“CLOSING THE GENDER GAP IN PARENTAL LEAVE: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF PARENTAL LEAVE IN INDIA AND WESTERN COUNTRIES”

AUTHOR – HARINI.M STUDENT AT SCHOOL OF EXCELLENCE IN LAW THE TAMILNADU DR AMBEDKAR LAW UNIVERSIY, CHENNAI

BEST CITATION – HARINI.M, “CLOSING THE GENDER GAP IN PARENTAL LEAVE: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF PARENTAL LEAVE IN INDIA AND WESTERN COUNTRIES”, INDIAN JOURNAL OF LEGAL REVIEW (IJLR), 6 (5) OF 2026, PG. 451-463, APIS – 3920 – 0001 & ISSN – 2583-2344.

ABSTRACT

This research paper delves into comparative analysis of parental leave in India and other western countries to suggest how gender gap can be minimised and closed for recognising caregiving role of both the parents.There are several countries that adopted parental leave law for the well being of the newborn in this contemporary world. Parental leave under labour law has evolved from a mere ‘maternity benefit’ measure into a broader gender neutral policy in advanced economies but in India ,however ,statutory protection remains largely maternity-centric, with limited statutory recognition of paternity or shared parental leave.This research paper deploys, the use of doctrinal and comparative legal method to analyse the parental leave regimes in India, Sweden, Germany ,and the US to draw lessons on duration ,remuneration, job protection, gender neutral design ,coverage of informal sector and private sector .It mainly points out that though India’s maternity leave provisions are relatively generous in duration ,they remain maternity centric and fail to institutionalise shared parental responsibility. By drawing lessons from other western countries ,the study proposes that India should move towards shared parental leave scheme.For the purpose of this study, this paper will examine statutes ,codes, reports and judgements pertaining to maternity and paternity benefit across various countries.

Keywords: Maternity benefits, Paternity benefits, shared parental leave, gender neutral design ,informal sector .

OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY OF CONSTRUCTION WORKERS UNDER THE OCCUPATIONAL, SAFETY, HEALTH AND WORKING CONDITIONS CODE, 2020: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF IMPLEMENTATION GAPS

AUTHOR – VYABINYAA SHRIEE R S, STUDENT AT THE TAMIL NADU DR. AMBEDKAR LAW UNIVERSITY, SOEL, CHENNAI

BEST CITATION – VYABINYAA SHRIEE R S, OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY OF CONSTRUCTION WORKERS UNDER THE OCCUPATIONAL, SAFETY, HEALTH AND WORKING CONDITIONS CODE, 2020: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF IMPLEMENTATION GAPS, INDIAN JOURNAL OF LEGAL REVIEW (IJLR), 6 (5) OF 2026, PG. 444-456, APIS – 3920 – 0001 & ISSN – 2583-2344.

ABSTRACT

The construction sector is one of the most hazardous industries, characterized by high rates of accidents, injuries, and occupational diseases. In India, the enactment of the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 (OSH Code, 2020) marked a significant step toward consolidating and modernizing labour laws related to workplace safety. This research critically examines the effectiveness of the OSH Code, 2020 in ensuring occupational safety for construction workers, with a particular focus on implementation gaps. While the Code introduces comprehensive provisions relating to health, safety standards, welfare measures, and employer accountability, challenges persist in its enforcement due to inadequate institutional capacity, lack of awareness among workers, informal employment structures, and weak monitoring mechanisms. The study analyses statutory provisions, existing compliance frameworks, and practical obstacles in implementation. It also highlights the need for stronger regulatory oversight, improved worker training, and enhanced accountability mechanisms. The paper concludes that although the OSH Code, 2020 has the potential to transform workplace safety in the construction sector, its success depends largely on effective enforcement and stakeholder participation

KEYWORDS : Occupational Safety, Construction Workers, OSH Code, 2020, Labour Law Reforms, Workplace Safety, Implementation Gaps, Informal Sector Worker Welfare.

OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES AND WORKERS’ COMPENSATION

AUTHOR – A. RASIKA, STUDENT AT SCHOOL OF EXCELLENCE IN LAW THE TAMILNADU DR AMBEDKAR LAW UNIVERSIY, CHENNAI

BEST CITATION – A. RASIKA, OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES AND WORKERS’ COMPENSATION, INDIAN JOURNAL OF LEGAL REVIEW (IJLR), 6 (5) OF 2026, PG. 440-443, APIS – 3920 – 0001 & ISSN – 2583-2344.

Abstract

Occupational diseases are illnesses that arise due to exposure to harmful conditions in the workplace. With the rapid growth of industrialization and urbanization, workers across various sectors are increasingly exposed to physical, chemical, biological, and psychological hazards. These diseases not only affect the health and productivity of workers but also impose a significant burden on their families and society. In India, where a large portion of the workforce is engaged in the unorganized sector, occupational health risks often go unnoticed and unreported. Workers’ compensation serves as a crucial mechanism to provide financial relief and support to employees who suffer from occupational diseases or workplace injuries. This article explores the concept of occupational diseases, their causes, and the legal framework governing workers’ compensation in India. It further examines the challenges in implementation, lack of awareness, and gaps in the existing system. The study emphasizes the need for stronger enforcement, better healthcare facilities, and a more inclusive compensation mechanism to ensure justice and dignity for workers.

Keywords

Occupational Diseases, Workers’ Compensation, Industrial Health, Labour Laws, Workplace Safety, Employee Welfare, Occupational Hazards, Compensation Laws, India

COMPARATIVE STUDY OF IMPLEMENTATION OF MINIMUM WAGES LAWS IN INDIA AND U.S.A

AUTHOR – MEERAA SHANKARI G, STUDENT AT SCHOOL OF EXCELLENCE IN LAW THE TAMILNADU DR AMBEDKAR LAW UNIVERSIY, CHENNAI

BEST CITATION – MEERAA SHANKARI G, COMPARATIVE STUDY OF IMPLEMENTATION OF MINIMUM WAGES LAWS IN INDIA AND U.S.A, INDIAN JOURNAL OF LEGAL REVIEW (IJLR), 6 (5) OF 2026, PG. 464-479, APIS – 3920 – 0001 & ISSN – 2583-2344.

ABSTRACT:

“A job should lift workers out of poverty, not keep them in it.”

-Bernie Sanders

              Minimum wage laws constitute a foundational element of labour welfare policy, aimed at ensuring fair remuneration and protecting workers from exploitation. In India, the significance of minimum wage regulation is amplified by the predominance of the informal sector, regional economic disparities, and varying levels of enforcement. This paper examines the evolution, framework, and impact of minimum wage laws, particularly under the Minimum Wages Act, 1948, and its transition into the contemporary wage regime.

The study critically analyses the role of minimum wage legislation in addressing poverty, reducing income inequality, and influencing employment patterns. It further explores the challenges associated with implementation, including lack of uniformity across states, weak enforcement mechanisms, and the persistence of informal employment relationships. The research also considers recent reforms, such as the consolidation of wage-related laws under the Code on Wages, 2019, and evaluates their potential to streamline wage determination and improve compliance.

KEYWORDS: Minimum Wage, Labour, Informality, Inequality, Poverty, Employment, Regulation, Enforcement, Justice, Equity, Governance, Compliance.

PROTECTING MIGRANT WORKERS IN INDIA

AUTHOR – NAMEENA P,STUDENT AT SCHOOL OF EXCELLENCE IN LAW THE TAMILNADU DR AMBEDKAR LAW UNIVERSIY, CHENNAI

BEST CITATION – NAMEENA P, PROTECTING MIGRANT WORKERS IN INDIA, INDIAN JOURNAL OF LEGAL REVIEW (IJLR), 6 (5) OF 2026, PG. 436-439, APIS – 3920 – 0001 & ISSN – 2583-2344.

Abstract

Migration has been an integral part of India’s socio-economic structure for decades. Millions of workers migrate from rural to urban areas in search of employment, better living conditions, and economic stability. However, despite their significant contribution to the economy, migrant workers remain one of the most vulnerable sections of society. They often face exploitation, poor working conditions, lack of legal protection, and limited access to basic amenities such as healthcare, housing, and education. The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the harsh realities of migrant workers’ lives, bringing their struggles into the national spotlight. This article examines the legal framework governing migrant workers in India, the challenges they face, and the gaps in the implementation of existing laws. It also highlights the role of constitutional protections and international human rights standards. Further, the article suggests reforms to strengthen protection mechanisms and ensure dignity, equality, and justice for migrant workers. The study aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the issue and propose practical solutions for improving the conditions of migrant workers in India.

Keywords

Migrant Workers, Labour Rights, Social Security, Interstate Migration, Labour Laws, Human Rights, Informal Sector, Welfare Schemes, Legal Protection, India

LEGAL EVALUATION EMPLOYER’S LIABILITY ON FACTORIES UNDER THE OSH CODE, 2020: A LEGAL EVALUTION

AUTHOR – SAVITHA S, STUDENT AT SCHOOL OF EXCELLENCE IN LAW, TNDALU, CHENNAI

BEST CITATION – SAVITHA S, LEGAL EVALUATION EMPLOYER’S LIABILITY ON FACTORIES UNDER THE OSH CODE, 2020: A LEGAL EVALUTION, INDIAN JOURNAL OF LEGAL REVIEW (IJLR), 6 (5) OF 2026, PG. 424-435, APIS – 3920 – 0001 & ISSN – 2583-2344.

ABSTRACT

The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 represents a significant consolidation and reform of India’s labour laws, aiming to streamline and strengthen workplace safety across various sectors, particularly factories. This research critically evaluates the scope and extent of employer liability under the Code, with a focused analysis on statutory duties, compliance requirements, and enforcement mechanisms applicable to factory establishments. The study examines key provisions relating to employer obligations, including the duty to ensure a safe working environment, provision of welfare facilities, risk assessment, and adherence to prescribed safety standards.

Further, the paper analyses the legal consequences of non-compliance, including penalties, offences, and the role of inspectors-cum-facilitators in ensuring accountability. It also explores the extent to which the Code departs from or builds upon the earlier framework under the Factories Act, 1948. Through doctrinal analysis and relevant judicial interpretations, the research identifies practical challenges in implementation, such as lack of awareness, enforcement gaps, and infrastructural deficiencies, which may dilute the effectiveness of employer liability provisions.

The study concludes by assessing whether the OSH Code adequately balances industrial growth with worker protection and suggests reforms to enhance employer accountability and strengthen occupational safety governance in factories.

Keywords:
Employer Liability, OSH Code 2020, Factory Safety, Labour Law, Occupational Health, Workplace Regulation, compliance, industrial safety.

ACCESS TO ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE THROUGH PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION

AUTHOR – SUPRATIM RAY, STUDENT AT NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY, TRIPURA

BEST CITATION – SUPRATIM RAY, ACCESS TO ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE THROUGH PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION, INDIAN JOURNAL OF LEGAL REVIEW (IJLR), 6 (5) OF 2026, PG. 420-423, APIS – 3920 – 0001 & ISSN – 2583-2344.

INTRODUCTION

Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has emerged as a powerful tool in India’s judicial landscape, democratising access to justice and enabling ordinary citizens, activists and organisations to address systemic issues that affect the public at large . In realm of environmental justice, PILs have been instrumental in enforcing constitutional rights, holding polluters accountable, and shaping policies to protect natural resources. Rooted in Article 21 of the Indian Constitution, which guarantees the right to life and includes the right to clean environment, PILs have bridged the gap for marginalised communities facing environmental degradation. This blog explores how PILs facilitates access to environmental justice, highlighting key cases, mechanism and recent developments as of January 2026.

DELAY IN INVESTIGATION AND ITS IMPACT ON BAIL DECISIONS IN INDIA: A STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS

AUTHOR – AARTI, STUDENT AT AMITY INSTITUTE OF ADVANCED LEGAL STUDIES, AMITY UNIVERSITY NOIDA, UTTAR PRADESH

BEST CITATION – AARTI, DELAY IN INVESTIGATION AND ITS IMPACT ON BAIL DECISIONS IN INDIA: A STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS, INDIAN JOURNAL OF LEGAL REVIEW (IJLR), 6 (5) OF 2026, PG. 403-419, APIS – 3920 – 0001 & ISSN – 2583-2344.

Abstract

Criminal investigations in India don’t just lag—they crawl, and the cost is steep. The law promises timely, fair investigations to protect everyone’s rights, but that ideal rarely shows up in practice. The system groans under mountains of paperwork.^[1] Cases linger for years—sometimes entire decades pass—and that’s not a quirk of bureaucracy. Every delay chips away at lives. People accused of crimes spend years in limbo, not knowing their fate. The right to bail, meant as a safeguard, starts to feel like a useless formality.

Prisons grow crowded, mostly with people who haven’t been convicted of anything. They’re stuck, caught between slow-moving investigations and even slower bail hearings.^[2] So pretrial detention, which the law treats as a last resort, quietly becomes punishment by another name. That’s justice turned on its head.

This paper digs into how delay twists the bail process.^[3] It unpacks the rules—like default bail under Section 187(2) of the Bhartiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023—and looks at the big ideas behind them. But the roots of delay run deeper. Overstretched cops, clumsy procedures, a culture of finger-pointing with no one held responsible, and the daily crush faced by the poor and marginalized—these drive the system’s slow decay. Delay doesn’t hit everyone equally; it crushes those already on the margins.

Judges have to balance freedom against public safety, but their calls swing wildly. Some use delay to free people on bail; others point to “security” and keep them locked up. Often, it feels like they’re just patching holes while the roof keeps leaking.

One thing’s certain: delay isn’t an accident. It’s everywhere—feeding inequality and shredding people’s faith in justice. Courts are beginning to call out the problem and let delay shape their decisions, but that’s just scratching the surface. What’s needed is bolder—rethinking how the system runs, putting real resources in place, and making people answer for breakdowns. Real reform has waited too long. Until then, bail remains more promise than protection, and the daily struggle for liberty grinds on. The task isn’t tweaking rules at the edges; it’s rebuilding the whole system so it finally lives up to its own promises.

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[1] National Crime Records Bureau, Prison Statistics India 2022, Ministry of Home Affairs (2023), https://ncrb.gov.in.

[2] PRS Legislative Research, Judicial Pendency in India (2023), https://prsindia.org.

[3] Marc Galanter, Law and society in Modern India, 37 J. Legal Educ. 519 (1987).

CRYPTO ASSETS AND TAXATION IN INDIA: AN ANALYTICAL STUDY

AUTHOR – ANIMESH SRIVASTAVA* & AMBAR SRIVASTAVA**

* STUDENT AT LAW COLLEGE DEHRADUN, UTTARANCHAL UNIVERSITY, DEHRADUN

** PROFESSOR AT LAW COLLEGE DEHRADUN, UTTARANCHAL UNIVERSITY, DEHRADUN

BEST CITATION – ANIMESH SRIVASTAVA & AMBAR SRIVASTAVA, CRYPTO ASSETS AND TAXATION IN INDIA: AN ANALYTICAL STUDY, INDIAN JOURNAL OF LEGAL REVIEW (IJLR), 6 (5) OF 2026, PG. 392-402, APIS – 3920 – 0001 & ISSN – 2583-2344.

ABSTRACT

The rapid global rise of crypto assets has challenged traditional financial regulatory frameworks and compelled nations to rethink taxation, compliance, and investor protection. India represents a unique case where the government has not granted legal recognition to cryptocurrencies, yet has imposed one of the world’s strictest tax regimes. Through the Finance Act, 2022, crypto assets were formally defined as Virtual Digital Assets (VDAs) under Section 2(47A) of the Income Tax Act, followed by the introduction of Section 115BBH and Section 194S, mandating a flat 30% tax on gains and a 1% Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) on transfers. This approach reflects the policy stance of “regulation through taxation,” positioning taxation not merely as a revenue tool but as an implicit form of control over crypto usage.

This analytical study examines the taxation mechanism applicable to crypto transactions in India including trading, mining, staking, NFTs, and gifting and evaluates its implications for investors, exchanges, and the broader digital economy. It compares India’s framework with global practices in jurisdictions such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union’s recent MiCA regulation. The study highlights key challenges including the absence of dedicated legislation, lack of asset classification, complexity in reporting compliance, and potential capital flight arising from restrictive tax treatment and non-allowability of loss set-offs.

Findings indicate that while taxation has brought structural clarity and monitoring capabilities, the absence of a unified regulatory statute results in legal uncertainty and discourages innovation. The article concludes that India requires a balanced framework that integrates taxation with licensing, investor protection, and regulatory certainty to ensure sustainable development of the crypto ecosystem while preventing illicit use. A hybrid model combining technological facilitation with rational taxation can enable India to position itself competitively in the global digital asset economy.

LEGAL ANALYSIS: HARMONIOUS CONSTRUCTION VS. LEX SPECIALIS IN SWAPAN DEY V. CCI

AUTHOR – SUPRATIM RAY, STUDENT AT NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY, TRIPURA

BEST CITATION – SUPRATIM RAY, LEGAL ANALYSIS: HARMONIOUS CONSTRUCTION VS. LEX SPECIALIS IN SWAPAN DEY V. CCI, INDIAN JOURNAL OF LEGAL REVIEW (IJLR), 6 (5) OF 2026, PG. 389-391, APIS – 3920 – 0001 & ISSN – 2583-2344.

Introduction

Intellectual property rights vis-a-vis competition laws have always posed questions of jurisdictional nature before the courts in India. In the case of Competition Commission of India v. Swapan Dey & Anr. (Civil Appeal No. 519 of 2026), the question of jurisdiction has been brought up once again to the fore. On 2 February 2026, the Supreme Court stayed the operation of paras 8 to 10 of the NCLAT judgment dated 30 October 2025, in Swapan Dey v. Competition Commission of India. According to the stay order, the NCLAT was under the misconception while considering that by virtue of the Patents Act, 1970 being a special legislation, it ousted the jurisdiction of the CCI to deal with complaints of abuse of dominance under section 4(2)(e) of the Competition Act, 2002.