Journal Title: National Journal for Legal Research and Innovative Ideas
ISSN(O):2582-8665
Frequency : Quarterly
Volume : 6
Issue : 3
Period : April- June 2026
1. AI and Telecom Surveillance: National Security vs Privacy Debate — A Critical Analysis
By-Shishir Kant Singh, LLM Candidate, Amity University, Noida
•Abstract
The integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into telecommunication surveillance has fundamentally transformed the mechanisms through which states ensure national security. AI-driven systems enable real-time monitoring, predictive analysis, and mass data processing, allowing governments to detect and respond to potential threats with unprecedented efficiency. However, these technological advancements have simultaneously intensified concerns regarding privacy, civil liberties, and the potential misuse of surveillance powers. This paper critically examines the intersection of AI-based telecom surveillance and the constitutional right to privacy in India. It analyses the evolving legal framework, including the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885, the Information Technology Act, 2000, and the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, highlighting their limitations in addressing modern surveillance challenges. Special emphasis is placed on the landmark judgment in Justice K.S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India (2017), which recognized privacy as a fundamental right and established the proportionality test as a standard for evaluating state action.
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2. Cybersecurity Regulation of Telecommunication Infrastructure in India
•Abstract
By- Priyanshu Parmar, LLM Candidate, Amity University, Noida
The rapid expansion of India’s telecommunications infrastructure has played a transformative role in advancing the country’s digital economy and enabling widespread connectivity. With increasing dependence on telecom networks for communication, governance, financial transactions, and delivery of digital services, the sector has emerged as a critical component of national infrastructure. However, this accelerated growth has also heightened exposure to a wide spectrum of cybersecurity threats, including data breaches, network intrusions, denial-of-service attacks, and even cyber warfare. Such vulnerabilities pose significant risks not only to individual users but also to economic stability and national security, thereby necessitating a comprehensive and robust regulatory framework. This paper critically examines the cybersecurity regulatory regime governing telecommunication infrastructure in India. It analyses the existing legal framework, including statutory provisions and policy measures, alongside the roles played by key institutional bodies in ensuring network security and resilience. The study further explores emerging challenges arising from technological advancements, particularly the deployment of 5G networks, increasing concerns around data protection, and vulnerabilities associated with global supply chains in telecom equipment.bIn addition, the paper adopts a comparative perspective by briefly evaluating international practices and regulatory models to identify best practices that may be adapted within the Indian context. It assesses the effectiveness and limitations of the current Indian approach in addressing evolving cybersecurity threats in the telecom sector. The paper concludes by proposing targeted recommendations aimed at strengthening cybersecurity governance, enhancing regulatory coordination, and promoting a secure and sustainable digital ecosystem in India.
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3. Mandatory Open Offer under SEBI (SAST) Regulations, 2011: A Safeguard for Minority Shareholders in India
By- Nikhilesh Pratap Singh Gour, UG Law Student, Unitedworld School of Law, Karnavati University
•Abstract
The Mandatory Open Offer, which is instituted by the SEBI (Substantial Acquisition of Shares and Takeovers) Regulations, 2011 ("SAST 2011") , is the primary tool of ensuring that minority shareholders are not left behind in the hands of an unknown management after a change of control in the corporation. This paper discusses the three pillars of the framework that interlock with each other (Regulations 3, 4 and 5), the pricing protection (Regulation 8), and the operational and judicial architecture, and analyzes their overall efficiency as a true Exit Opportunity. The paper, by analysing the doctrines of landmark cases such as the Subhkam Ventures v SEBI case, the ArcelorMittal India v Satish Kumar Gupta case, the Xchanging Solutions Ltd case and the Jet-Etihad scandal, and a comparative analysis of the UK City Code and the US Williams Act, finds three structural gaps: the undefined nature of control, leakage of premiums through composite It is followed by four specific legislative recommendations that would transform the Mandatory Open Offer into a strong substantive right and a procedural right of a high quality.
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4. Copyright in the Age of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Streaming: Challenges of Authorship, Ownership, and Enforcement
By- Dhruv S. Amin, Unitedworld School of Law, Karnavati University, Gandhinagar, Gujarat
•Abstract
The fusion of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Over-The-Top (OTT) streaming services has challenged traditional copyright doctrines. This paper explores the two-fold challenge presented by AI-generated works and the rise of Over-The-Top (OTT) streaming platforms to the existing legal framework, focusing primarily on India's Copyright Act, 1957 and overseas developments from the United States, the European Union and the United Kingdom. This paper draws on recent case law - Thaler v. Perlmutter (2023), Getty Images v. Stability AI (2025), and Andersen v. Stability AI (2023) - and legislative responses - the EU AI Act (2024) and India's IT Rules (2021) - to pinpoint four critical doctrinal shortfalls: uncertainty regarding authorship criteria for AI-generated works; the inefficiency of the existing OTT licensing framework; the ineffectiveness of enforcement strategies for large-scale digital infringements; and the absence of international harmonisation. The paper outlines a coherent set of reforms focusing on a sui generis right for AI-generated works, a qualified text-and-data-mining (TDM) exception with mandatory remuneration of creators, legislative recognition of dynamic injunctions and active participation by India in WIPO's discussions on AI copyright.
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5.Legal Challenges in Implementing the PPV&FR Act, 2001: A Comparative Perspective with Global Plant Variety Protection Laws
By- Udit J. Kapadiya, B.B.A., LL.B. (Hons.), Unitedworld School of Law, Karnavati University, Gandhinagar, Gujarat
•Abstract
The Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers Rights Act, 2001 (PPV&FR Act) is an Indian sui generis reaction to the requirements of Article 27.3(b) of the TRIPS Agreement, and is the only law in the world to combine rights of breeders, rights of farmers, community rights, and benefit-sharing practices into one statutory document. The paper takes a critical look at the legal and institutional issues that have cropped up during the operation of the Act over the last 25 years such as registration bottlenecks, doctrinal ambiguity in identifying essentially derived varieties (EDVs), weaknesses in DUS testing infrastructure, and poor performance of benefit-sharing provisions. The paper puts the context of the UPOV 1978 and 1991 Conventions, the TRIPS framework, and the plant variety protection systems of some jurisdictions, such as China, Kenya, the United States, the European Union and Australia, to discover the reform pathways in India. Cases in the judiciary and the administrative arena, especially the Monsanto-Nuziveedu patent case, the CCI cases with Mahyco Monsanto Biotech, the Sungro Seeds patent infringement case, and the PepsiCo FL-2027 potato scandal are examined in order to trace incomplete doctrinal tensions. The paper concludes that, although the statutory model used in India is one of the farmer-oriented models in the world, its potential has not been realised because of the loopholes in its implementation and suggests specific legal and policy amendments to address this gap.
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6. Effectiveness of GST System in Reducing Tax Evasion: A Taxpayer Perspective
By- Danish Raza, LLM Candidate, Amity University, Noida
•Abstract
The enactment of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) through the Constitution (One Hundred and First Amendment) Act, 2016 was a milestone in India’s indirect taxation system. The main objective of implementing GST is to simplify the taxation process, eliminate inefficiencies, and improve efficiency. This paper provides an analysis of the effectiveness of the GST in reducing tax evasion, considering the perspective of a taxpayer in India. The study considers both the theoretical and practical aspects of GST in relation to tax compliance. The discussion starts with an understanding of the concepts related to tax compliance, mainly deterrence theory and voluntary compliance theory. These theories will be used to assess the efficacy of the GST in incorporating legal compulsion and simplicity. Some of the key components of GST, including Input Tax Credit (ITC), e-invoicing, e-way bills, and digital technology enabled through the Goods and Services Tax Network, will be evaluated to examine whether the GST can establish a self-enforcing mechanism for tax compliance. Additionally, the implications of GST on the formalization of the economy and the broadening of the tax base will be considered.
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7. SEXUAL OFFENCES AND HARASSMENT AGAINST WOMEN IN INDIA
By- Priyanshu, LLM Candidate, Amity University, Noida
•Abstract
Rape is a crime that inflicts severe and long-lasting trauma on its survivors, often described as the "beginning of a nightmare." The aftermath can include depression, fear, feelings of guilt, suicidal thoughts, and a diminished interest in sexual activity. As one survivor notes, it creates a fear of "half the human race." Addressing the unfortunate reality of women's status in society, Mr. Justice S. Ahmad remarked that women in India are often placed at a disadvantage due to various social barriers, making them vulnerable to oppression by men. Despite being constitutionally guaranteed equal status, women continue to suffer from systemic injustices. Justice Ahmad emphasized that women have the right to life, liberty, respect, and equal treatment as citizens. Their honor and dignity must be upheld, and they are entitled to live with peace and honor, free from violation.”.Rape is a crime against basic human rights and is also violative of the victim’s most cherished of the fundamental rights, normally, the right to life contained in Article 21.
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8. The Right to Die with Dignity: An Analysis of Passive Euthanasia in India Post-Harish Rana and a Comparative Global Perspective
By-Ankur Agnihotri (Advocate, Supreme Court of India) & Shree Agnihotri (3rd year Law Student, Aligarh Muslim University)
•Abstract
This paper examines the landmark 2026 Indian Supreme Court judgment in Harish Rana v. Union of India & Ors., which authorized passive euthanasia for an individual in a Permanent Vegetative State (PVS), transitioning the right from a theoretical principle to a practical reality. It analyzes the evolution of this right within the framework of Article 21 of the Indian Constitution. The study provides a comparative legal analysis of euthanasia laws in jurisdictions like the Netherlands, Belgium, and Canada, which permit active euthanasia, against India's stance of solely permitting passive euthanasia. Finally, the paper engages with the core ethical debate: whether passive euthanasia is a necessary medical outcome or an essential component of the fundamental right to die with dignity, balancing individual autonomy against societal and ethical safeguards to prevent misuse.
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9. Children’s Right to Health and Medical Laws in the Maldives: A post-COVID-19 analysis
By- Dr. Shahab Shabbir, Assistant Professor, Department of Law, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh
•Abstract
Being healthy doesn’t mean being free from illness or disease; it also refers to one's physical, mental, and social well-being. Everyone has the right to immediate access to high-quality medical treatment. Children's right to health is especially important because they are vulnerable people who are more prone to illness and health problems. Children who are protected from disease and have access to better health care can develop into healthy adults and so contribute to the creation of vibrant and successful civilisations. The COVID-19 epidemic affected individuals all across the world, and the vulnerable members of society, particularly children of all ages and in every region on the globe, were inexorably affected. But the pandemic's harmful effects were not distributed equally. It turned out to be most damaging for children in the developing and underdeveloped countries. And the Maldives, being a developing nation, was at the forefront of child vulnerability and health risks. Nonetheless, the legal arrangements in the Maldives, as well as international measures and protocols, proved an elixir for addressing children's health risks and rights. A close examination of these medico-legal arrangements suggests that the risk to children's health could be addressed and mitigated during pandemics, and the present paper addresses this.
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10. Can Nature Have Rights? A Constitutional Analysis of the Legal Personality of Rivers in India
By- Shalini, LLM Candidate, Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University
•Abstract
This paper examines whether Indian constitutional law can recognise rivers as rights-bearing legal persons, and whether such recognition offers a workable response to the continuing failure of conventional environmental regulation. The question has acquired practical significance following the Uttarakhand High Court's decisions in Mohd. Salim v. State of Uttarakhand and Lalit Miglani v. State of Uttarakhand, where the Ganga and Yamuna rivers, along with connected ecological systems, were declared juristic persons. Those decisions marked a significant doctrinal departure by attempting to move rivers from the category of protected resources to that of legal subjects. The paper evaluates the constitutional basis, institutional feasibility, and doctrinal coherence of that shift. The analysis begins by locating the legal personality of rivers within the broader jurisprudence of legal personality, earth jurisprudence, and environmental constitutionalism. It argues that while Indian law has historically recognised non-human juristic persons, such as idols and trusts, the extension of that principle to rivers requires a stronger constitutional foundation than existing doctrine presently provides. The paper then examines the constitutional and statutory framework governing environmental protection in India, particularly Articles 21, 48A, and 51A(g), and demonstrates that these provisions support environmental protection but do not clearly establish rivers as bearers of rights.
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11. Facilitating Green Technology Collaborations under Indian Competition Law: Lessons from the EU’s Sustainability Approach
By- Kumar Ratnam, LLM Candidate, Amity University, Noida
•Abstract
If these global decarbonization goals are to be met, there needs to be intense collaborationamong competing firms in the development, standardization and diffusion of greentechnologies such as solar photovoltaics, electric vehicle infrastructure, and green hydrogen. Classical competition law however (as designed for traditional market economies and predicated on a fear of horizontal collusion and a focus on static price effects) regards such collaborative activities more readily as presumptively unlawful cartels rather than drivers of dynamic innovation and green public goods. India, interestingly, embodies this structural tension between a necessity of rapid green technology dissemination for the sake of international commitments and domestic policy goals and an absence within the Competition Act, 2002 of a sustainability-conscious test with which to separate the green pro-competitive alliance from the anti-competitive one.
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12. THE EU SINGLE-USE PLASTICS DIRECTIVE, THE BRUSSELS EFFECT, AND GLOBAL PLASTIC GOVERNANCE: TRADE LAW TENSIONS AND REGULATORY COHERENCE
By- Shruti Goel, LL.M. Candidate, Amity Law School, Amity University, Noida
•Abstract
Plastic pollution has emerged as one of the defining environmental crises of the twenty-first century, generating transboundary ecological harm that transcends the capacity of fragmented national and international legal regimes to address. This paper examines two interlocking dimensions of contemporary global plastic governance: the European Union's Single-Use Plastics Directive (Directive (EU) 2019/904) as a paradigmatic life-cycle regulatory instrument, and the Brussels Effect as a mechanism of regulatory globalization through which EU norms diffuse across international markets and legal systems. The paper critically analyses the WTO compatibility of the Directive under the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Agreement and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1994, drawing on landmark dispute settlement jurisprudence including US–Tuna II, US–Clove Cigarettes, EC–Asbestos, and US–Shrimp. It further interrogates the equity and legitimacy dimensions of the Brussels Effect, particularly its disproportionate compliance burden on developing economies, and situates these concerns within the emerging framework of the Global Plastics Treaty. The paper concludes that while the EU Directive represents a significant advance in life-cycle plastic regulation and its extraterritorial influence has catalysed global norm convergence, durable and equitable plastic governance ultimately requires a legally binding multilateral instrument that integrates trade and environmental objectives with differentiated obligations for developing states.
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13. DIGITAL ESTATES AND POST-MORTEM PRIVACY: A CRITICAL EVALUATION OF LEGISLATIVE GAPS IN THE REGULATION OF DIGITAL ASSET SUCCESSION IN INDIA
By- Simran Naresh, UG Law Student, Amity University Noida
•Abstract
India's digital economy has generated an unprecedented quantum of digital wealth - over fifteen million KYC-verified Virtual Digital Asset holders, a creator economy sustaining two million livelihoods, and digital property of every description. Yet Indian succession law, codified for a world of tangible assets, provides no framework for what happens to this wealth upon death. The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, brought into force on 14 November 2025, introduces a nomination mechanism for posthumous data rights but does not constitute a succession framework. This article undertakes a critical evaluation of the legislative gaps, examines the constitutional dimensions of post-mortem privacy under Article 21 and Article 300-A, draws comparative lessons from the United States (RUFADAA), Germany (BGH Facebook 2018), France, Italy, and the EU (GDPR), and proposes the essential architecture of a Digital Estates and Succession Act (DESA) for India.
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14. THE JUDICIAL ENABLING OF THE UNION VETO: A NORMATIVE CRITIQUE OF GUBERNATORIAL INDEFINITENESS AND THE COLLAPSE OF STATE LEGISLATIVE AUTONOMY
By- Ajita Singh, UG Law Student, Amity University Noida
•Abstract
The present study focuses on the constitutional lacuna that arises owing to the absence of timelines in Article 200 of the Constitution of India for Gubernatorial assent. In the modern-day era of 2025–2026, the age-old assumption of ‘Constituent Morality’ and the belief in benevolent leadership have been replaced by an effective Union veto. This research highlights how Governors, appointed by the Centre, have utilized their power of silence to bring State Legislative Assemblies to a standstill, moving India’s federal balance from ‘cooperative’ to ‘coercive.’ The paper argues that the Supreme Court’s shift from an activist position in May 2025 to the ‘dialogic’ Advisory Opinion of November 2025 has legitimized ‘Gubernatorial Indefiniteness.’ Based on comparative models from the UK, Canada, and the US, the study reveals that India stands as a constitutional outlier. The paper recommends amending Article 200 to incorporate a mandatory six-month period and adopting the ‘Doctrine of Deemed Assent’ to restore legislative finality.
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15. THE TRACEABILITY PARADOX: SOCIAL MEDIA SURVEILLANCE VS. THE DPDP ACT
By- Chahak Khare, UG Law Student, Amity University Noida
•Abstract
At every forward of a message on WhatsApp in India, a subtle legal contradiction simmers. On one side sits Rule 4(2) of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, which mandates that a Significant Social Media Intermediary offering messaging services develop an "in-built capability" to trace the "first originator" of any message upon government request. On the other side rests the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, and its subordinate Rules of 2025 is a regime based on the "minimality and purpose limitation" principle. This article contends that these two regimes cannot survive one another without one succumbing to the other. Traceability, by definition, requires a permanent, cross-system tracking apparatus for billions of messages and a pervasive surveillance infrastructure that is structurally at odds with the "minimality and purpose limitation" obligations imposed by Section 8 of the DPDP Act and Rules 3 and 5 of the DPDP Rules, 2025.
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