LL.M Dissertation 2025-26

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Special Intensive Revision (Sir) of Electoral Rolls: Analysis of Citizenship Governance and National Security in India With Special Reference to Assam.
(NLUJAA, 2026) Yuwaraj Yadav
The legal landscape of citizenship and immigration in India is explored in this dissertation, taking into account the overlapping and contested fields of the Citizenship Act, 1955, and its subsequent amendments, immigration enforcement measures functioning in Assam and the two landmark mass exercises of civic identification--the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Electoral Rolls. The questions are not just of academic interest. They have direct and significant implications for the status of millions of people, many of them long-time citizens of India and having strong family and cultural ties to the country, whose citizenship has been rendered uncertain, contested or precarious by a body of law that has undergone significant changes since the initial Citizenship Act was enacted.
From Colonial Extraction to Financial Liberalisation: Analysing The Legal Transformations Endured by the Bankng Structure in India
(NLUJAA, 2026) Swagata Das
The history of the economic transformation of India cannot be understood in isolation. It has to be understood while examining the evolution of banking reforms in India. From the period of colonisation, where trade regulations facilitated economic extraction, to the period of state-led developments in the post-independence era, till the period of financial liberalisation in the 1990s, banking reforms have continued to shape the economic structure of India. This dissertation thus examines how the aforementioned legal reforms and its subsequent legal frameworks which governed trade, currency and banking institutions, influenced India’s economic decline under colonial regime, and later contributed to its emergence as one of the world’s fastest evolving economies. During British rule, laws regulating trade, currency and banking institutions were primary structured to protect imperial interest. The banking standard set by the colonial government, specifically centralised the financial authorities, promoted export-oriented extraction and marginalised indigenous systems of commerce and finance. Therefore, the economic exploitation facilitated by these changes made during the colonial period were not only economic in nature, but legally institutionalised through various acts, charter-based covenant and regulatory control. Post independence, India tried to reclaim economic sovereignty via state regulation, nationalisation of banks and developmental financial policies which aimed at expanding credit access, thereby promoting economic inclusion. After 1991, the liberalisation reforms mark a significant transformation in the philosophy of banking regulation. There, there was a gradual shift from welfare-oriented state control towards private participation, market efficiency, global financial integration, and digital financial governance. Thus, this transition strengthened the position of India within the global financial market, meanwhile, raising significant legal concerns in relation to financial inequality, accountability of regulator, authorities, protection of public interest and elastic consideration of economic power. Thus, the study argues that banking law should not be treated merely as economic regulations, but as dynamic legal instruments, which shape economic structures, regulate access to capital and national economic sovereignty. Henceforth, adopting a legal-historical and doctrinal approach, this study aims to trace the evolution of banking law across the periods of colonisation, post-independence reforms, and financial liberalisation, meanwhile examining the legal continuity which connects these varied phases. The research addresses a significant gap in existing scholarship, since most of the earlier studies analyses colonial exploitation, banking reforms, and liberalisation from the economic point of view, without sufficiently examining the legal statutes, which enabled these transformations. Therefore, banking regulations have been placed as the core of the analysis, surrounding which the legal transformations revolve. Thus, this dissertation aims to bridge the gap between economic history and legal scholarship, providing a more integrated understanding of India’s financial evolution. At a time, where India has emerged as one of the fastest growing economies, with rapid growth in digital banking and increase in international financial participation, it becomes significant to understand the legal foundations of this banking structure. However, if India wishes to ameliorate it’s banking and financial structure to align itself within the global economy, its legal institutions should ensure financial inclusion, stability, accountability, additionally facilitating a more balanced global integration.
Biometric Authentication Failure and Accountability in Indian Banking System: A Legal Analysis
(NLUJAA, 2026) Siddhi Datri Singh
Under this methodology, the legal doctrines from primary texts are examined and critiqued in order to figure out their pragmatic realities and irregularities, if any. Though, the issue in question in this research in intricate therefore analytical techniques are employed. The principal statutes like BR Act, PSS Act, Aadhaar Act, PMLA, CPA 2019, DPDPA 2023 are read in detail. Case laws like Pragya Prasun, Puttaswamy II, LIC V CERC are further given detailed reading. This close reading has helped in understanding the interpretation of a legal rule established by this text and the way in which they function. The study also uses structural doctrinal analysis in order to assess the way numerous legal architectures operate and interact during a single transaction. The comparative method is also utilised to examine the contemporary international norms and find if any can suit Indian milieu. These are further supplemented by secondary resources like peer-reviewed academic articles, books, official government and regulatory reports.
Constitutionalism and Feminine Justice: Reproductive Rights and Bodily Autonomy in India
(NLUJAA, 2026) Shuvam Das
This dissertation adopts a doctrinal and qualitative research approach to examine the relationship between constitutionalism, feminine justice, reproductive rights, and bodily autonomy in India. The study is primarily based on secondary sources and involves an in-depth analysis of legal, constitutional, and scholarly materials. The research refers to important international conventions and consensus documents, as these instruments provide valuable insights into the global recognition of women's reproductive freedom and bodily integrity. At the national level, the study analyses the Constitution of India, relevant statutes, and significant judicial decisions that have shaped the legal understanding of reproductive rights, privacy, dignity, equality, and personal autonomy. The research also draws upon books, journal articles, research papers, reports, and writings of constitutional scholars and feminist thinkers to explore the theoretical and practical dimensions of the subject.
Corporate Responsibility and Accountability in the Age of AI Products in India: An Analysis of Child-Centric AI Product Regulation
(NLUJAA, 2026) Shivam Gupta
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has revolutionized today's consumer markets by redefining what products and services are, how they operate, and how they influence consumers in different ways and sectors. The adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in products has also become a part of our daily lives, from smart devices, digital platforms, autonomous systems, to adaptive learning tools. Unlike conventional technologies, AI systems have the ability to learn from data, make decisions on their own, and even shape user behavior, creating complex legal, ethical, and regulatory issues. Existing legal frameworks, especially concerning corporate responsibility, product liability and data protection have had to be rethought. The unique nature of AI, however including opacity, its ability to learn, and the reliance on data can make it difficult to prove liability, causation, and accountability.
A 15-Year Retrospective on the Dodd-Frank Act: Regulatory Burdens on Community Banks and Comparative Lessons from the Indian Banking System
(NLUJAA, 2026) Sharmistha Indwar
The global financial crisis that occurred in the year 2008 was a massive and unforgettable turning point in the entire history of international banking law. In the years before the crash the United States government strongly believed in the concept of deregulation which essentially means that they wanted to remove strict rules and let banking institutions to whatever they wanted to do. The most famous example of this specific approach was the removal of the historical protections found inside the Glass Steagall Act, 1933. Originally this important law acted as a strong and protective wall that kept safe, boring and everyday consumer banking completely separate from wild and high-risk Wall Street gambling. However, when the government eventually tore down this legal wall massive global banks started mixing the regular savings of everyday people with extremely risky financial bets. Because these gigantic mega banks were so huge in size and so deeply connected to every single part of the global economy their reckless gambling created a very dangerous ticking time bomb. When the housing markets crashed in the year 2008 these giant banks began to completely collapse
Evolution of Standard Essential Patents in India: A Legal Analysis
(NLUJAA, 2026) Saurav Sinha
Today, our lives are powered by technology that must work together seamlessly, imagine picking up your smartphone to connect to Wi-Fi, stream a high definition movie on Netflix, or make a crystal clear 5G video call to family overseas. All this everyday magic happens because of technical standards that is agreed rules that let different devices and networks communicate. These standards are typically established through joint efforts carried out by Standard Setting Organisations (SSOs) like the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), and International Telecommunication Union (ITU). By means of these organizations, sectors aim to establish standardized frameworks that encourage compatibility, efficiency, innovation, and broad consumer accessibility.
The Digitisation of National Security in India: A Constitutional Study of Telecom Interception, Data Protection Exemptions and Anti-Terror Law
(NLUJAA, 2026) Md Sarfaraz Nawaz Hussain
National security has always been one of the most important functions of the State. Every constitutional democracy recognises that the State must possess sufficient power to protect sovereignty, territorial integrity, public order and the safety of its citizens. However, in a constitutional system, national security power is not unlimited. It must operate within the boundaries of fundamental rights, legality, fairness and accountability. The Indian Constitution does not create a separate zone where national security is free from constitutional control. Instead, it requires every exercise of State power, including security power, to remain subject to Part III of the Constitution
The Evolving Jurisprudence of Affirmative Action in India: Balancing Constitutional Equality, Meritocracy, and Substantive Justice- A Socio-Legal Analysis
(NLUJAA, 2026) Samriddhi Ojha
Affirmative Action’ has been one of the most prominent yet controversial issues in the world polity for several decades. The phrase refers to the practice of providing preferential treatment to those who are considerably disadvantaged when compared to others. The preferential treatment given to certain groups of people may be because of the historical wrongs done to them or due to some inherent inequalities they suffer.1 The phrase ‘Affirmative Action’ finds its roots in the United States, but with its wide array of manifestations, this instrument is used diversely in different countries. It is known by various names in different parts of the world; in the United Kingdom it is notably known as positive action, as reservation in countries like India, Nepal and Pakistan, employment equity in Canada and South Africa, standardization in Sri Lanka, and sons of the soil in Malaysia.
Using Intellectual Property Law, Intermediary Liability, and the Right to be Forgotten to Combat Image-Based Sexual Abuse: A Comparative Perspective Between India, the United States, and the United Kingdom.
(NLUJAA, 2026) Sampreeti Nath
This dissertation examines the efficacy of three distinct legal pillars, Intellectual Property Law, Intermediary Liability, and the Right to be Forgotten (RBTF), as tools for combating IBSA. By adopting a comparative perspective between India, the United States (US), and the United Kingdom (UK), the analysis seeks to identify the strengths and weaknesses of each approach and propose an integrated legal framework that better serves the needs of survivors in the digital age. In the US, the legal response is heavily influenced by a libertarian interpretation of the First Amendment of the Constitution10, which often prioritizes free expression over privacy claims. In contrast, the UK has moved toward a “Safety by Design” regulatory framework, imposing significant duties of care on service providers. India, meanwhile, is carving a unique path that incorporates some of the world’s most aggressive mandates for the rapid removal of Non-consensual Intimate Imagery (NCII).
Towards Transparent Justice: A Study on Judicial Accountability in India
(NLUJAA, 2026) Saket Sourav
The question of judicial accountability in India, particularly regarding to whom judges are ultimately answerable, remains inadequately resolved. The Constitution simultaneously insulates the judiciary from political interference and depends upon parliamentary supermajorities to discipline it, a design that, in practice, has made accountability not merely difficult but functionally impossible. Scholars, most notably Geyh, have identified judicial accountability as a multidimensional concept encompassing three distinct axes: institutional accountability, which concerns the judiciary’s performance as an organ of state; behavioural accountability, The higher judiciary, comprising the Supreme Court and twenty-five High Courts, wields authority that is, by any comparative standard, extraordinary. It interprets the Constitution with finality, strikes down legislation, issues writs against the executive, and through decades of expansive Public Interest Litigation has increasingly assumed governance functions once considered the exclusive preserve of elected institutions.
Farmer’s Sui Generis Rights Under the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Right Act, 2001: A Jurisprudential Analysis
(NLUJAA, 2026) Sajjaduddin Saikia
The research intends to thoroughly analyse and assess the legal and jurisprudential structure of the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Act, 2001 (PPVFR Act) in India, especially regarding its classification as a sui generis system for plant variety protection. It aims to evaluate if the Act significantly diverges from traditional breeder-focused intellectual property frameworks or simply mimics them while pretending to adhere to TRIPS standards. The study also seeks to examine the extent, characteristics, and enforceability of farmers' and community rights under the legal framework, concentrating on uncovering structural uncertainties, doctrinal constraints, and practical obstacles to their application.
Bio Piracy VIS-A-VIS Medicinal Plants in Assam: A Socio Legal Analysis
(NLUJAA, 2026) Sachin Mungrati
Central to this discussion is the controversy surrounding ‘biopiracy’, which involves unauthorized commercial utilization of biological resources and related traditional knowledge (TK) without authentic compensation or benefit-sharing from indigenous communities that have cultivated these resources for thousands of years. The shift from an age where genetic resources were seen through the legal myth of the 'common heritage of mankind', now supplanted by sovereign rights, a regime largely driven by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) 1992,2 has markedly changed international environmental law. State of Assam located in North-Eastern part of India is a signing country under the Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspot. It is richest in endemic flora containing extremely useful phytochemistry and secondary metabolism, which was used for therapeutic and medicinal application by local aborigine communities (Bodo, Mising, Karbi, Rabha & Tiwa tribes). The customary custodians of this ethnobotanical heritage are the traditional healers of Assam, more commonly called as the Bez. On the basis of their knowledge on few native medical plants specific, such as Rauvolfia serpentina (Sarpagandha), Coptis teeta (Mishmi Teeta) and Garcinia pedunculata (Borthekera had used respectively in curing complaint from simple Dermal infection to complicated Gastro-intestinal disorders.
Corporate Liability for Environmental and ESG Violations: The Emerging Indian Framework
(NLUJAA, 2026) Rian Dutta
Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) refers to a framework used to assess how responsibly a company conducts its business beyond its financial performance. The environmental aspect focuses on issues such as climate change, pollution control, waste management, resource conservation and biodiversity protection.4 The social aspect examines matters relating to labour practices, employee welfare, human rights, diversity, consumer protection and community engagement. The governance aspect concerns the manner in which a company is managed, including board accountability transparency, ethical business conduct, anti-corruption measures and effective risk management. Together, these three pillars provide a comprehensive framework for evaluating a company's long-term sustainability, resilience and ability to create lasting value. As a result, companies are no longer expected to focus only on the interests of their shareholders. They are also expected to consider the interests of employees, consumers, local communities, regulators and the environment while making business decisions.
Mandating Human Rights Due Diligence for AI in India: A Need for a Legal Framework to Address Gender Bias Against Women
(NLUJAA, 2026) Reetu Machahary
Artificial intelligence is transforming governance, business as well as everyday life in India being the fast-evolving technology in India. Whether in the automated hiring systems, algorithmic credit -scoring systems, or the facial recognition systems, or the AI assisted diagnostics in health care, due to this AI based decision making affects millions of women with respect to employment, credit, health, justice and security. Also, at the same time there are increasing evidence which indicate AI systems reproduce and even amplify social inequality, particularly among the lines of gender, class and caste. Today Artificial intelligence isn’t just a technological hype; it’s a silent part of our daily lives in India. We see AI in everything from how the banks decide who gets the loan to how companies filter job applications. “While the Indian government's vision of ‘AI for All’ aspires to achieve the ‘greater good’ and ‘prosperity’ for all” Nowadays.
Legal Analysis of Legal Regulation of Advertising and Marketing Practises in India: Compliance, Challenges and Consumer Protection in Digital Era
(NLUJAA, 2026) Prity Chakraborty
India's advertising and marketing world has exploded in the digital age, from Instagram reels to Amazon deals but here's the real issue: the rules meant to protect us just aren't keeping up. Laws like the Consumer Protection Act 2019 and ASCI's guidelines sound solid on paper, yet sneaky tricks like hidden influencer ads, fake "last chance" timers, and even deepfake videos keep fooling people, especially in smaller towns where folks might not spot the red flags. India’s current approach to protecting digital consumers is struggling due to major administrative delays and a fragmented system. The scale of the problem is clear from the data that the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) handles over 10,000 complaints every year and a massive 95% of these come from online channels.
International Diplomacy in Cyber Security in India- A Study
(NLUJAA, 2026) Nishtha
Cybersecurity is no longer viewed as a purely technological issue. It has become a core strategic concern influencing global politics, trade relations, defense policies, and human rights. Nationstates today face a wide array of cyber threats, including cyber espionage, infrastructure sabotage, ransomware attacks, data theft, and misinformation campaigns. What makes these threats particularly unique is their transnational character, anonymity, and asymmetry. As such, combating them requires international cooperation, legal harmonization, capacity building, and trust-building measures among nations. This interdependence has laid the foundation for what is now termed cyber diplomacy a discipline that merges foreign policy with digital governance and cybersecurity frameworks.
Rainbow Rights and the Law in India: A Study
(NLUJAA, 2026) Namrata Gogoi
Fundamental Rights in the Digital Age: Constitutional Protection of Privacy, Freedom of Speech and Data in India
(NLUJAA, 2026) Marufa Aktar
The conceptualization of privacy in legal and philosophical discourse is often described as an effort to capture a “precious and valuable aspect of one’s personality” that remains famously difficult to define precisely. Etymologically, the term “privacy” is derived from the Latin root privatus, meaning “separated from others” or “deprived of participation in governance”. Historically, this “deprivation” referred to the exclusion from the public sphere of the polis, or political activity, in favour of the oikos, the private sphere of domestic life. In the contemporary constitutional framework of India, the primary objective of Article 21 is to ensure that every individual lives a life characterized by “peace, dignity, and freedom,” with privacy serving as the essential conduit for these values. The right to privacy stands as a fundamental human right, which has undergone substantial evolution in light of shifting societal norms and technological progress. This paper seeks to explore the concept and legal expression of privacy, chart its historical progress via pivotal court decisions, and examining the pressing challenges that confronts in digital era.
Protection of Ritual-Based Traditional Knowledge Among the Karbi Community of Assam within Intellectual Property Rights Regime: A Socio-Legal Study
(NLUJAA, 2026) Manisha Teron
According to WIPO, “Traditional knowledge (TK) is knowledge, know-how, skills and practices that are developed, sustained and passed on from generation to generation within a community, often forming part of its cultural or spiritual identity”. And according to UNESCO, “Traditional Knowledge refers to the knowledge, innovations and practices of indigenous and local communities embodying traditional lifestyles relevant for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity”. Traditional Knowledge is the knowledge that has been acquired over time by members of an indigenous community in one or more societies through experience and exposure to the local culture and environment. In the past, it has always been an easy and simple to reach gem, which is sensitive to theft. One is the biological resource itself and second for what you cannot own inherently such as traditional knowledge related to that. It is one of those that usually gets handed down orally from generation to generation. This knowledge has been influenced over time by innovations and practices from previous generations.

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