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  Overview The Supreme Court of India has recently addressed a pivotal question in the realm of intellectual property and arbitration: Are all trademark disputes excluded from arbitration? The answer, as clarified in the case of K. Mangayarkarasi & Anr. v. N.J. Sundaresan & Anr., is a definitive no—at least when the dispute arises from private contractual arrangements rather than statutory rights. Case Title and Citation Case Title: K. Mangayarkarasi & Anr. v. N.J. Sundaresan & Anr. Citation: SLP (C) No. 13012 of 2025 Bench: Justice J.B. Pardiwala Factual Matrix The dispute involved family members contesting the right to use the trademark “Sri Angannan Biriyani Hotel.” The plaintiffs sought a permanent injunction and damages, alleging that the defendants had forged assignment deeds and engaged in misconduct. The defendants, in turn, invoked arbitration clauses present in the assignment deeds, seeking referral of the matter to arbitration. Procedural Journey The Co...

  P. Rathinam v. Union of India (1994): A Landmark Judgment on Mental Health and Decriminalization of Suicide Author: Abhishek Jat, Advocate Introduction The case of P. Rathinam v. Union of India (1994) stands as a seminal decision in Indian constitutional law, particularly in the realm of mental health and criminal jurisprudence. This ruling by the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India questioned the constitutionality of Section 309 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which penalized attempted suicide. By interpreting the scope of fundamental rights, the Court took a progressive step toward decriminalizing suicide attempts, highlighting the necessity of a humane approach to mental health concerns. Historical and Legal Background Section 309 of the IPC, a relic of colonial legislation, imposed criminal sanctions on individuals who attempted suicide. The provision was inherited from British legal frameworks, which traditionally viewed suicide as an offense against the state. However...