Thickening the "Chill": Expanding the Chilling Effect Doctrine through Kunal Kamra v Union of India
The doctrine of the “chilling effect,” traditionally viewed through a fear-of-legal-harm lens, has been central to safeguarding free speech in the Indian constitutional jurisprudence. Yet in Kunal Kamra v. Union of India, the Bombay High Court’s decision invalidating an overbroad amendment to India’s IT Rules raises deeper questions: is fear of prosecution the only force that deters expression? This paper argues otherwise, asserting that privacy concerns and social conformity pressures intensify the chilling effect in the digital age, making the standard legal-harm model incomplete.
Arnav Mathur
October 2, 2025- Insolvency and Bankruptcy
Diluting Security: Part of the IBC’s Wise Design to Break Contracts
Yash Sinha
August 27, 2025- Arbitration
- Corporate Law
Attributing Personal Liability to Drafters: A Doctrinal Incompatibility
Shubhankar Sharan, Arima Kaushal
August 22, 2025- Environmental Law
Environmental Impact Assessment & Solar Energy Projects in India: Solutions creating the same problems.
Chhaya Bhardwaj, Saksham Misra
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Two Avenues for Loss and Damage
Anirudh Sridhar
June 23, 2025- Special Series: Courting the Climate Crisis
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Ashwin Murthy
June 22, 2025- Interview
- Special Series: Courting the Climate Crisis