Introduction Fintech compliance in India has offered a comforting assurance for many decades whereby if you checked the boxes and adhered to the guidelines, you were essentially safe. With audit trails, internal policies, and paperwork serving as the foundation of legal risk management, compliance was viewed as a technical Endeavour. However, a quiet but profound transformation…
Most Indian boards think they have NOW full 15 months and few days, as of now, to comply with DPDPA. If MeitY compresses the runway from original 18 months to 12, transition will become a nightmare. Three uncomfortable truths I am seeing in the field: You are suffering from “Bandwidth Bankruptcy.” If your DPDPA lead…
The “Engine Room” of India’s AI Impact Revolution is No Longer a Secret in 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔! I always emphasise that 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐚 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐜𝐲 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 “𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐦”. It can be further summarised as under: India is architecting a “Privacy-First” infrastructure by embedding Privacy by Design principles under the DPDPA, which mandates that…
Introduction Customs classification disputes often appear technical, but they lie at the intersection of statutory interpretation, fiscal discipline, and commercial reality. Another topic repeatedly discussed by judges of the Supreme Court of India involved in Commissioner of Customs (Import) v M/s Welkin Foods (2026) (hereinafter referred to as the “judgment”) was whether imported goods should…
Introduction India’s labour law landscape has long been criticised for its fragmentation, outdated enforcement mechanisms, and inadequate deterrence against wage-related violations. While employees continued to experience underpayment, delayed payments, and unequal compensation with little corrective effectiveness, employers frequently had to navigate a thicket of overlapping statutes. In light of this, the Code on Wages, 2019…
Introduction The operationalisation of the Payments Regulatory Board (“PRB”) in May 2025, in its inaugural meeting on January 5, 2026, represents a significant structural intervention in India’s financial governance. Replacing the erstwhile Board for Regulation and Supervision of Payment and Settlement Systems (“BPSS”), the PRB introduces a multi-stakeholder governance model that institutionalises the tension between…
A very interesting decision of 𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐀𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚 in Zulu Nyala Game Ranch v Beukes where 𝐚 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐭 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐨𝐫. 𝐁𝐲 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 “𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧” 𝐚𝐧𝐝 “𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧” 𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐧𝐨 𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐣𝐮𝐝𝐠𝐞 𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐀𝐜𝐭…
Introduction In a significant ruling concerning the procedural nuances of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (the “A&C Act”), the Supreme Court of India has clarified the scope of Section 21 regarding the commencement of arbitral proceedings. The Court held that the failure to issue a formal notice under Section 21 is not fatal to…
𝗧𝗵𝗲 “𝗕𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗕𝗼𝘅” 𝗼𝗳 𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗽𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘂𝗳𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻! As per media reports, India’s draft proposal to mandate government access to source code and proprietary software updates represents a seismic shift in the doctrine of digital sovereignty. We are moving beyond standard compliance into a realm where the State acts not just as a…
𝐌𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐀𝐈 𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 “𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡-𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐤” 𝐛𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧. Don’t be generic in risk assessment, rather the micro level dynamics of stack of an AI System needs to be focussed upon to have actual perspective of risk assessment. Hence, if not taken care of, they become high-risk by architecture. Traditional AI, Agentic AI, and Agentic RAG…
Introduction India has produced one of the most radical public digital infrastructures in the global financial ecosystem in the Unified Payments Interface (“UPI”). Incorporating interoperability and real-time payments, UPI has not only fundamentally redefined how people and businesses operate but also led to a major promotion of financial inclusion and digitisation. What started out as…
Regenta Hotels Private Limited v. Hotel Grand Centre Point and Ors. Court – Supreme Court Citation – SLP (CIVIL) NO. 30212 OF 2024 Date – 07.01.2026 The Hon’ble Supreme Court has held that Arbitration proceedings commence from the date of receipt of invocation notice by the Respondent and not from the date of appointment of…
Introduction The enactment of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (“DPDP Act”), followed by the notification of the Digital Personal Data Protection Rules, 2025, represents a shift in corporate governance operations. For nearly a quarter of a century, data protection in India was governed by the 43A and the SPDI Rules of 2011 under…
For a decade, Indian enterprises hoarded data like oil. We scraped numbers, bought lists, and treated CRMs as goldmines. Under DPDPA , “Legacy Data” sitting in your servers from 2020–2025 is no longer an asset. It is a Toxic Asset. “If you have concerns about the legacy data, you may wish to ask your HR…
Year 2026 will be Foundation Year of Trust with Consent Management Framework in place. 1. Notice & Consent Basics Visual flow: Data Fiduciary sends Notice to Data Principal; Data Principal provides Consent back. 2. Purpose Register & Data Mapping Visual flow: Mapping Personal Data to Purpose for the Data Principal. 3. Processor/Vendor Controls (Part A…
The Hon’ble Supreme Court has held that merely if a party has participated in the arbitral proceedings does not per se constitute a waiver of its right to object to an arbitrator’s eligibility. The waiver to object should be express and in writing. I. Factual Matrix The dispute originated from a License Agreement executed in…
The High Court of Delhi has delivered a compelling ruling in the composite matter of HPCL-Mittal Pipeline Ltd. v. Coastal Marine Construction and Engineering Ltd., setting aside a majority arbitral award that deemed an entire defense “admitted” due to technical defects in pleading format. This decision, issued by Justice Prateek Jalan on May 5, 2025,…
The Hon’ble High Court of Calcutta in its Order dated 15th December 2025 in Rishi Chemical Works Pvt. Ltd. v. Enviro Cleanroom Projects Pvt. Ltd., AP-COM/828/2025, has held that a Court can grant a party relief under Section 9 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996 in spite of the Conciliation proceedings going on under MSME….
𝐀𝐈 𝐆𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 : 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐚 & 𝐆𝐥𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐥 𝐑𝐨𝐚𝐝𝐦𝐚𝐩,𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔 AI governance is no longer a value statement, rather it is a proof statement. That is why the India 𝐀𝐈 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐭 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔 𝐢𝐧 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐃𝐞𝐥𝐡𝐢 𝐚𝐭 𝐁𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐭 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐦 𝐨𝐧 𝟏𝟗 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝟐𝟎 𝐅𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬, because it is positioned around impact, not hype, and around what can…
The Punjab & Haryana High Court, in Manoj Kumar & Ors. v. State of Haryana & Ors. (CWP-26643-2025 and connected matters) pronounced on 23.12.2025, affirmed that the refusal to regularise long-serving daily-wage employees of the Forest Department, who had rendered continuous service for twenty-five to thirty years, constitutes an unfair labour practice and contravenes constitutional…
𝐏𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞. 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐬𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐝𝐨. 1. Accountability Data Fiduciary duty; demonstrate compliance 2. Purpose limitation Specified purpose; no incompatible processing 3. Data minimisation Only necessary personal data; reduce access 4. Notice to Data Principal Provide notice; clear, itemised information 5. Consent management Free, specific, informed; easy withdrawal 6. Data Principal rights Access; correction/erasure; nominate;…
Introduction India’s Fintech ecosystem now operates like an extension of the traditional banking infrastructure. Financial data is not independently generated by apps like CRED, Groww, Zerodha, PhonePe, and many account-aggregator-enabled sites. On the contrary, they rely on ongoing, permission-based access via Application Programming Interfaces (“APIs”) to users’ bank-held data. The said architectural system has enabled…
The Bombay High Court, in the case of Surendra vs. Agrofab Machineries Pvt. Ltd, Writ Petition No. 5656 of 2021, decided on 15.09.2025, held that employees cannot be forced to deposit retrenchment compensation as a precondition for challenging their termination. FACTS The present writ petitions arose out of retrenchment of employees of the Agrofab Machineries…
𝐓𝐨𝐩 𝟏𝟎 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐊𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐧 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 (𝐄𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲) 𝐁𝐢𝐥𝐥, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓. It will have an impact on DPDPA as well. It is a proposed Indian legislative framework designed to regulate the development and deployment of automated systems Creation of an Ethics Committee: The Bill establishes a dedicated Ethics Committee for Artificial Intelligence…
The Mandate of “Specified Purpose” Under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, processing personal data is only permissible for a lawful purpose for which the Data Principal has given consent or for certain legitimate uses. A “Specified Purpose” is the fundamental anchor of every data interaction it is the explicit reason mentioned in the…
We are after roughly one month and ten days into the DPDPA implementation countdown. Since, the notification dropped in November, 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐯𝐚𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐚 𝐬𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐭. 𝐋𝐞𝐭’𝐬 𝐛𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮. The 12 Months Milestone (November 2026): This isn’t a ‘soft launch.’…
Introduction The health technology ecosystem is expanding at a faster rate than any other segment within consumer and medical innovation. From smartwatches and continuous glucose monitors to cardiac telemetry patches, sleep monitoring bands, post-surgery recovery trackers and elder-care remote monitoring systems, the industry has shifted from occasional data collection to continuous and intimate surveillance of…
The Madras High Court, in M/s Antony Projects v. Superintendent of GST & Central Excise, Writ Petition No.42706 of 2025, decided on 12.11.2025, examined the maintainability of a writ petition challenging a show cause notice issued under the Goods and Services Tax regime. The dispute arose from alleged belated availment of Input Tax Credit and…
The Bombay High Court, in the case of B.T. Kadlag Constructions Pvt. Ltd. v. Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation & Ors., Writ Petition No. 12754 of 2025, decided on 18.11.2025, held that a prohibitory order under Section 8-F of the Employees’ Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions (hereinafter referred to as “EPF”) Act, 1952 cannot be issued…
The Bombay High Court in the case of Foundever CRM India Private Limited & Anr. V. Employee State Insurance Corporation & Ors., Writ Petition (L) Numbers 36012 of 2024, decided on 19.09.2025, held that principles of natural justice cannot be circumvented by Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (“ESIC”). Coercive recovery is prohibited without notice, a hearing,…
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