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Indian Judiciary
The Supreme Court on Thursday imposed a blanket ban on class 8 NCERT book carrying a chapter on corruption in the judiciary, and ordered a seizure of all physical copies, along with takedown of its digital forms. The apex court ordered that the Centre and state authorities comply with its directions immediately, and warned of "serious action" if directions are defied in any form. The top court issued show cause notices to NCERT director, school education secretary to explain why action should be not taken against those responsible. A bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant said there seemed to be a calculated move to undermine institution and demean dignity of judiciary. The bench said such misconduct, having everlasting impact on judiciary, would fall within definition of criminal contempt. "We would like to have a deeper probe," the bench said. The court said that if allowed to go unchecked, this will erode people's faith in judiciary. "No one will be allowed to go scot-free."
The NCERT on Wednesday apologised for "inappropriate content" after facing the Supreme Court's ire over a chapter talking about judicial corruption in a Class 8 textbook and said the book concerned will be rewritten in consultation with appropriate authorities. The council, responsible for school education curriculum, also put on hold the circulation of the textbook, hours after it took the book off its website. "It has been observed that certain inappropriate textual material and error of judgement have inadvertently crept into the concerned chapter," a senior official said. The National Council of Educational Research & Training (NCERT) said it "holds the judiciary in highest esteem and considers it to be the upholder of the Indian Constitution and protector of fundamental rights" and termed the error as purely unintentional. "NCERT reiterates that the objective of the new textbooks is to strengthen constitutional literacy, institutional respect, and informed understanding of ...
The Supreme Court is slated to hear on Thursday a suo motu case over the "objectionable" statements about the judiciary in NCERT textbooks. A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi will hear the case titled 'In Re: Social Science Textbook For Grade-8 (part-2) Published by NCERT and Ancillary Issues'. This assumes significance as the CJI on Wednesday strongly objected to a chapter on judicial corruption in NCERT's Class 8 curriculum, saying that nobody on earth will be allowed to defame the judiciary and taint its integrity. After facing the apex court's ire, the NCERT pulled the Class 8 textbook from its website with sources saying the government has not taken kindly to the inclusion of the controversial topic in the book. Earlier in the day, the top court took cognizance of the "objectionable" statements about judiciary in NCERT textbooks after senior advocate Kapil Sibal, alongside Abhishek Singhvi, mentioned the matter for urgent ...
The Supreme Court on Wednesday took suo motu cognisance of the contents of Class 8 NCERT textbook referring to the corruption in the judiciary and termed it a matter of "grave concern." A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi was urged by senior advocate Kapil Sibal that "children of class 8 are taught about corruption in the judiciary. This is a matter of grave concern." The CJI said, "I will not allow anybody to defame the institution. Law will take its course." He added, "As head of the institution, I have done my duty and have taken cognisance This seems to be a calculated move. I won't say much." Justice Bagchi said the book seemed to be against the basic structure of the Constitution. The CJI said, "Please wait for a few days. Bar and Bench all are perturbed. All high court judges are perturbed. I will take up the matter suo motu. I will not allow anybody to defame the institution. Law will take its course." Later, Just
Chief Justice of India Surya Kant on Saturday said access to justice cannot remain an abstract ideal reserved for the legally empowered and must translate into real outcomes for marginalised citizens. Speaking at the 11th biennial meeting of the Commonwealth Judicial Educators (CJE) here, CJI Kant said judicial leadership cannot be confined to administrative authority or institutional hierarchy and must be understood as an intellectual and ethical orientation. "Access to justice cannot remain an abstract ideal reserved for the legally empowered. It must translate into real outcomes for the last person standing in the line, the marginalised citizen whose faith in the justice system rests upon its accessibility, responsiveness and humanity," the CJI said. While placing stress on integration of technology into the justice system, he said that AI must assist, and not replace, judicial reasoning. CJI Kant said judicial leadership demands not only administrative foresight but deep empath
The Supreme Court has said fidelity to the rule of law requires the court to remember that the process itself can become the punishment if this responsibility is not exercised with care as it quashed the charges of caste-based violence against a whistleblower in the Madhya Pradesh VYAPAM examination scam. Anand Rai had challenged the Madhya Pradesh High Court order upholding the framing of charges in a case of caste-based atrocities arising from alleged violence and abuse against an MP, MLA and government officials during a rally in 2022. A bench of justices Sajay Karol and N Kotiswar Singh which quashed the charges under SC/ST Act against Rai said the court must consciously distinguish between a genuine case that warrants a trial and one that rests only on suspicion or assumption or for that matter without any basis. "To allow a matter to proceed despite the absence of a prima facie case is to expose a person to the strain, stigma, and uncertainty of criminal proceedings without ..
Transfer of judges is an internal matter of the judiciary and the government has no role to play in the process, Supreme Court judge Justice Ujjal Bhuyan said here on Saturday. Independence of judiciary was "non-negotiable", he said, delivering G V Pandit Memorial Lecture at the ILS Law College here. "Transfer of a judge is always for the better administration of justice. It is an internal matter of the judiciary. The government can have no say in that," Justice Bhuyan stated. "By the very nature of things, the Centre can have no say in the transfer and posting of judges. It cannot say that such and such a judge should not or should be transferred, or if transferred, to such and such High Court," he added. Independence of the judiciary is a basic feature of the Constitution, Justice Bhuyan further said. "It is non-negotiable. It is for the judiciary, or rather the members of the judiciary, to see to it that its independence is maintained at all costs in order to ensure its contin
Chief Justice of India Surya Kant on Monday said that the Supreme Court has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the apex court of Bhutan to facilitate the exchange of young legal professionals. The CJI, at the outset of the proceedings, said that under the MoU, two law clerks from Bhutan will be engaged by the Supreme Court here for a period of three months. The clerks will receive the same honorarium as Indian law clerks, and their travel expenses will be borne by the Supreme Court, the CJI said. Introducing the law clerks to the packed courtroom, the CJI described them as young and bright and said they would be assigned to work in different courts during their tenure. We have entered into an MOU with the Supreme Court of Bhutan and on the basis of which there will be two law clerks who will be paid on the basis of our honorarium and will be there for period of three months, we will be taking care of their travelling, both will be working in different courts, both
The Union Law Ministry took a crucial step this year to help the central government shed the tag of being the "biggest litigant", but at the same time, efforts towards promoting mediation, which can eventually help in reducing court pendency, have fallen short. The year 2025 also saw the appointment of Gyanesh Kumar as the new Chief Election Commissioner under a new law, which has been dubbed by the opposition as "non-inclusive". As part of the Modi government's agenda to clean up statute books of obsolete laws, the ministry brought a bill to repeal over 70 such Acts that had lost their relevance over the years. The bill received Parliament's nod in the Winter session. While 65 of these laws were amendment Acts, which were brought to tweak existing laws, six were principal laws that had become outdated. At least two laws repealed were of the British era. Since May 2014, the Modi government has been consistently repealing colonial-era, archaic and obsolete laws to declutter statute
The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked the Centre and the Supreme Court Bar Association to suggest measures to prevent recurrence of incidents like the shoe-hurl attempt targeting former CJI B R Gavai in the courtroom. The court also asked for a standard operating procedure for the media to report on such incidents. A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, and senior advocate and SCBA President Vikas Singh, to submit suggestions to it for issuing the guidelines to deal with the issue. "The solicitor general, Tushar Mehta, and senior advocate and SCBA president jointly state that they will put up joint suggestions recommending preventive measures for these kinds of occurrences, and the protocol to be observed for reporting and publicising such incidents in future," the CJI said. The top court waived off the procedural formality of issuing a notice to the Centre and said that the issue was ..
Observing that half-baked truth and ill-informed running commentary on sub-judice cases affects public perception, the Supreme Court on Friday asserted that it is "completely immune" from reporting of cases for the sake of publicity or narrative building. The observations were made when the top court was hearing a case concerning the repatriation of certain individuals deported to Bangladesh on the alleged ground that due process was not followed. During the proceedings, the court was informed that Sunali Khatun, a pregnant woman, and her eight-year old son have come back to India and presently, she is getting medical attention at her father's residence in Birbhum in West Bengal. A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi fixed January 6 to hear the Centre's appeal against a Calcutta High Court judgment that directed the repatriation of certain individuals deported to Bangladesh on the alleged ground that the due process was not ...
Don't bring down the judiciary by filing such cases, the Supreme Court on Friday remarked while expressing strong displeasure over a plea challenging its earlier decision granting exemption to minority schools from the provisions of the Right to Education Act. Imposing a cost of Rs 1 lakh on the petitioner, a bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and R Mahadevan said let this be a message to others. "You cannot do this to Supreme Court. We are enraged. This is against the entire system of judiciary in this country if you start filing such cases. You don't know the seriousness of your case. We are restraining ourself to 1 lakh cost," the court said. Rapping the advocate for filing the plea, the court said, "Don't bring down the judiciary in this country by filing such cases. What is happening here? Advocates are giving such kind of advice? We will have to penalise the advocates. " "You are law knowing citizens, professionals, and you file a writ petition challenging the judgement of this
Sending a "strong message" that the Supreme Court is meant for the common man, Chief Justice of India Surya Kant on Saturday said a predictable timeline and a unified national judicial policy-based early decision of pending cases would be his priority. Speaking at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit here, the CJI referred to access to justice, and said his priority is to ensure how to reduce the cost of litigation, and how to prescribe a reasonable timeline within which matters are decided. Asked about the independence of judiciary, Justice Kant referred to the constitutional philosophy of separation of powers, and said the Constitution has beautifully defined the respective roles of the judiciary, the legislature, and the executive, while ensuring that there is no overlapping. "My first priority will be a predictable timeline and a unified national judicial policy-based early decision of the pending cases. I am not saying elimination of all the arrears. That will never happen. Th
Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant on Saturday said judges need recreational activities to recharge themselves as they have long working hours and the nature of their work is very stressful. Speaking to the media at the opening ceremony of the All India Judges Badminton Championship, the CJI said judges should participate in recreational activities that suit their age. "The working hours of judges are long and the nature of (their) work is very stressful. Sitting hours are long. All judges should participate in a recreational activity and make it a habit. Recreation is needed to recharge them. "High Court judges are participating in this event in large numbers. It shows that they are conscious about their health and well-being," CJI Kant said. Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, Union minister Kiren Rijiju, and apex court judges were present at the ceremony. The two-day championship is being held at the Thyagraj Sports Complex here. The closing ceremony and prize distribution wi
All the three wings of democracy - executive, judiciary and legislature - exist for the welfare of citizens and none can work in isolation, Chief Justice of India (CJI) Bhushan Gavai said on Wednesday. Speaking at the project initiation function of the Maharashtra National Law University's (MNLU) campus in Mumbai, he said the principles of liberty, justice and equality are embodied in the Constitution. The judiciary has neither the power of the sword nor the power of words. Unless the executive is on board, it is difficult for the judiciary to provide adequate infrastructure to judiciary as well as legal education, the CJI said. He noted law education is now developing with more practical-oriented training and hence infrastructure plays a very important role. The CJI refuted criticism that the Maharashtra government was found lacking when it comes to providing judiciary infrastructure and insisted the notion was based on incorrect views. He lauded the state government and Chief .
The Supreme Court on Friday directed the Bar Council of India to notify elections for Punjab and Haryana bar councils in ten days and hold the polls by December 31, 2025. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi also directed apex bar body Bar Council of India (BCI) to hold elections for the Uttar Pradesh Bar Council by January 31, 2026 and address the genuine and bonafide grievances of electors. The top court passed the directions after it was pointed out that elections for Punjab and Haryana bar councils have not been notified and in Uttar Pradesh the voter list is not being uploaded on the website. Senior advocate Manan Kumar Mishra, who is also chairman of Bar Council of India, submitted that as per rules 180 days need to be there between the holding of election and its notification and they may face some difficulties in case of Punjab and Harayan. Justice Kant asked Mishra to form a committee headed by retired high court judge to hold the bar council elections for ..