The NLS Forum curates pioneering research and current developments in the fields of law, public policy, social sciences and humanities.
Our work bridges academic scholarship, legal practice and
civil society discourse.
We present the University blog and five student journal blogs, where leading scholarship from around the world is edited by our faculty, researchers and students. To submit your work, please refer to the submission guidelines provided for each blog.
The Right to Breathe as a Constitutional ‘Essential’
December 30, 2025
The article argues that India’s constitutional recognition of the right to life has evolved to include a substantive right to breathe clean air, grounded in dignity, equality, and environmental justice. However, it contends that without clear standards, proactive state action, and attention to distributive justice and intergenerational equity, this right risks remaining normatively rich but practically ineffective.
Between Platforms and Public Law: A Case for Interoperability
December 22, 2025
This article examines whether platforms like WhatsApp perform public functions under Indian constitutional law. It argues that platform dominance raises structural concerns that call for regulatory interventions beyond adjudicatory remedies. Drawing on the NPCI and the EU’s Digital Markets Act, it proposes outcome-based interoperability standards to balance innovation, accountability, and public access.
Ad-Interim Orders, Section 37(1)(b), and Article 227: Analysing the Missed Opportunity in Jindal Steel v. Bansal Infra
January 3, 2026
This article analyses the Supreme Court’s decision in M/s Jindal Steel & Power Ltd. v. Bansal Infra Projects Pvt. Ltd., arguing that the Court missed a key opportunity to clarify Indian arbitration law. The judgment failed to resolve whether ad-interim orders under Section 9 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, are appealable under Section 37(1)(b). This ambiguity encourages litigants to bypass the statutory appellate process by using Article 227 of the Constitution. The author argues that the Court also neglected to apply established tests for judicial intervention, such as “patent lack of jurisdiction,” which undermines arbitral autonomy. The article concludes that this decision creates procedural instability and calls for legislative and judicial clarification to restore the Act's self-sufficient framework.
The Monetary and Fiscal Mechanism
August 25, 2025
Part 1 of this blog series focused on the distributive aspects of taxation: public goods and the market failure that they address; why it is preferable that taxes be progressive and relative to income and wealth; the political and economic case for taxing capital and redistribution; and the economic and distributive implications of tariffs. This […]