Courts Financial News

US President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address this week was quite predictable. His claim that this was “the golden age of America,” for example, was par for the course, given his excesses of rhetoric on fuzzy matters like greatness. What stood out was his defiance over his tariff policy just days after America’s apex court struck down his ‘reciprocal tariffs’.

On Monday, WhatsApp told the Supreme Court it would comply with directions requiring it to give users greater control over the data they share with other Meta entities such as Facebook and Instagram, ending a years-long battle with the Competition Commission of India over its controversial privacy policy update in 2021.The update, which required WhatsApp users to consent to having their data shared with Meta for advertising and non-advertising purposes, quickly drew the attention of the competition watchdog, leading to a landmark case that raised questions about dominance, consent and user choice in India’s wider digital economy.Here’s why Meta backed down this week, and what it means for Big Tech accountability in India.In 2021, Meta released a controversial update to its privacy policy for WhatsApp, requiring users to accept new terms – including expanded data collection and mandatory data sharing with Meta companies – if they wished to continue using the platform.This triggered a backlash worldwide, but especially in India, WhatsApp’s largest market. The Competition Commission of India (CCI) soon ordered a probe, saying the policy update may constitute an abuse of WhatsApp’s dominant position in instant messaging.WhatsApp challenged the probe, arguing that privacy matters were already being deliberated by constitutional courts and remained beyond the jurisdiction of competition law.

Last week’s AI Impact Summit ended the way these gatherings routinely do. This time with a ‘New Delhi Declaration,’ a non-binding hymn to cooperation and the hope that “AI could be made to serve humanity.” It’s the sort of empty language that dozens of countries and international organizations can sign up to without changing a thing.The most revealing statement came from the industry. Hours before the declaration, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman offered a bit of moral arithmetic in an interview with the Indian Express.

India’s justice system is groaning under a crushing backlog. Nearly 48 million cases are pending in lower courts, while the Supreme Court alone has close to 90,000 unresolved matters. This does not include matters before tribunals and administrative bodies.

At one level, the Supreme Court’s (SC) chastisement last week of political parties and elected governments announcing freebies and direct cash transfers to woo voters ahead of elections might smack of judicial over-reach.Under India’s Constitution, all three arms of the state—the legislature, executive and judiciary—are required and expected to maintain a delicate balance without stepping on each other’s turf. However, a closer look at the object lesson delivered by the apex court to our political class on the long-term cost of such fiscal irresponsibility offers no reason to level that charge.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. The Trump administration is considering new national security tariffs on a half-dozen industries in the wake of a Supreme Court decision last week that invalidated many of the president’s second-term levies. The new tariffs being considered could cover industries such as large-scale batteries, cast iron and iron fittings, plastic piping, industrial chemicals and power grid and telecom equipment, according to people familiar with the plans.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. U.S. importers on Tuesday will no longer have to pay most of the sweeping tariffs President Trump imposed last year.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Stock market recap: The Indian equity benchmarks extended their winning streak on Monday, buoyed by a landmark US Supreme Court ruling that invalidated broad-based emergency tariffs. Nifty 50 advanced 0.55% to settle at 25,713, while Sensex climbed 0.58% to end at 83,294.66.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. President Donald Trump’s new 15% global tariff is causing uncertainty and confusion among investors and international lawmakers alike. Trump announced the move Sunday, up from a 10% rate, after the Supreme Court struck down levies the administration imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act Friday.

The US Supreme Court’s decision to strike down President Donald Trump’s sweeping global tariffs is a wake-up call for Congress. If the legislative branch had been doing its job last year and hadn’t ceded its taxing power when the White House embarked on this unprecedented protectionist journey, perhaps we wouldn’t be in the mess we’re now in.But with its 6-3 ruling on 20 February, America’s top court not only reaffirmed the separation of powers but invited Congress to reassert itself as the branch with the power of the purse. Congress should get its act together and tell the president if he wants to keep his tariffs, he’ll need to work with them to do it.It could take a lot of persuasion.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. After the US Supreme Court ruled against his emergency tariffs, President Donald Trump has vowed to rebuild the tariff wall by other means. However, his tariff weapon, blunted by the ruling, would never be the same again.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Hours before the US Supreme Court struck down President Donald Trump's tariffs on Friday, a section of foreign institutional investors (FIIs) in India flipped their bearish bets to bullish ones, even as proprietary traders sharply raised their bullish bets. The two moves, combined, may signal anticipation of a ruling which has the potential to trigger a stock market rally on Monday.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Indian equities may attempt a relief rally this week, but renewed uncertainty around US trade policy is likely to keep investors on their toes. A weekend of sharp tariff moves from Washington has once again clouded the outlook for global markets, including India.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Mumbai: The rupee is likely to open stronger against the US dollar on Monday after the US Supreme Court struck down President Donald Trump’s tariffs, prompting a recalibration of the North American country’s trade policy and reducing India’s effective tariff exposure to 15% from 18%. However, traders believe any near-term appreciation may be modest and short-lived, given lingering policy uncertainty and month-end dollar demand.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. For a few minutes after the Supreme Court struck down President Trump’s signature tariffs Friday, Ethan Allen Chief Executive Farooq Kathwari felt a jolt of relief. Then a jumble of emails from colleagues began pouring in.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Stocks rallied on Friday after the Supreme Court repudiated the signature pillar of President Donald Trump’s trade agenda, but the market’s relief is likely to be short-lived. Instead, investors should prepare for a new round of economic uncertainty.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. The Supreme Court’s decision overturning President Trump’s use of emergency powers to impose tariffs on imports isn’t the game-changer for international trade that it might appear to be at first. In Asia, Europe and the Americas, governments don’t expect Trump to abandon his favorite tool of economic policy, despite the legal setback.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. President Trump still has three years left in office. Yet the Supreme Court’s ruling Friday that most of his tariffs are illegal has given the world a glimpse of U.S.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. The US Supreme Court’s ruling blocking the use of emergency powers under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose sweeping tariffs has significantly narrowed the executive branch’s trade toolkit. While the administration can still pursue tariffs under other statutes, those routes are more constrained, procedurally demanding and legally vulnerable.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. President Trump’s new plan for tariffs puts his trade agenda on a collision course with the midterm campaign season. Just hours after his main tariff rationale was invalidated by the Supreme Court on Friday, Trump announced he would implement new levies under two separate legal authorities—one short term, another longer lasting.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. In what could prove to be a major relief for nearly every country in the world, the US Supreme Court has struck down a significant portion of US President Donald Trump’s sweeping global tariffs, opening the door for companies to seek refunds for over $100 billion in additional duties paid since the announcement of reciprocal tariffs on 2 April 2025.For India, this could mean that nearly 60% of the export basket, which was set to face 18% tariffs upon the conclusion of the interim trade deal with the US, reverts to the pre-Liberation Day rate of around 2.5%.