educational governance. Discontent among Gen Z regarding examination integrity is increasingly shaping political discourse, which could create new electoral dynamics and potential risks in the lead-up to the general election. The emergence of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), the youth-led movement, has become one of the more intriguing political developments of 2026. The protest marked the movement’s transition from a social media phenomenon to a broader political organisation seeking to channel the growing frustration among India’s youth. The recurring failure across the admissions process and recruitment test requires a quick response by identifying culpability and accepting responsibility rather than simply pointing out what went wrong in the examination cycle. It is time that essential steps are taken to preserve public trust in institutions.
At the international level the ongoing US–Israel–Iran conflict has emerged as one of the most momentous geopolitical, with implications extending far beyond the immediate region. For India, the conflict is not merely a distant strategic concern but a direct challenge to its energy security, economic stability, and diplomatic balancing. The crisis also places India's doctrine of strategic autonomy under considerable strain. As the conflict reshapes regional power equations, India must pursue a calibrated policy that safeguards its national interests, protects its diaspora, secures energy supplies, and continues to advocate dialogue over escalation.
The volume opens with an enquiry that revisits the foundational assumptions in law and development. The article on Laws of power or power of laws critically interrogates the role of law in a developmental context, re-examining the treatment of law as a neutral instrument of economic and social progress. Through a comparative analysis across different development regimes, the analysis demonstrates how law simultaneously legitimises elite-driven development agendas and offers, under certain conditions provides avenues for judicial intervention and community resistance. The next article, critically examines the intersection of legal theory, political power, and development policy through an interdisciplinary lens. The discussion questions the normative assumptions embedded within Western liberal paradigms and advocates for context-sensitive approaches that are attentive to historical realities, institutional complexities, and enduring global inequalities. It envisions a pluralistic, context-sensitive approach to legal reform and development governance capable of addressing contemporary global inequities and promoting social justice.
Questions concerning constitutional design of representation, social equity, and affirmative action are critically analysed under the lens of the Supreme Court judgement on the sub-classification of Scheduled Castes in India. The analysis under sub classification of Scheduled Castes in India evaluates the decision’s implications in democratic representation in the roles of the State, the judiciary, and the political process in shaping social justice, and the broader objectives of reservation policy, along a trajectory of affirmative action. It further explores the consequences of such classification for the broader developmental interests of Scheduled Caste communities.
The rapid development of artificial intelligence has raised important legal questions, particularly about the limits of legal personhood. In this issue, the article doing a jurisprudential analysis of AI and legal personhood, examines whether increasingly autonomous artificial intelligence systems should be recognised as legal entities. The study explores the foundations of legal personhood, considers the conditions under which artificial intelligence may be treated as a legal subject, and discusses emerging issues of civil and criminal liability when autonomous systems operate with limited human supervision.
Following, the discussion of technology and law, the next article examines the role of emotional intelligence and impact of soft skills on legal practice. The article, focuses on the human side of legal practice through an examination of emotional intelligence in advocacy and judicial decision-making. The discussion explores how empathy, self-awareness, and emotional regulation shape legal advocacy and judicial outcomes, while addressing broader concerns related to access to justice, professional competence, and the role of human judgment within the legal system. Placing these issues within a developmental justice framework, the author argues that emotional intelligence, when supported by appropriate training and ethical safeguards, can improve access to justice and help reduce inequalities in legal outcomes.
Questions of institutional design and constitutional governance are explored through a study of the fourth-branch institutions in India. Moving beyond the traditional understanding of the separation of powers, the analysis identifies an important gap in existing scholarship on the foundations and role of independent constitutional bodies. It examines how these institutions contribute to accountability, oversight, and democratic governance within contemporary constitutional frameworks. By assessing the need for such institutions and the challenges they face, the study offers a critical perspective on constitutional design and advances a broader understanding of institutional independence beyond the traditional three-branch model of governance.
The volume further engages with the article on pressing challenges relating to labour rights, gender equality, and social welfare through a socio-legal examination of the health, wage, and social security conditions of working women in India. The examination highlights the particular vulnerabilities faced by women workers, especially within the organised sector, and critically analyses persistent inequalities in access to healthcare, fair wages, workplace conditions, and social security benefits. It also evaluates the effectiveness of recent legislative reforms, including the Code on Social Security, 2020 and the Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2017, in strengthening legal protections and advancing the welfare of women workers across both organised and informal sectors.
The volume concludes on another pressing note of evolution of privacy and free speech jurisprudence with a pointed constitutional law enquiry into the implications of Justice calls, conquering opinion in the Puttaswamy decision. The discussion argues the elevation of the right of public city as a constitutionally, protected dignity, right carrying the risk of curtailing expressive speech event, such as political satire, cultural commentary, and protest art. Further, it traces the theoretical origins and evolution with the right to publicity, situating the celebrity as a co-produce cultural text within a semiotic democracy. The article argues that constitutional interpretations of dignity may inadvertently revive the restrictive tendencies that the Supreme Court sought to eliminate by striking down Section 66A of the Information Technology Act.
Across jurisdiction, the debates revolve around diverse standpoints concerning constitutional governance, institutional legitimacy, technological change, social justice, and development, united by a shared concern with the relationship between legal norms, power structures and social justice. Collectively, the contributions of this volume reflect the increasing breath and vitality of contemporary challenges in the legal framework and the need a critical and interdisciplinary approach that engages with the questions of power, accountability, equality, and institutional integrity and the role of law in shaping democratic societies and the emerging global realities. We hope this volume stimulates a meaningful discussion among a readers, scholars, practitioners, and students and we hope that it will contribute meaningfully to the ongoing academic and public discourse.
- EDITORS
October 2025
GJLDP
Aman Sonkar
Abstract
This article critically examines the role of law in development governance, questioning the conventional assumption that legal systems operate as neutral instruments of economic and social progress. It argues that law is constitutive of political power in development contexts, functioning both as a mechanism that legitimizes dominant development models and, under specific conditions, as a site for resistance and accountability. The study adopts a political economy and critical legal framework to analyze how legal norms are produced, deployed, and contested within development processes. Methodologically, the article combines doctrinal legal analysis with comparative case studies. At the international level, it examines development-related legal regimes governing trade and investment, including investor–state dispute settlement mechanisms. At the domestic level, it undertakes a comparative analysis of India, Kenya, and Brazil. These jurisdictions are selected due to their differing legal traditions, shared exposure to extractive and infrastructure-led development, and the presence of constitutional frameworks that formally protect social, environmental, and participatory rights. The comparative analysis demonstrates how law frequently legitimizes elite-driven development agendas while simultaneously offering limited but significant opportunities for judicial intervention, rights-based claims, and community resistance. The article’s contribution lies in synthesizing critical legal theory with comparative development practice to highlight the dual character of law as both an instrument of power and a potential counter-power. It concludes by arguing that effective legal reform in development contexts requires moving beyond technocratic rule-of-law approaches toward politically informed, participatory, and context-sensitive legal frameworks that foreground accountability, social justice, and democratic contestation.
Keywords: Law and development, development governance, legal reform, political economy, comparative constitutionalism, investor–state dispute settlement, legal accountability.
Rishabh Saxena & Utkarsh Agarwal
Abstract
This paper critically examines the intersection of legal theory, political power, and development policy through an interdisciplinary lens. Drawing on a wide spectrum of jurisprudential, political, and developmental discourses, it interrogates the historical, conceptual, and practical frameworks shaping law and development studies. The analysis underscores the epistemological and methodological fragmentation across disciplines, which often hinders cohesive theorization and effective policy outcomes. It critiques the normative assumptions embedded in dominant legal paradigms and development models, particularly those grounded in Western liberalism, and highlights the marginalization of alternative epistemologies, especially in the Global South. Through a critical review of foundational legal theories and political structures, the paper advocates for a reconceptualization of institutions and legal processes that account for power asymmetries, socio-historical contexts, and contested forms of knowledge production. Empirical insights from North-South case studies illustrate the limitations of transplanting universalist legal frameworks onto heterogeneous development realities. Furthermore, the study explores how institutional settlements, discursive power, and informal legalities mediate the implementation of development policies. In proposing an integrative framework, the paper calls for deeper reflexivity and interdisciplinary engagement in law and development scholarship. It ultimately envisions a pluralistic, context-sensitive approach to legal reform and development governance capable of addressing contemporary global inequities and promoting social justice.
Keywords: Legal theory, political power, development policy, interdisciplinary approach, institutional settlements, global South, critical legal studies, socio-legal analysis.
Jagannatham Begari & Amol Kumar
Abstract
The paper attempts to delve into the Supreme Court's judgment on the sub-classification of the Scheduled Castes in India to examine the notions of democracy and representation. The article further proposes to explore the interventions of the state, the judiciary and the political process. It further evaluates the pros and cons of the sub-classification, its implications for the overall development of the Scheduled Caste. Subsequently, it intends to propose possible recommendations for further studies.
Keywords:Constitution, Sub-classification, Reservation, Representation, Supreme Court.
Vivek Kumar Pandey & Shweta Kabra
Abstract
A.I. revolution is here, knocking at our door. It is not making any distinction between developed and developing countries. The problems currently at courts of developed countries are our problems of tomorrow. AI gives functional Independence to the program from any human interference. In this respect is it fair to treat the human being responsible for actions with liability (civil or criminal) wherein decision of AI was the driving force of action? At present there is a vacuum in how to navigate the problem since AI are not categorised as legal independent entity. AI requires like company, a legal status. This legal status can be derived from granting AI legal personhood. The following paper is in proximity with theoretical jurisprudence and therefore doesnot dwell deep into case laws. It argues the cause for why AI need a personhood. It further traces the personhood development to determine the essentials of personhood. The later part of paper argues about few theory which may assist in granting legal personhood to AI. The essential of theories are tested with the AI to see suitability.
Saurabh Singh
ABSTRACT
The application of EI in the legal practice has been on the rise, and even justice in the court proceedings has not necessarily been guided by the doctrinal argument, but rather by human interactions, moral cognitions, and sentiments. The paper is the critical analysis of the role of emotional intelligence in judiciary bench legal advocacy and decision making about self-awareness, emotional control and empathy. According to it, EI enhances advocacy through enhanced communication with the client, negotiation, and behavior in court, and allows judges to reach a socially and legally responsible conclusion.
Going beyond a descriptive narrative, the paper lays emotional intelligence in a postulation of developmental justice, and its relevance as a means to access to justice, protection of vulnerable groups and alleviation of disparity in emotionally domains of the law. It also concurs with the mass criticism, such as the skepticism of subjectivity, prejudice, and emotional regulation, and it makes verdicts about the deficiency of the resort to EI in the law that is usually objectivity oriented.
Based on the psychological theory as the building block, judicial practices, and comparative institutional approaches, the paper deduced the application of emotional intelligence, where there was a well-structured training and moral safeguarding in the quest to create fairness and legitimacy to the legal processes. The research is topped with the suggestion to change the legal education, and to train the judges in India as the way of introducing the emotional intelligence as the other element of professional competence.
Keywords: Emotional Intelligence, Legal Advocacy, Judicial Decision-Making, Access to Justice, Legal Education and Reform.
Himanshu K. Mishra
Abstract
The trajectory of comparative constitutionalism, in recent decades, has been marked by the emergence of the so-called “fourth branch” of the State. Particularly salient within jurisdictions of the Global South, this development signifies a departure from the orthodoxy of tripartite governance, wherein the loci of state power are confined to the executive, legislature, and judiciary. Voluminous literature charts the proliferation of fourth-branch institutions, particularly in the Global South. However, there remains a profound theoretical vacuum in understanding their raison d’être. The extant discourse is suffused with normative expositions and functionalist accounts but is conspicuously silent on the foundational philosophical and jurisprudential precepts that justify the existence, autonomy, and operational ethos of such institutions. This paper endeavours to traverse this uncharted terrain by constructing a legal-philosophical substructure that illuminates the theoretical basis of fourth-branch institutions in India. The article is structured into four parts: it begins with an ontological justification for moving beyond traditional frameworks, followed by an examination of constitutional design limitations regarding these institutions. The third part analyses judicial interpretations that fail to recognise the significance of institutional independence beyond the judiciary, culminating in a case study on the Enforcement Directorate as a potential fourth-branch institution.
Santosh Kumar Shukla
Abstract:
In India, working women continue to face significant challenges, including but not limited to health concerns, working conditions, economic inequalities, and inadequate welfare benefits from social security. Due to the fact that the majority of women are employed in the unorganized sector, which is not adequately covered by labor legislation or social programs, the severity of these issues is much higher in that sector. The purpose of this research is to examine the many challenges that women workers face, with a particular emphasis on health risks, the absence of institutional social protection, and discrepancies in opportunities and remuneration. An analysis is conducted to determine the extent to which recent policy innovations, such as the Code on Social Security 2020 and the Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act 2017, have the potential to solve these concerns, as well as the limitations of these innovations. A number of policy recommendations have been made to the government, businesses, and civil society partners. These recommendations emphasize the importance of gender-sensitive employment practices, inclusive social welfare, and stronger enforcement standards. This study contributes to ongoing discussions about ensuring that working women in India have access to equitable health protections and social security by drawing attention to both structural flaws and innovative policy solutions available to address these issues.
Keywords: Women, Health, Social Security, Workplace Issues, India, Gender Inequality, civil society, enforcement
Shivangshi Mitra
Abstract
The paper will focus on the bleak, formidable and abiding implications of Justice Kaul’s opinion in Puttaswamy on expressive speech events such as political critique, satire, and free speech. It is highlighted that the elevation of the right of publicity, as a subset of the right to privacy, can mar the terrain of free speech and can instead act as a back door for the revival of Section 66A of the IT Act which was struck down in Shreya Singhal v. Union of India. To advance the said proposition, this paper is structured in seven substantive parts. First, it scrutinises the economic associative value that underlies celebrity identity in an endeavour to illustrate how celebrities are commodified to generate profit and shape cultural meaning. Secondly, it maps the theoretical origin of the right of publicity, distinguishing it from privacy and grounding it in proprietary use in accordance with the American jurisprudence. Thirdly, it traces the evolution of the right of publicity in India through key judicial pronouncements. Fourthly, it sharply critiques Justice Kaul’s concurring opinion in the Puttaswamy judgment for reframing the right of publicity as a constitutionally protected dignitary right. Fifth, it highlights the celebrity as a co-produced semi-public cultural text shaped by the audience and cultural producers, undermining the notion of exclusive personal control. Sixth, it examines how expressive speech events, such as political satire, memes, and protest art, function within a semiotic democracy, and how a protectionist approach to the right of publicity imperils such forms of democratic participation. Seventh and finally, the paper sheds light on Article 19(1)(a) jurisprudence in India, arguing that the dignitary reframing of the right of publicity conflicts with constitutional protections for expressive speech and may enable the repressive undercurrents that were once embodied in Section 66A of the IT Act.
Keywords: Puttaswamy, Privacy, Right of Publicity, Economic Associative Value, Free Speech, Political Celebrity, Semiotic Democracy, Expressive Speech Events, Cartoons
