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 Ideal Prisoner and The Limits of Reasonable Accommodation in Indian Prisons
July 10, 2026
This piece argues that allthough courts increasingly recognise the rights of prisoners with disabilities, those rights remain dependent on prison authorities for their practical implementation. The experiences of Dr. G. N. Saibaba and Father Stan Swamy show how disability accommodations are often framed as humanitarian exceptions rather than constitutional entitlements. Disability should be recognised through equality and solidarity, not sympathy or charity.
June 2026: IJLT Tech Law Bulletin
July 10, 2026
This edition of the bulletin was authored by Devanshi Ganta, Jai Kumar Bohara, and Vanshika Gupta from the IJLT Editorial Board, 2025-26.
India’s Anti-Avoidance Framework After Tiger Global: Why GAAR and JAAR Should not be Invoked Together
July 6, 2026
In Tiger Global, the Supreme Court permitted India's statutory GAAR and JAAR to operate in parallel to deny treaty benefits. This article argues that their simultaneous invocation is doctrinally unsound because it allows the Revenue to circumvent GAAR's procedural safeguards through the choice of forum. Drawing on comparative experience, it contends that even if JAAR survives, it must be confined to its traditional sham-only domain.
Hunting the Huntsman- The Varied Interpretations of Capital Reduction as a Form of Corporate Re-organization
July 8, 2026
This piece examines the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal's ruling in Huntsman Investments B.V. v. ADIT, which classified a share buyback as corporate reorganisation under Article 13(5) of the India-Netherlands DTAA. It contrasts this outcome with divergent tribunal positions in Accordis Baheer, Legrand Nederland, and RBS AA Holdings, highlighting inconsistent treatment of buybacks and capital reductions despite similar factual patterns. The absence of a treaty definition for "reorganisation" has led tribunals to rely on academic sources and unrelated statutory provisions, producing unpredictable outcomes for foreign investors. The piece proposes a three-fold test, covering continuity of ownership, materiality of change, and transactional intent, drawing on UK statute and OECD guidance to standardize interpretation.