SIR in Bihar, Birkenstock, Setback for Celebi, Victorinox, Reliance Retail 

“Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.”
—Audrey Lorde cited by CJI BR Gavai in context of mental health struggles among young legal professionals

Election Commission’s Urgency to Revise Voter List in Bihar 
A special intensive revision of the voter list, being conducted in Bihar by the Election Commission just months before the state heads to elections, now faces a legal challenge before the country’s top court.

The vacation bench of the court has, prima facie, agreed that the timing of the revision warrants scrutiny. As per the Election Commission of India’s timeline, the draft roll will be published on 1 August, followed by a brief window for filing objections. A final list will subsequently be published. Critics argue that this schedule could disenfranchise many voters in the state, and insist that the revision exercise should be separated from the upcoming elections.

The Election Commission maintains that it is legally mandated to carry out such revisions. To clarify, the petitioners have not objected to the revision itself, but to its timing and implementation. The Commission has published a list of documents that can be submitted to prove citizenship, but this list excludes documents such as the Aadhaar card, ration card, or even the EPIC card issued by the Commission itself.

The Commission has also asserted that Aadhaar is not proof of citizenship—a claim that raises further questions about the exact nature of Aadhaar as an identification document.

Still, the court has asked the Commission to expand the list of accepted documents to include these exclusions, while stopping short of halting the revision exercise. Whether the revision will be delinked from the state elections or whether this becomes a repeat of controversial enumeration exercises like the NRC remains to be seen as the case proceeds in the top court.

The Week That Was

Key Rulings:

• The Delhi High Court rejects Turkish firm Celebi’s petition against the Indian authorities’ decision to revoke security clearance for the ground handling firm in India in the wake of Turkey’s support for Pakistan during the armed conflict between the two South Asian neighbours. The high court said that national security trumps natural justice
• Bombay High Court scrapped a Maharashtra government decision that barred multiplexes from charging convenience fees on tickets booked online
• Kerala High Court has struck down provisions of a state law on succession finding them to be against the Hindu Succession Act which is a central law noting that Hindu daughters have an equal share in ancestral property
  Courts: 
• The Supreme Court asked the Election Commission of India to consider including Aadhaar, EPIC card, and Ration card to the list of documents accepted as proof of identity for voters’ list revision in Bihar  
• Bombay High Court directs Amazon to delist an Indian seller from selling Swiss knives after Victorinox, the maker of the knives, informed the court that the seller was no longer authorised to do so 
• Delhi High Court bars individuals and entities from impersonating Reliance Retail’s Tira trademark
• German footwear company Birkenstock gets interim relief from Delhi High Court in a suit alleging infringement of its trademark, copyrights and design
• Kerala High Court directed for a conditional arrest of a Liberian ship MSC Akiteta-II over compensation claims against her sister ship MSC Elsa-3 which sank off Kerala’s coast allegedly causing major environmental and marine pollution and economic damage. The State of Kerala has sued the company for over 9,000 crore in damages
• Delhi High Court grants interim relief to LNG terminal operators Petronet LNG Ltd and GSPC LND Ltd from registering under the Petroleum and Natural gas Regulatory Board’s new regulations of 2025

The Big Listings:

• Jul 14: Bombay High Court scheduled to hear a petition by HDFC Bank’s MD-CEO against an FIR filed against him by the trust that operates Lilavati hospital
• Jul 28: Supreme Court scheduled to hear PIL against special intensive revision of the Bihar electoral roll
• Aug 1: NCLT’s principal bench is scheduled to hear BPSL’s former promoter’s plea for initiating liquidation in line with top court’s order
• Aug 20: Supreme Court to hear Flipkart’s appeal against a high court which affirmed CCI probe into the company
  (* The dates of hearing can change and a concrete list is prepared just a day before)

Legal Moves: 

• Senior Advocate Dushyant Dave quits legal profession at 70 
  
• Harvey, a legal AI company, announced plan to open an office in Bengaluru
  
• Dhrupad Vaghani of Lex Aeterna Practices exits the firm to set up his own Anchorstone Legal
• Nine partners inducted by Shardul Amarchand Managaldas 
• Alluri Sriharinadha Raju joins TLH Advocates & Solicitors as partner in Vijaywada
• Nithya Krishnan joins Shivadass & Shivadass as Operations Lead
• Monika Dhingra joins ReNew as Senior Vice President