Page 6 - Indian Judiciary

CJI Khanna brings fresh roster on case allocation, first 3 benches for PILs

Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna has come out with a fresh roster for allocation of new cases to 16 benches and it has been decided that the first three courts presided over by the CJI and the two senior-most judges respectively will hear letter petitions and PILs. The roster for the assignment of fresh cases was notified by the apex court registry under the order of the CJI and has come into effect from November 11. The fresh petitions arising out of letters written by the citizens to the apex court and the new public interest litigations (PILs) will be heard by the benches presided over by the CJI, Justice B R Gavai and Justice Surya Kant, the two senior-most judges, respectively. Besides the letter petitions and the PILs, subject wise, the CJI-led bench will be dealing with a maximum number of issues, including those related to social justice, disputes related to election of President, Vice President and other cases related to election of MPs and MLAS, habeas corpus matters and ...

'Wholly unconstitutional': SC rules on bulldozer justice by state govts

Issues guidelines such as giving a 15-day notice period to challenge demolition

SC slams 'bulldozer justice': Warns executive against acting as judge

The Supreme Court asserts that executive actions cannot override the judiciary, emphasising that arbitrary bulldozer demolitions without trial violate legal rights and constitutional principles

Govt floats Bill to set up dedicated commercial courts at district level

The Union law ministry has floated a draft Bill to amend the Commercial Courts Act which, among other things, proposes setting up of "dedicated" commercial courts at the district level. Seeking views of the public on the proposed amendments, the department of legal affairs in the law ministry has said that the aim is to provide further impetus to "quicker and specialised adjudication" of commercial disputes and "simplification of the applicable procedure" related to commercial dispute resolution in courts. According to the prevailing sub-section (1) of Section 3 of the Act, the state government after consulting the high court concerned constitutes such number of commercial courts at the district level as it may deem necessary. The proposed sub-section (1) of Section 3 of the draft 'The Commercial Courts (Amendment) Bill, 2024,' states that the state government, after consulting the high court concerned, can constitute such number of commercial courts at the district level, "includin

My shoulders broad enough to accept criticism: CJI D Y Chandrachud

At his farewell event, Justice Chandrachud says no greater feeling than serving the needy

Forensic probe all set to boost conviction rate in serious crime cases

With BNS making such investigation mandatory in serious crime cases that attract seven years' imprisonment or above, more and more criminals are likely to be brought to justice in the next five years

India may look to curb judges' arbitrary sentences for criminals

The pace of the trial and questions about the legal defence given to the accused fuelled concern among some rights advocates

Judiciary's independence doesn't mean delivering verdicts against govt: CJI

Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud on Monday said the independence of the judiciary does not mean always delivering verdicts against the government. Speaking at an event here organised by the Indian Express group, Chandrachud said there are pressure groups trying to get favourable verdicts by putting pressure on the courts by using electronic media. "Traditionally, judicial independence was defined as independence from the executive. Independence of the judiciary even now means independence from the government. But that is not the only thing in terms of judicial independence. "Our society has changed. Particularly with the advent of social media, you see interest groups, pressure groups and groups which are trying to use electronic media to put pressure on the courts to get favourable decisions," he said. Chandrachud, who demits office on November 10, said a lot of these pressure groups term the judiciary independent if judges decide in their favour. "'If you do not decide in my favour

No forward movement on 4 names reiterated by Collegium headed by CJI

There has been no forward movement on the names reiterated by the Supreme Court Collegium headed by Justice D Y Chandrachud for appointment as high court judges as he demits office as the chief justice of India on November 10. The collegium had in January 2023 reiterated the names of advocates Saurabh Kirpal for elevation as a judge of the Delhi High Court, R John Satyan as judge of the Madras HC, and Amitesh Banerjee and Sakya Sen as judges of the Calcutta High Court. The top court collegium had also reiterated the name of Somasekhar Sundaresan, also an advocate, as judge of the Bombay High Court in January 2023. In November that year, he was elevated as a judge of the Bombay HC. People aware of the procedure to appoint high court and Supreme Court judges said the files relating to Kirpal, Satyan, Banerjee and Sen are still pending with the government. In Januaary 2023, the Supreme Court collegium had for the second time reiterated the names of Banerjee and Sen for appointment as

FinMin can't treat DRT officers as subordinates, says Supreme Court

A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Augustine George Masih was hearing a matter related to lawyers' strikes at DRT Visakhapatnam

No place for derogatory language against women in courtrooms: CJI

Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud on Saturday said all forms of derogatory language, particularly against women, have no place in courts, noting that insensitive words can perpetuate stereotypes and may disproportionately affect women and marginalised communities. The CJI referred to complaints from women judicial officers about the use of derogatory language by some members of the administrative establishment towards women. Addressing a gathering at the inauguration of the North Goa District Courts Complex near Panaji, the CJI said, "We must actively work to dismantle all barriers to have truly democratic access to justice". "As we strive for inclusivity within our courtrooms, the language which we use must reflect our ethos. We must be vigilant in our choice of words ensuring that our language is not only precise but also respectful and intrusive," the CJI said. He said the insensitive or dismissive language can perpetuate stereotypes and may disproportionately affect women

Thriving constitutional order based on institutional trust in courts: CJI

Institutional trust in courts and their credibility is the very basis of a thriving constitutional order, Chief Justice of India (CJI) D Y Chandcrachud said on Wednesday. The CJI was speaking at the Bhutan Distinguished Speakers' Forum, a part of the Jigme Singye Wangchuck Lecture Series, on the subject of 'Judicial Legitimacy through accessibility, transparency and technology: the Indian experience'. Dealing with the issue of public trust, the CJI said that courts do not directly hold resources as trustees of people. But as public functionaries, the courts are vested with the responsibility to give effect to equity, and judicial bodies are not directly in charge of the manner in which resources are distributed, he said. "However, it does fall upon us to adjudicate the fairness of that distribution, should it be questioned," the CJI said. "Yet the courts of the country do require public trust and legitimacy. Institutional trust in the constitutional and other courts of the country

Will lay down law on HCs revoking orders dictated in open courts: SC

The Supreme Court on Friday said it will lay down the law on the issue of high courts revoking orders dictated in open courts after the top court came across a case in which the Madras HC quashed a money laundering case against a former IPS officer and later modified its direction and reheard the matter. A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Augustine George Masih stayed the proceedings in a money laundering case against former IPS officer M S Jaffer Sait registered in connection with an alleged illegal allotment of a Tamil Nadu Housing Board plot. The top court posted the matter for hearing on November 22. The apex court was hearing a plea filed by Sait, who contended that his case was reheard within days after allowing his plea for quashing of the proceedings in the matter. The SC bench had earlier sought report from from the Madras High Court's Registrar General on the issue. On September 30, after inspecting the report from the HC, the top court had called the decision of the h

Centre notifies appointment of Chief Justices of eight High Courts

Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal announced the appointment of Chief Justices to eight High Courts, via his official X (formerly Twitter) handle

Fact-checking, research: A case for taking AI's assistance in the law

AI tools can read every single judgment available in a database to ensure that lawyers 'miss nothing'

Fast track courts dispose 94% cases of sexual offences in 2023: Report

Fast Track Special Courts which specialise in expediting the trial process for cases related to sexual offences disposed of 83 per cent cases in 2022 and 94 per cent in 2023 while all Indian courts saw only a 10 per cent disposal rate, according to a new report. A recent report, 'Fast Tracking Justice: Role of Fast Track Special Courts in Reducing Case Backlogs' by the child rights NGO, India Child Protection, highlights the exceptional efficiency of these courts. While all Indian courts saw only a 10 per cent disposal rate for rape and POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) cases in 2022, FTSCs managed an impressive 83 per cent rate, which further improved to 94 per cent in 2023, according to the report. Despite the positive impact of FTSCs, the report paints a stark picture of the judicial system's challenges. As of August 2024, a total of 755 FTSCs, including 410 exclusive POCSO courts, are functional out of the 1023 earmarked courts, it said. In total, 4,16,638 ra

Nearly 62,000 cases pending in High Courts over 30 years old, shows data

There are nearly 62 thousand cases pending in various high courts, which are more than 30 years old, including three awaiting disposal since 1952. According to official data, there are four cases pending since 1954 and nine since 1955 in high courts. Out of the three cases pending since 1952, two are in the Calcutta High Court and one in the Madras High Court. Addressing the national conference of district judiciary here earlier this week, President Droupadi Murmu had called for a change in the "culture of adjournments' in the judiciary. She said long-standing pendency and backlog of cases is a big challenge before the judiciary. "All stakeholders have to find a solution by giving priority to this problem," she said. As many as 58.59 lakh cases, including 42.64 lakh of civil nature and 15.94 lakh of criminal nature, are pending across high courts. According to the National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG), nearly 2.45 lakh cases are pending in high courts which are 20 to 30 years ...

Only 6.7% court infrastructure at district level female-friendly: CJI

Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud on Sunday said the fact that only 6.7 per cent court infrastructure at the district level is female-friendly needs to be changed. Speaking at the 'National Conference of the District Judiciary', Chandrachud said it should be ensured that courts provide safe and accommodating environment for all members of the society. "We must without any question, change the fact that only 6.7 per cent of our court infrastructure at the district level is female-friendly. Is this acceptable today in a nation where at the basic level of recruitment in some states over 60 or 70 per cent of the recruits are women? Our focus areas are on increasing accessibility measures which can be understood by carrying out infrastructural audits. "Opening in-court medical facilities, creches and technological projects like e-seva Kendras and video conferencing devices. These endeavours aim to increase access to justice. "Axiomatically, we must also ensure that our courts provi

Meghwal calls for breaking 'taarikh pe taarikh' perception about judiciary

Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal on Sunday called for collective efforts to break the common perception that justice delivery system in India suffers from "taarikh pe taarikh culture" and asserted such efforts will strengthen the trust factor among citizens. He also proposed a critical analysis of 'aging of pending litigation'. The minister said aging analyses and clubbing of similar cases can help reduce pendency in the courts and lauded some of the high courts for putting such a system in place. Addressing the valedictory session of national conference of district judiciary here in the presence of President Droupadi Murmu, Meghwal said his ministry has proposed a target of "justice for all". The programme proposes affordable, speedy and technology-enabled citizen-centric justice at doorstep for the people. "It is the collective responsibility of all those present at the programme to break the common perception that the justice delivery system has a taarikh pe taarikh culture," he

Must make efforts to change 'adjournments culture' in courts: Prez Murmu

President Droupadi Murmu on Sunday said that efforts need to be made to change the "culture of adjournments" in courts to ensure swift justice. Addressing the valedictory event of the two-day National Conference of the District Judiciary here, she said that the pendency of court cases is a big challenge for "all of us". "All possible efforts need to be made to change the culture of adjournments in courts," she said. Murmu said all judges of the country have the responsibility to protect justice. She said common people's stress level increases in courtroom settings, a phenomenon she coined as "Black court syndrome," and suggested it be studied. She also expressed happiness over the increase in the number of women judicial officers. The event was attended by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud and Union Minister of State for Law and Justice (Independent charge) Arjun Ram Meghwal. Murmu also released a flag and insignia of the Supreme Court during the programme held at the Bhar