News Type: Event

Discussion | Public Interest Litigation from a Comparative Perspective: Legitimacy of Judicial Lawmaking

The National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bengaluru, will host a two–day, closed-door discussion on “Public Interest Litigation from a Comparative Perspective: Legitimacy of Judicial Lawmaking,” on March 28–29, 2026 at the University campus. The discussion is being organised in collaboration with colleagues from the universities of Tilburg and Utrecht, the Netherlands.

This discussion forms part of a broader comparative research initiative examining how courts across jurisdictions engage with questions of legitimacy in public interest litigation (PIL), particularly in cases that raise complex issues at the intersection of law, governance, and public policy. The project brings together insights from multiple jurisdictions, including India, South Africa, the United States, and the Netherlands, and seeks to better understand how courts justify and construct their authority in such cases. The closed-door meeting focusses on India as an important case study because of its distinctive experiences with PILs.

The discussion will convene a select group of judges, legal practitioners, academics, and researchers to engage in focussed discussions on these themes. Deliberations will centre on key dimensions of judicial legitimacy in PILs, including questions of access to courts, judicial reasoning and fact-finding practices, and the design and impact of remedies.

As a closed-door discussion, participation is by invitation only. The format is designed to facilitate in-depth and candid exchanges among participants, contributing to an ongoing research effort and fostering collaborative academic engagement.

The discussions are expected to inform future research outputs, including comparative scholarship and potential policy-relevant insights on judicial lawmaking in public interest cases.

Play Screening | C. P. Taylor’s ‘Good’ | By The Green Room

The student-led theatre effort at NLS, The Green Room, is organising a screening of ‘Good’ by C. P. Taylor, presented as part of the National Theatre production as per the details below:

Date: March 25, 2026
Time: 8:00 PM to 10:00 PM
Venue: NAB 205

The Green Room is a nod to the intimate, lively backstage space in theatres where artists gather before a performance. The screening will be followed by an open discussion. 

About the Play

Set in 1930s Germany, Good follows John Halder, a liberal academic who slowly becomes complicit in the Nazi regime. What begins as a series of small, seemingly reasonable compromises made for career stability and personal convenience gradually leads to a profound moral collapse. The play examines how, unlike overt fanaticism, ordinary decency erodes under pressure, exposing the unsettling ease with which self-justification and ambition enable participation in systemic violence.

What makes Good particularly urgent today is its focus on incremental complicity that emerges through everyday choices. It reminds us that harm is often normalised in subtle ways, and that individuals rarely see themselves as doing wrong, even as they become part of unjust systems.

About the Playwright

C. P. Taylor (1929–1981) was a Scottish dramatist known for his politically engaged theatre. He wrote widely on history and morality, often blending these themes with elements of dark irony, with Good standing as his most acclaimed and enduring play.

NLS Faculty Seminar | Kabir: Within Bhakti and Without?

This week’s faculty seminar featured presentation by Dr. Rinku Lamba, Associate Professor, Social Science, NLSIU on ‘Kabir: Within Bhakti and Without?’

Abstract

Many prominent anti-colonial Indian thinkers recalled the phenomenon of bhakti as relevant for constructions and imaginations of political community. Among the pantheon of recalled poet-saints is Kabir (15C) who even today is known for the “confident” and “passionate” way in which he was “ever at odds with the world around him, always ready to fling the dart of criticism in the direction of established religion.” (Hawley and Jeurgensmeyer 2004 35)

Much reception of Kabir closely associates him with bhakti, which in turn is known to offer conceptual space for a critique of caste hierarchies and also for its equivocal stance on questions of democratic power.  However, a closer perusal of Kabir’s verses reveals their preoccupation with the themes of persuasion and judgment, and these are themes that demand reckoning with Kabir’s thought alongside but also outside of the frames of bhakti.  Such attention to these themes, in conjunction with a focus on other features of Kabir’s perspective – such as the individualism he expresses and/through his stance on religion – can illuminate significant aspects of the cultures of secularity and democracy in India.

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Roundtable on ‘Land Revenue Law Reform’ | By MoHUA Chair on Urban Poor and the Law, NLSIU

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) Chair on Urban Poor and the Law at the National Law School of India University, Bengaluru is organising a roundtable (RT) on ‘land revenue law reform’. The RT will be held on Monday, March 23, 2026, from 9:30 AM to 1:45 PM in hybrid format, at the Bangalore International Centre, Domlur, and online.

About the Roundtable

The roundtable intends to take stock of, and reflect upon, the various significant developments that have taken place in the field of land laws in India over the last few years. Recently, the Supreme Court’s decision in Samiullah vs. State of Bihar raised several important legal and policy issues — are Indian laws clear on the differences between “registration” and “title”? How can technological solutions play a role in cutting through cumbersome procedures? What documents are necessary and sufficient to prove title? The Supreme Court has instructed the Law Commission of India to prepare a detailed report on these questions.

The Government of Karnataka has undertaken significant reforms in land revenue administration, registration systems, and stamp duty frameworks, with a view to enhancing efficiency, transparency, and legal certainty in land governance. Building on these efforts, Karnataka’s 2025-26 Budget proposes a new land revenue legislation to be enacted after a comprehensive study for effective implementation at the field level.

At this RT, we will bring together senior members of the Government, scholars, practitioners, and policymakers to share their expertise and perspectives on these critical issues. Faculty from the Department of Land Economy, University of Cambridge – Prof. Martin Dixon, Prof. Shailaja Fennell, and Dr Lovleen Bhullar – will join faculty from the National Law School of India at three distinct panel discussions on themes concerning land law reform:

Panel 1

  • Conclusive land titling: Despite mandatory registration under the Transfer of Property Act, 1882, India’s land system remains rooted in presumptive title, with fragmented records and competing claims. This panel examines the shift from presumptive to conclusive titling, with particular focus on questions of legal finality, error correction mechanisms, and the institutional architecture required to sustain such a system.

Panel 2

  • Comparative perspectives on land revenue law and reform: Panel 2 seeks to examine the shift in land governance toward facilitating industrial and renewable energy development. As land revenue law increasingly intersects with questions of planning, agriculture, and sustainability, this panel brings a comparative perspective to examine how different jurisdictions navigate these competing priorities and what lessons they offer for Karnataka’s evolving reform trajectory.

Panel 3

  • Land use and environmental perspectives: As environmental considerations (re)shape prevailing conceptions of what a ‘productive’ use of land entails, this panel examines the evolving interface between land revenue law and ecological governance. It explores how land use controls mediate tensions between development, proprietary interests, and sustainability, and whether revenue frameworks can meaningfully respond to emerging environmental priorities.

Guest Lecture | ‘Grindr Wars: Neoliberalism and the Postcolonial Queer Subject in India’ | by Dr. Shannon Philip, University of Cambridge

The National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bengaluru is hosting a lecture by Dr. Shannon Philip, Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology, University of Cambridge. Titled “Grindr Wars: Neoliberalism and the Postcolonial Queer Subject in India,” the lecture will take place on Thursday, April 2, 2026, at 5 pm at the Conference Room, Training Centre, NLSIU.

The lecture is open to the public. Please register to attend.

Abstract

Grindr Wars: Neoliberalism and the Postcolonial Queer Subject in India

The rapid digitalisation, neo-liberalisation, and globalisation in India are profoundly transforming sexual identities and sexual politics. In particular, dating apps like Grindr are changing the ways in which young gay men’s identities and relationships are formed, mediated, and embodied. In this talk, Dr. Shannon Philip ethnographically explores the ways in which Grindr offers much needed visibility to young middle-class gay men in India where powerful heteropatriarchies marginalise their sexualities and masculinities. Yet at the same time, the inequality that marks this digital and neoliberal expansion means that gay dating applications like Grindr also reproduce these very inequalities of caste and class.

He reveals in particular the growing commodification of gay identities and sexualities that is mediated through digital platforms, producing a hierarchy between ‘classy gays’ and ‘poor gays’. Desire itself becomes commodified wherein ‘poor gays’ are not desirable bodies or identities and the performance of class and consumption becomes central to claims of sexual desirability. Grindr’s geolocating technology allows middle-class gay men to discriminate against ‘poor gays’ through the spatial and urban inequalities of cities like Delhi and Kochi, further amplifying the inequalities of caste and class. In this context, ‘Grindr Wars’ take place, which reveal the social and symbolic tensions, clashes, and violences that shape queer life in India today.

About the Speaker

Dr. Shannon Philip is Assistant Professor of Gender and Sexuality at the Department of Sociology, University of Cambridge, and Fellow of Girton College, Cambridge. He is also a Research Associate at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa. His first book titled ‘Becoming Young Men in a New India: Masculinities, Gender Relations and Violence in the Postcolony‘ was published by Cambridge University Press in 2022.

NLS Faculty Seminar | Government Liability for Fundamental Rights Breaches in India: An Examination of the Writ Monetary Remedy

This week’s faculty seminar featured presentation by Balu G. Nair, Assistant Professor of Law, NLSIU on his PhD research paper titled ‘Government Liability for Fundamental Rights Breaches in India: An Examination of the Writ Monetary Remedy.’ He presented on ‘Chapter 3: Interpretive Principle: Fit With Case Law.’

Abstract

Since the early 1980s, the Supreme Court of India, under its writ jurisdiction, has been awarding compensation for the breach of constitutionally guaranteed fundamental rights by government actors. This was made possible by the Court reading in such a power despite the text of Article 32 (which, among other things, provides for Court’s writ jurisdiction) not explicitly providing for it. The use of this power is also considered extraordinary as monetary compensation is usually to be recovered from trial courts through a civil suit.

Even after the passage of more than forty years since it was first awarded by the Supreme Court, the elements which make up a successful cause of action for this monetary remedy remain unclear. The judicial uncertainty has not been helped by the near complete absence of comprehensive scholarly accounts which attempt to make sense of this remedy, which he calls the ‘writ monetary remedy’.

Balu’s doctoral project, of which this chapter forms a central part of, attempts to derive a principle which could make sense of the Supreme Court’s case law on writ monetary remedy. While the thesis further attempts to defend the principle on the ground that it coheres with Indian constitutional law and established principles of remedial theory, in this chapter, he introduces the principle and tries to demonstrate how it fits with the case law on writ monetary remedy. In doing so, he argues that writ monetary remedy may be (and has been) awarded for the breach of any fundamental right and not just the violation of right to life and personal liberty in Article 21. Additionally, he also seeks to show that, despite the Court’s occasional suggestions that the remedy is available on a strict liability basis, i.e., without any fault on the part of the alleged wrongdoer, it has only been awarded when the breach is committed with manifest arbitrariness. Finally, he argues that the quantum of the award will primarily depend on the consequential pecuniary and non-pecuniary losses incurred by the rights-holder.

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Guest Lecture | ‘Encroachments or Convergences? A Complicated Introduction to Design Subject Matter under Indian Law’ | by Eashan Ghosh

NLSIU hosted a guest lecture by Mr. Eashan Ghosh, In-Charge IPR Chair at the National Law University Delhi, titled “Encroachments or Convergences? A Complicated Introduction to Design Subject Matter under Indian Law.” The lecture took place on March 18, 2026, at Krishnappa Hall, OAB.

Organised primarily for the second-year BA LLB (Hons.) students, the session was open to all faculty members, research scholars, and students at the University.

Abstract

The first set of substantive amendments to India’s Designs Act in over a quarter century are on their way. It has arguably never been a better time to get our heads around some foundational ideas on what designs law is and can be. In this lecture, Mr. Eashan Ghosh navigated the complex and controversial history of design subject matter in India. The lecture covered how lawmakers, judges, and practitioners have erred on both sides of the line in making this subject matter far harder to understand than it needs to be. It examined how the intrusions of copyright and trademark law have clouded our understanding of designs and clears out some conceptual space for how designs under Indian law might come to be understood in the future.

About the Speaker

Mr. Eashan Ghosh is an advocate specialising in intellectual property law, in private practice since 2011. He is In-Charge IPR Chair at National Law University (NLU) Delhi, where he also serves as the Programme Director of the WIPO Joint Masters in Intellectual Property Law & Management. Eashan, a graduate of the NLSIU (BA LLB (Hons), 2010) is the author of three book titles, the most recent of them being Imperfect Recollections: The Indian Supreme Court on Trade Mark Law (2024).

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Seminar on ‘Artificial Intelligence: Prevention and Resolution of Disputes’

The Union Internationale de Avocats (UIA) India Chapter in collaboration with Bar Association of India and National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bengaluru is hosting a workshop on ‘Artificial Intelligence: Prevention and Resolution of Disputes.’ The seminar is supported by the Karnataka Judicial Academy and the Arbitration & Conciliation Centre – Bengaluru (Domestic & International).

When & Where

  • Day & Date: Saturday, March 21, 2026
  • Venue: Auditorium, Karnataka Judicial Academy, Bengaluru
  • Time: 9:00 am

The seminar is open to NLS Faculty, researchers and students upon prior registration. If you are interested in attending, register here.

About the Seminar

If there is one aspect that has touched probably all our lives in the last several years, it is definitely, Artificial Intelligence. Having functions like learning, reasoning, problem solving, data analysis it has impacted our lives and work in more ways than one. Siri, Alexa, Google Assistant, Search Engines, Social Media, E-commerce, Healthcare, transportation have all been effected. Whether it is designed for specific tasks or frees human beings for more creative work is debatable.

Some have called it terrifying, others helpful. Microsoft plans to invest USD 17.5 billion in India alone for AI development over the next four years from 2026 to 2029, to drive infusion of AI into the population at large. The Seminar aims to discuss the various views on AI, how it is changing the world, how it impacts the legal profession – whether it is for bad or it is for good and if so, how bad or good.

Seminar Schedule

To know about the seminar schedule please click here.

NLSIU-SIAC Annual Arbitration Lecture 2026 | Ethical Theatre: Soft Law, Hard Truths The Present Challenge of Arbitration Ethics

The National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bengaluru and Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) are organising the third edition of the Annual Arbitration Lecture on Saturday, April 25, 2026, from 10 am to 12 noon. The venue of the lecture will be shared soon.

This event is open to the public. Please note if you are outside of the NLS community, it is mandatory to register for the event. Kindly RSVP on the form.

This year, we have Mr. V K Rajah SC, Former Attorney General and Judge of Appeal of Singapore speaking on: “Ethical Theatre: Soft Law, Hard Truths The Present Challenge of Arbitration Ethics.”

Abstract

International arbitration has built a gilded library of ethical codes. Without enforcement, it is pageantry—ornate in form, hollow in force. Proliferation is not control. What binds is law, not exhortation.

The fiction that arbitration is purely private, insulated from public scrutiny, has run its course. Its authority is borrowed from the public legal order: state recognition, judicial supervision and mandatory norms no agreement can displace. Confidentiality should not be a licence for impunity. If impropriety is not policed with credibility, legitimacy will decay, then the process will be policed from outside, or bypassed altogether. State-driven reforms of investor–state arbitration were the first warning shot. India’s retreat from arbitration in high-value public contracts was the next. The signal is global.

Three structural defects endure: no democratic anchor, no uniform enforceability, no centralised discipline. Soft law soothes institutions, but institutions compete and hard enforcement risks market share. Competition invites accommodation, not accountability.

Reform requires four commitments: consequences that bite, transparency in challenge decisions, structural checks on repeat conflicts, and institutional courage. Ethical lapses must have consequences. Otherwise, it is theatre.

About the Speaker

Mr V K Rajah SC is Former Attorney General and Judge of Appeal of Singapore.

Mr Rajah SC is an international arbitrator with extensive experience and has served as both Chair and Panel Arbitrator in a wide range of high-profile international cases. He is highly sought after for commercial arbitrations across Asia.

His career spans significant contributions to the legal sector, including public service as a Judge of Appeal and Attorney-General of Singapore. He has played an influential role in shaping the country’s legal landscape.

Among the many committees he led, the 2007 Committee to Develop the Singapore Legal Sector was perhaps the most significant. It proposed transformative reforms that have since significantly shaped the legal landscape. Key recommendations included liberalising legal services to allow select foreign firms to practice Singapore law, enhancing market diversity and competitiveness; strengthening legal education through the establishment of the Singapore Institute of Legal Education and mandatory Continuing Professional Development; and taking steps to establish Singapore as a leading global dispute resolution hub.

He has been Chairman of the National Advisory Council on the Ethical Use of AI and Data since 2018. In 2024 the Medical Faculty of the National University of Singapore established a professorship on medical ethics in his name.

Please note:

  • All press/media invitees who are interested to cover the talk are requested to please carry their ID cards.

Roundtable on ‘Copyright in Practice: Perspectives from Archives and Libraries’ | By QAMRA & CIPRA

The Queer Archive for Memory, Reflection, and Activism (QAMRA) and the Centre for Intellectual Property Research and Advocacy (CIPRA) are jointly organising a roundtable titled ‘Copyright in Practice: Perspectives from Archives and Libraries.’

Event Details

  • Venue: Ground Floor Conference Hall, Training Centre, NLSIU
  • Day & Date: Saturday, March 28, 2026
  • Timings: 9.30 AM – 1.30 PM

Open to the public. To attend kindly register here.

About the Roundtable

This roundtable will examine how copyright law shapes – and sometimes constrains – the work of archives and libraries. Copyright is one of the most important, and very often poorly understood, aspect of archiving and librarianship.

Professionals in the fields of archives, libraries, and intellectual property and copyright law will come together to address concerns and conceptualise best practices. The roundtable will primarily have two sessions: the first will consist of archivists and librarians sharing their insights, experiences, and predictions, the second will be focussed on the exceptions to and limitations of copyright right law from a comparative perspective, looking at Indian and U.S. copyright law. The second part of the discussion will address concerns raised in the first.

The roundtable will feature a keynote by Professor Subbiah Arunachalam, a renowned scholar and activist in the area of open access.

Schedule

Keynote Speaker:
Prof. Subbiah Arunachalam, Renowned Scholar and Activist

Session 1:

Session 2: