Explore Business Standard
Why should we pretend that we know medical science, the Supreme Court on Friday said while refusing to entertain a plea seeking mandatory Nucleic Acid Amplification Testing (NAT) in all blood banks to ensure supply of infection-free blood to recipients. A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi asked petitioner 'Sarvesham Mangalam Foundation' to submit a comprehensive representation to the secretary of health departments of States and Union Territories on the issue. The bench said the secretary may, with the aid and advice of domain experts, take appropriate decision on the issue. "Do you think PILs are not funded from abroad. Do you think so?" the CJI told the petitioner's counsel during the hearing. The bench said the petitioner should go and make representation before the authorities. "We are definitely not experts on the subject... why should we pretend that we know medical science," the CJI said. The top court observed it was for the domain experts to d
The Supreme Court on Friday stayed a part of the December 2025 order of the Delhi High Court permitting the Lokpal to consider granting sanction to the CBI to file a chargesheet against Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra in the alleged cash-for-query scam. A bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi issued notices to Moitra, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and BJP MP and complainant Nishikant Dubey on the Lokpal's plea against the high court order. On December 19, 2025, the high court had set aside an order of the Lokpal granting sanction to the CBI to file a chargesheet against Moitra in the alleged cash-for-query scam. "The learned Lokpal is requested to accord its consideration for grant of sanction under Section 20 of the Lokpal Act, strictly in accordance with provisions thereof as construed hereinabove, within a period of one month from today," the high court had said in para 89 of that judgement. The CJI-led bench stayed t
Acting tough against three experts involved in drafting of a controversial chapter in NCERT's class 8 social science book containing "offending" contents on corruption in the judiciary, the Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Centre and all state governments to disassociate from them. The apex court directed the Centre to constitute a committee of domain experts within a week for the purpose of finalising the curriculum of NCERT's legal studies of not only class 8 but higher classes also. A bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant was informed that the chapter was drafted by the textbook development team under the chairmanship of professor Michel Danino and consisting of members Suparna Diwakar and Alok Prasanna Kumar. "At the outset, we have no reason to doubt that professor Michel Danion and his associates Suparna Diwakar and Alok Prasanna Kumar either do not have reasonable informed knowledge with respect to Indian judiciary and/or they deliberately and knowingly misrepresent
The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Centre to constitute a committee of domain experts within a week to finalise the curriculum related to legal studies in NCERT textbooks. The top court said that its orders in the matter were not intended to prevent any healthy and objective criticism of the institutional function of the judiciary. The apex court, while hearing a suo motu case concerning NCERT's Class 8 social science book, which contained "offending" contents on corruption in the judiciary, noted that the chapter was drafted by the textbook development team under the chairmanship of Professor Michel Danino. A bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant directed the Centre, states, Union Territories and universities to forthwith disassociate the three experts who drafted the controversial chapter. The textbook development team was under the chairmanship of Danino and consisted of Suparna Diwakar and Alok Prasanna Kumar as its members. The bench, also comprising Justices Joyma
The Centre on Wednesday informed the Supreme Court that it has directed the NCERT to review the textbooks of all classes. A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi said that instead of asking the NCERT to do so, it would have appreciated if the Centre constituted an expert committee to review the curriculum. The apex court was hearing a suo motu case concerning NCERT's Class 8 social science book, which contained "offending" contents on corruption in the judiciary. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said the government has asked the NCERT to review textbooks of all classes, not just Class eight. He assured the bench that a panel of domain experts would be constituted to examine the curriculum. "We have started systemic changes," he told the bench, adding that nothing will be published without being vetted by the domain experts. Mehta also informed the bench that the NCERT director has filed an affidavit tendering an unconditional and unquali
The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to examine the Centre's plea challenging a Bombay High Court verdict that struck down amendments to Information Technology Rules aimed at regulating fake and false content posted on social media against the government. The top court did not stay the 2024 High Court verdict, which struck down the amended Information Technology Rules and termed them "unconstitutional", even as a three-judge bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices R Mahadevan and Joymalya Bagchi issued notices to the original petitioners, including stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra, the Editors Guild of India, and the Association of Indian Magazines. The High Court struck down the rules amended in 2023 to empower the central government to establish a Fact-Check Unit (FCU) to identify "fake, false, or misleading" information regarding "government business" on social media. If the FCU flagged content under those rules, social media intermediaries such as X, Facebook, or ...