H O Gupta & Associates

The Delhi High Court has delivered a landmark judgment that reinforces a critical constitutional principle: access to electricity is not a luxury, but a fundamental right protected under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution . In Shri Maiki Jain v. BSES Rajdhani Power Ltd. & Ors. [W.P.(C) 18953/2025], Justice Mini Pushkarna unequivocally held that electricity cannot be withheld from a person in lawful possession of property merely because of a pending landlord-tenant dispute—a ruling that will have far-reaching implications for tenant protection and essential service provisioning in India. ​ This judgment represents a principled assertion of constitutional values in everyday disputes, establishing that no person can be expected to live a life devoid of basic necessities, irrespective of civil conflicts involving third parties. The Factual Matrix: When Disputes Become Tools of Deprivation The case arose from a common but troubling scenario in urban India: the weapon...

The Supreme Court delivered a landmark judgment that transcends the individual case to articulate a sweeping vision of constitutional values and institutional reform. In State of Uttar Pradesh v. Ajmal Beg & Ors (2025 INSC 1435), a Bench comprising Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice Nongmeikapam Kotiswar Singh reversed a 22-year-old High Court acquittal, restored the conviction of a husband in a dowry death case, and in doing so, issued nationwide directives to systematically combat dowry-related violence, strengthen enforcement mechanisms, and recalibrate judicial understanding of this "cross-cultural evil."  ​ But beyond the criminal verdict, the judgment makes a profound observation that demands urgent attention: dowry, a practice prohibited in Islamic law , has insidiously infiltrated Muslim marriages in India, hollowing out the protective purpose of  Mehr  (the mandatory gift from groom to bride) and rendering women economically vulnerable in ways t...