High Court

SC seeks stronger mechanism to tackle over 800K execution petitions

The Supreme Court said collecting pendency figures every six months was not enough and sought a mechanism to track the actual disposal of execution petitions

SC Collegium recommends 12 additional judges as permanent judges in 4 HCs

The Supreme Court Collegium has approved the appointment of 12 additional judges as permanent judges in the high courts of Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Uttarakhand and Gauhati. The collegium, comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and justices Vikram Nath and B V Nagarathna, took the decision at a meeting held on Wednesday. Five additional judges have been approved for permanent appointment to the Andhra Pradesh High Court. "The Supreme Court collegium, in its meeting held on September 23, has approved the proposals for appointment of the following Additional Judges as Permanent Judges of the High Court of Andhra Pradesh: (i) Shri Justice Maheswara Rao Kuncheam @ Kuncham, (ii) Shri Justice Thoota Chandra Dhana Sekar @ T.C.D. Sekhar, (iii) Shri Justice Challa Gunaranjan, (iv) Shri Justice Avadhanam Hari Haranadha Sarma, and (v) Dr. Justice Yadavalli Lakshmana Rao," a statement said. For the Kerala High Court, the Collegium approved the appointment of Justices P Krishna Kumar, KV Jayakumar,

Delhi HC scraps panel, gives Full Court power to name Senior Advocates

The new rules replace the framework notified in March 2024, with a permanent secretariat administering the process and the Full Court taking the final decision

Delhi HC refuses plea for FIR, probe against ex-judge Yashwant Varma

The Delhi High Court on Monday refused to entertain a plea seeking the registration of an FIR and a probe by an SIT or CBI into the purported discovery of huge stash of cash following a fire at the residence of former Delhi High Court judge Yashwant Varma. Terming the petition a "wild witch hunt", Justice Amit Bansal remarked that the petitioner, lawyer Ghanshyam Upadhyay, has alternative remedies in law. "I'm not entertaining this. This is a wild witch hunt. You have nothing better to do?" the judge observed. During the hearing, the court questioned the locus of the petitioner and asked why he did not approach the trial court with his plea for an FIR. The petitioner submitted that the incident was "extraordinary" in nature and the lower court "can't do justice to the matter". "This is regarding justice Yashwant Varma. Criminal law can be set into motion by anyone. There is no embargo," he further explained. After the court indicated that it would dismiss the plea, the petitioner

Delhi High Court gets seven new judges, total strength rises to 50

Seven judicial officers took the oath of office as Delhi High Court court judges on Monday, taking the strength of the court to 50. Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya administered the oath to Justices Nivedita Anil Sharma, Nisha Sahay Saxena, Sanjay Sharma, Bharat Parashar, Aditi Choudhary, Dinesh Bhatt and Arun Bhardwaj, who were serving as judicial officers in the district judiciary here. The swearing-in ceremony was held in the high court premises and after administering the oath, the chief justice congratulated the new judges. While Justices Sharma and Saxena took oath in English, the other five took the oath in Hindi. They have been appointed as additional judges of the high court. The central government notified the seven new appointments on September 19 after the Supreme Court collegium made a recommendation in favour of these judicial officers. The sanctioned strength of the high court is 60 and with the seven new appointments, its current strength has risen to 50.

SC stays P&H High Court ruling striking down Section 147A of Income Tax Act

The Supreme Court said assessment proceedings covered by the dispute will not proceed until final disposal of the Centre's plea, with the matter listed for hearing on December 3, 2026

Centre moves Supreme Court over striking down of Income Tax Section 147A

Government challenges Punjab and Haryana High Court ruling that invalidated the retrospective provision governing tax reassessment powers of jurisdictional officers in India

Delhi HC quashes seven ITAT orders in Patanjali case, flags 'undue haste'

The Delhi High Court found procedural deficiencies and lack of reasoning in the ITAT's handling of seven appeals, and ordered fresh adjudication by another bench

₹1 bid for defence project: Andhra HC orders DRDO to review very low quotes

The court said defence authorities cannot mechanically accept an abnormally low quote and must first assess whether the bidder can execute the contract at the quoted price under DRDO's procurement rul

K'taka HC quashes state's move to levy 2% cess on movie tickets. Here's why

The cess was meant to fund a social security and welfare fund for registered cine and cultural activists in Karnataka

Dy CM title does not confer superior powers, says Orissa High Court

The court said higher ceremonial precedence cannot be treated as creating a substantive hierarchy within the Council of Ministers or conferring additional executive authority

'Life is precious': HC commutes death sentence in child assault-murder case

Madhya Pradesh High Court commuted a death sentence to life imprisonment, saying the convict's 'social ostracisation' and 'lack of prior criminal record' did not warrant the 'rarest of rare' penalty

Ladakh to get High Court bench as President Murmu notifies new regulation

President Droupadi Murmu has issued a regulation that establishes a bench of the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh in the Union Territory of Ladakh, paving the way for bringing higher judicial services closer to the people of the region. The regulation, titled 'The Union Territory of Ladakh (Sitting of the Bench of the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh in Ladakh) Regulation, 2026,' was promulgated by President Murmu on August 27 and published in the Gazette of India Extraordinary on the same day. Issued by the Ministry of Law and Justice, the regulation seeks to establish a high court bench in Ladakh and address related matters, fulfilling a long-standing demand from the people of Ladakh for improved access to higher judicial remedies in the geographically remote area. Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena welcomed the promulgation, stating that the notification was issued within seven days of the Union Cabinet's decision. He emphasised that this quick action ...

Religion rights not absolute, can face curbs for public order: Patna HC

The right to profess and practice religion is not absolute and is subject to reasonable restrictions in the interest of public order and societal norms, the Patna High Court has said. It made the remarks while dismissing a plea seeking permission for 300 devotees to take part in an annual religious procession in Bihar's Siwan, where attendance has been restricted to maintain law and order. The petitioner sought the court's direction to the authorities that the annual procession by a local monastic order (Akhara) organised on the 11th day of Bhadrapad Krishna Paksha, according to the Hindu calendar, be allowed to proceed on its traditional route with at least 300 devotees in attendance. The plea claimed that the permitted number of people in attendance was reduced from 200 in 2012 and 2013 to 150 in 2014, 100 in 2015 and eventually to five in 2023 and henceforth, besides a change in the traditional route. It was argued that the restrictions infringed on the devotees' fundamental rig

J'khand HC stays cancellation of appointments through 11th, 13th JPSC exams

The development came after successful candidates of the 11th and 13th JPSC examinations protested as they are afraid of losing their jobs.

Centre asks states to create special NDPS courts to speed up drug trials

The Ministy of Home Affairs reportedly asked states to create dedicated NDPS courts, particularly in districts witnessing a high volume of narcotics cases

HC bars Punjab govt from large-scale ad campaigns till DA arrears are paid

Punjab High Court dismissed PSPCL appeal, saying financial constraints cannot justify withholding Dearness Allowance and Dearness Relief from employees and pensioners

Karnataka HC's Dharwad bench holds rare all-women Bench and Bar sitting

The Dharwad Bench of the Karnataka High Court held a rare all-women sitting, with women judges presiding over every Bench and an all-women government legal team representing the State

SC asks Centre to frame uniform post-retirement norms for High Court judges

The Supreme Court asked the Centre to constitute a committee within two weeks to recommend uniform post-retirement facilities for former High Court Chief Justices and judges across states

SC says courts cannot rewrite commercial contracts entered into voluntarily

The Supreme Court upheld a contract clause denying interest on a security deposit, saying courts cannot rewrite commercial agreements voluntarily accepted by parties