Soumya Yadav, Author at SCC Times

Ex-Husband Wrongly Named as Father on Birth Certificate

Child Conceived During Separation, But Ex-Husband’s Name Went on the Birth Certificate: Bombay HC Orders Correction to Biological Father

The Court held that with adequate material like a DNA test and joint acknowledgment of parentage, Section 15, Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969 permits correction of the birth certificate to replace the former husband’s name with that of the biological father.

Events & Collaborations

AI and the future of the billable hour: What Experts from across the World are saying as legal value moves beyond time

General counsel, law firm leaders, legal innovators and arbitration practitioners at LegalTechTalk 2026, LIDW 2026, IAC Eurasia Arbitration Week 2026 and Cyprus Arbitration Days 2026 examined the future of the billable hour, exploring how AI is reshaping legal pricing, efficiency, client expectations and the relationship between time and legal value.

Case Briefs High Courts

Compensation not payable for electrocution while operating “Tullu Pump” within residential premises under Compensation Circular: Chhattisgarh HC

Chhattisgarh High Court dismissed a writ petition seeking compensation for death due to electrocution while operating a domestic tullu pump, holding that the incident was not covered under the compensation scheme prescribed for specified electrical accidents.

police drunkenness departmental proceedings

Case Briefs High Courts

Madras HC: Blood and Urine Tests Not Mandatory in Departmental Proceedings to Prove Police Officer’s Drunkenness; Medical Certificate and Magistrate’s Observations Sufficient

The Court held that the absence of blood and urine tests does not invalidate disciplinary proceedings and that the Drunkenness Certificate issued by the Medical Officer along with the Judicial Magistrate’s observations was sufficient to establish misconduct inside the Court hall.

Eviction suits exclusive to Rent Controller

Case Briefs High Courts

Jharkhand HC: Eviction Suits Under Rent Act Fall Exclusively Within Rent Controller’s Jurisdiction; Commercial Courts Have No Role

The Court held that eviction proceedings under the Jharkhand Building (Lease, Rent and Eviction) Control Act, 2011 lie exclusively within the jurisdiction of the Rent Controller/Sub-Divisional Officer and that the Commercial Courts Act, 2015 does not apply even where the property is used for trade or commerce.

Case Briefs High Courts

Parents or State Cannot Compel Adult Woman to Return Home or Marry; Right to Choose Residence, Education Protected Under Article 21: Bombay HC

The Court held that a 21-year-old woman, being an adult, is legally competent to decide her residence, marriage, and education, and directed that she shall not be compelled to return to her parental home or treated as a missing person, as these matters of personal choice are protected under Article 21 of the Constitution.

Case Briefs High Courts

Opposing Government Policies Doesn’t Justify Externment: Bombay HC Sets Aside Police Action, Safeguards Fundamental Rights

The Court held that the externment orders were unsustainable, as FIRs for agitations without police permission could not justify such action, which infringed upon the petitioner’s fundamental rights of free speech, expression, and dignity.

soft law international arbitration UNCITRAL Model Law

Eurasia Arbitration Week Events & Collaborations International

Soft law, UNCITRAL Model Law and arbitration-friendly courts take centre stage at IAC Eurasia Arbitration Week 2026

How do soft law, modern arbitration legislation and supportive courts influence cross-border dispute resolution? A Day 3 panel at IAC Eurasia Arbitration Week 2026 examined the evolving legal and institutional framework shaping international arbitration across Eurasia.

in-house counsel arbitration expectations IAC EAW26

Eurasia Arbitration Week Events & Collaborations International

Predictability, commercial strategy and enforceability drive arbitration decisions: Key takeaways from in-house counsel at IAC Eurasia Arbitration Week 2026

Corporate counsel and arbitration practitioners at IAC Eurasia Arbitration Week 2026 examined what businesses truly expect from arbitration, stressing predictability, commercial awareness, enforceability, effective contract drafting, mediation and stronger collaboration between in-house and external counsel.

Queen Mary International Arbitration Survey IAC

Eurasia Arbitration Week Events & Collaborations International

‘Asia is becoming a superpower of disputes’: Prof. Loukas Mistelis highlights global arbitration trends at IAC Eurasia Arbitration Week 2026

Prof. Loukas Mistelis traced the evolution of the Queen Mary International Arbitration Survey over the past two decades, highlighting arbitration’s continued dominance in cross-border disputes, Asia’s growing influence, user expectations, and the transformative role of artificial intelligence.

Eurasia Arbitration Week Events & Collaborations International

Cross-border M&A disputes require dispute architecture, not just arbitration: Experts discuss at IAC Eurasia Arbitration Week 2026

From representations and warranties disputes to fraud, earn-outs, mediation and investment arbitration, panellists at the International Arbitration Centre’s Eurasia Arbitration Week 2026 discussed why cross-border M&A disputes arise and how businesses can better structure transactions to prevent and resolve them.

Case Briefs High Courts

Inquiry Into Forged Judicial Orders Must Precede Consideration of Recall Application: Bombay HC Directs Registrar General to Lodge Complaint

The Court held that the issue of how and at whose instance the forged judicial orders came into existence must first be investigated, and directed the Registrar General to lodge a police and cyber cell complaint, deferring consideration of the recall application until completion of the inquiry.

AI pilots to firm-wide capability LegalTechTalk 2026

Events & Collaborations International LegalTechTalk

‘Don’t think of it as a technology problem’: LegalTechTalk 2026 closing panel explores how law firms can move from AI pilots to firm-wide capability

Law firm leaders, innovation executives and legal technology experts at LegalTechTalk 2026 discussed leadership, culture, talent development, data strategy and the future of the billable hour, concluding that the biggest barriers to AI transformation are no longer technological and that lasting success will depend on firms’ ability to embrace experimentation, develop future-ready lawyers and rethink traditional models of legal practice.

relieving letter in airline service bond

Case Briefs High Courts

Relieving letter is consequential upon acceptance of resignation; employer justified in withholding it where resignation is in breach of service bond: Bombay HC

Bombay High Court, in a petition concerning enforcement of a service bond and issuance of a relieving letter to an aircraft technician trained under an airline arrangement, held that the Industrial Court’s interim order was unsustainable, emphasising that resignation in breach of the bond cannot compel the employer to issue such documents.

Events & Collaborations International LegalTechTalk

‘Everybody will use AI, how do you remain relevant?’: LegalTechTalk 2026 panel explores legal design, legal engineering and the future of legal services

Legal engineers building products, lawyers experimenting with AI-powered tools, and firms rethinking billable hours and service delivery all featured in the LegalTechTalk 2026 discussion, which agreed that technology alone will not define the future of legal services, with competitive advantage instead coming from legal design, client-centric innovation and the ability to create value beyond traditional legal work.

Lawyers of the future AI LegalTechTalk 2026

Events & Collaborations LegalTechTalk

How to build and empower lawyers of the future: Legal leaders discuss AI, leadership, courage and the future of legal practice at LegalTechTalk 2026

The session “How to Build and Empower Lawyers of the Future” at LegalTechTalk 2026 highlighted that while artificial intelligence is transforming legal research, drafting and routine legal work, industry leaders stressed that judgment, critical thinking, courage and human relationships will remain central to the future of legal practice.

building law firm ground up LegalTechTalk 2026

Events & Collaborations International LegalTechTalk

‘Clients do not buy code, they buy courage’: Legal leaders at LegalTechTalk 2026 discuss how law firms are built from the ground up

From whether traditional partnerships remain fit for purpose, to AI-generated client instructions creating new liability risks and junior lawyers needing to reach judgment faster, the LegalTechTalk panel agreed that the firms which survive the next decade will be those that treat data as their most valuable asset and courage as their core product.

Events & Collaborations International LegalTechTalk

‘The breakthrough is not AI giving information, but AI giving insights’: Legal leaders discuss how judgment can be embedded into technology at LegalTechTalk 2026

The legal industry is moving from information to intelligence, a shift examined in the session “From Information to Intelligence: How Law Firms Embed Legal Judgment in Technology” at LegalTechTalk 2026, where speakers highlighted AI’s role in scaling expertise while keeping human judgment at the centre of legal decision-making.

AI in-house legal function LegalTechTalk 2026

Events & Collaborations International LegalTechTalk

‘AI is eliminating administrative legal work, not lawyers’: Experts discuss AI’s role in rewiring the in-house legal function at LegalTechTalk 2026

The session “The New Legal Stack: How AI Is Rewiring the In-House Legal Function” at LegalTechTalk 2026 highlighted that while AI is transforming research, workflows, compliance, and contract management, leaders from Airbnb and Wordsmith stressed that human judgment remains essential for complex legal strategy, negotiation, and decision-making.

advocates welfare health insurance annual premium Jharkhand

Case Briefs High Courts

Jharkhand HC: State’s Undertaking on ₹6,000 Annual Premium for Advocates’ Health Insurance Binding; Non-Publication of Resolution in Official Gazette No Bar to Implementation

Jharkhand High Court, in a petition concerning welfare measures for practising advocates, observed that State resolutions and budgetary allocations for health insurance were already in place, and held that the reliefs prayed for stood substantially worked out.