In a significant pronouncement aimed at preserving judicial integrity, the Supreme Court has addressed the "unsettling" trend of inconsistent judicial opinions across Indian High Courts. The Court observed that in a "polyvocal" system where tens of orders are pronounced daily, it is impossible for a Bench to be aware of every recent ruling. Consequently, the Court held that the resolution of legal conflicts is “not a matter of Sherlockian deduction” but a shared responsibilit

The operationalisation of the four Labour Codes on May 8 and 9, 2026, has fundamentally rewritten the rules of employment in India. For the startup ecosystem, the notification of over 30 gazette rules represents a "compliance cliff." While founders have historically focused on "burn rates" and "product-market fit," they must now confront a complex regulatory reality: The Wage-Pull-Back. Employee Stock Option Plans (ESOPs) are the primary tool for attracting top-tier talent wi

By Reetika S. Gupta, Partner at Aristo Legal Under the Apprentices Act, 1961, managing an underperforming apprentice is a fundamentally different legal challenge than managing a regular employee. Despite the 2025 amendments aimed at "Revitalising the Apprenticeship Ecosystem," the core protection for employers remains Section 18: apprentices are trainees, not workers, and labour laws—including the Industrial Disputes Act (ID Act)—do not apply to them. However, the 2026 Rastog