Sc Judges

SC regains full strength as CJI Gavai administers oath to two new judges

Chief Justice of India B R Gavai on Friday administered oath to Bombay High Court Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Patna High Court Chief Justice Vipul Manubhai Pancholi. The two were elevated to the Supreme Court on August 27. With their elevation, the apex court is set to regain its full working strength of 34 judges, including the CJI. Justice Pancholi will be in line to become the CJI in October 2031 after Justice Joymalya Bagchi's retirement on October 2, 2031. He is scheduled to assume the CJI's office on October 3, 2031, and retire on May 27, 2033. On August 25, the apex court collegium recommended to the Centre the names of Justices Aradhe and Pancholi for elevation as top court judges. Collegium member and Supreme Court's Justice B V Nagarathna, however, registered a strong dissent to the apex court collegium's recommendation to elevate Justice Pancholi to the top court, saying his appointment would be "counter-productive" to the judiciary. Justice Nagarathna, the only wom

Child protection system disjointed, needs overhaul: SC Judge Surya Kant

The child protection framework in the country remains disjointed and under-equipped, and what is needed is a fundamental shiftone that sees the child not as a passive witness in a criminal trial, but as a person in urgent need of sustained and holistic care, Supreme Court Judge Justice Surya Kant said on Saturday. Speaking at the inaugural session of the State-Level Meet 2025 on POCSO, Justice Kant added that the work is far from complete until children experience meaningful restorative justicewhere the systems meant to protect them do not retraumatise them. Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, in his address, said child survivors must be placed at the centre of India's legal and moral framework in fighting this heinous crime against humanity. Justice Surya Kant emphasised that the system should prioritise the healing of children both within and outside the four walls of the courtroom, alongside ensuring accountability. "Our child protection framework, though well-intentioned, remains .

SC judge flags gaps in child protection framework, calls for major shift

The child protection framework in the country remains disjointed and under-equipped, and what is needed is a fundamental shiftone that sees the child not as a passive witness in a criminal trial, but as a person in urgent need of sustained and holistic care, Supreme Court Judge Justice Surya Kant said on Saturday. Speaking at the inaugural session of the State-Level Meet 2025 on POCSO, Justice Kant added that the work is far from complete until children experience meaningful restorative justicewhere the systems meant to protect them do not retraumatise them. Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, in his address, said child survivors must be placed at the centre of India's legal and moral framework in fighting this heinous crime against humanity. Justice Surya Kant emphasised that the system should prioritise the healing of children both within and outside the four walls of the courtroom, alongside ensuring accountability. "Our child protection framework, though well-intentioned, remains .

Smog, Yamuna pollution biggest environment issues in Delhi: SC judge

Supreme Court judge Justice Sanjay Karol on Thursday said smog and Yamuna River pollution were the biggest environmental issues in the national capital. The judge was speaking at the Society of Indian Law Firms (SILF) Climate Change Conference and Awards 2025 when he emphasised on environmental protection. Each citizen, he said, was responsible to protect the environment and the onus wasn't just on the judiciary, the executive and the legislature. "We have to make sure that the environment, be it in any form, has to be protected. I would also say this, that over the years we have developed certain principles, and the public trust doctrine is one such doctrine which we must always keep in mind," Justice Karol said. He continued, "But I would say this, if you were to see our report card in the last 75 years, or since the 1980s, what have we done? Have we done enough to protect the environment? My view is that a lot needs to be done, at all levels. And I would borrow an expression, th

Supreme Court regains full working strength as three judges take oath

Chief Justice of India B R Gavai on Friday administered the oath of office to Justices N V Anjaria, Vijay Bishnoi and A S Chandurkar as judges of the Supreme Court. The CJI administered the oath to the judges at a ceremony in apex court premises. With the swearing in of the judges, the top court will regain its full working strength of 34 judges, including the CJI. The Supreme Court collegium on Monday recommended the appointment of Karnataka High Court Chief Justice Anjaria, Gauhati High Court Chief Justice Bishnoi, and Bombay High Court judge Justice Chandurkar as judges of the top court. Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal announced their appointment on X. Their names were recommended against the three existing vacancies of judges in the top court following the superannuation of ex-CJI Sanjiv Khanna, and Justices Abhay S Oka and Hrishikesh Roy. Justice Anjaria had taken oath as the chief justice of Karnataka High Court on February 25, 2024. Earlier, he was elevated as additional j

'Don't be too honest' advice SC judge Sanjay Kumar to lawyer - check why

"Our egos are very fragile. You don't want to offend the ego of the judge. Your case will go out," observed Supreme Court judge PV Sanjay Kumar during a hearing on a lawyer's adjournment appeal

Justice Bela Trivedi, 11th woman SC judge, retires after 3.5 years on bench

Justice Bela M Trivedi, who was the eleventh woman judge to be elevated to the Supreme Court in its 75-year-old history on Friday demitted office after spending three-and-a-half years on the bench. Justice Trivedi, who had the rare distinction of being elevated to the top court after starting out as a trial court judge in Gujarat in July 1995, was part of the top court's several landmark judgements. "It was a happy coincidence that her father was already working as the judge, city civil and sessions court when she was appointed. The Limca Book of Indian records has recorded the entry in their 1996 edition that 'Father - daughter judges in the same court'," Justice Trivedi's profile on the apex court website said. She was elevated as a judge of the apex court on August 31, 2021 when a record nine new judges, including three women, were administered oath of office. On Friday, Justice Trivedi sat in the ceremonial bench headed by Chief Justice B R Gavai as a tradition marking the exit

CJI Khanna sends report on Justice Varma to President Murmu, PM Modi

The in-house procedure of inquiry has been developed by the Supreme Court to probe into complaints of alleged misbehaviour against judges of the higher judiciary

From luxury flats to gold jewellery: SC judges' assets made public

SC has made judges' asset declarations public; 21 of 33 judges have disclosed their wealth, including crores in investments and properties, with CJI Khanna holding a fixed deposit of ₹55 lakh

SC puts assets, appointment process of judges in public for transparency

In a bid to enhance transparency, the Supreme Court on Monday said it has uploaded statements of assets of judges on its website, in accordance with a full-court decision to place the relevant details in the public domain. "The full court of the Supreme Court of India has on April 1, 2025 decided that the statements of assets of the judges of this court shall be placed in the public domain by uploading the same on the website of this court. Statements of assets of judges already received are being uploaded. Statements of assets of other judges will be uploaded as and when the current statement of assets is received," a release issued by the court said. The top court has also placed the complete process of appointments to the high courts and the Supreme Court, including the role assigned to the High Court Collegium, the role of and inputs received from the state governments, Union of India and consideration by the Supreme Court Collegium, on its website for the knowledge and awareness

Govt remains silent on question of reintroducing law on judges' appointment

The government on Thursday maintained silence on whether it will consider bringing again the National Judicial Appointments Commission bill to overturn the present collegium system to appoint judges. Responding to a question on the government's "view" relating to the National Judicial Appointments Committee (NJAC) and whether it would "again consider" bringing in the NJAC legislation, Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal gave a detailed response on what the now struck down law sought to do. But he was silent on whether the government will consider bringing the NJAC bill. In a written response in Rajya Sabha, he said to replace the Collegium system of appointments of judges of the Supreme Court and the high courts with a "more broad-based, transparent, accountable appointment mechanism" and to bring greater objectivity in the system, the Constitution (Ninety-Ninth Amendment) Act, 2014 and the National Judicial Appointments Commission Act, 2014 were brought. These laws came into force on ..

CJI forms 3-member committee to probe allegations against Justice Varma

Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna on Saturday constituted a three-member committee to conduct an inquiry into allegations against Justice Yashwant Varma from whose official residence a large stash of cash was allegedly discovered after a fire. CJI Khanna ordered the in-house inquiry after getting a report from Chief Justice of Delhi High Court D K Upadhyay and asked him not to assign any judicial work to Justice Yashwant Varma. The inquiry committee consists of Justice Sheel Nagu, Chief Justice of the High Court of Punjab and Haryana, Justice G S Sandhawalia, Chief Justice of the High Court of Himachal Pradesh, and Anu Sivaraman, Judge of the High Court of Karnataka. "The Chief Justice of the High Court of Delhi for the time being has been asked not to assign any judicial work to Mr Justice Yashwant Varma. "The Report submitted by the Chief Justice of the High Court of Delhi, response of Mr. Justice Yashwant Varma, and other documents, are being uploaded on the Supreme Court website," a

Corruption in judiciary: Sibal seeks 'transparency' in judges' appointment

Senior Supreme court advocate was also critical of the Allahabad High Court's observation that had said "Holding breast, breaking pyjama's string is not a crime of rape"

SC rejects adjournment request for naming senior advocate, warns lawyers

The Supreme Court on Wednesday took strong objection to a lawyer seeking adjournment in a matter on grounds that a senior lawyer will argue the case. A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan reprimanded the lawyer, who sought to defer the matter pertaining to a commercial dispute. The lawyer asked the court to adjourn the matter for four weeks, saying senior advocate Harish Salve will argue the matter. The lawyer said Salve was abroad and will argue the matter physically after his return. "Are you under an impression that we will adjourn a matter if you take the name of a senior counsel? This tendency of the lawyers at the bar must stop. We are not going to adjourn matters just because you take the name of any senior counsel," the bench observed. When the matter later came up for hearing, the court said it wants to dispel the impression that it can adjourn the matter in the name of the senior counsel. However, it accepted the request and adjourned the hearing. The apex c

SC collegium approves appointment of five additional judges as permanent

The Supreme Court collegium on Wednesday approved the proposal for appointment of five additional judges of the high courts of Madras and Telangana as permanent judges. The collegium, headed by Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna, held its meeting on Wednesday. "The Supreme Court collegium in its meeting held on February 5, 2025 has approved the proposal for appointment of the following additional judges as permanent judges in the Madras High Court -- Justice Venkatachari Lakshminarayanan and Justice Periyasamy Vadamalai," read the collegium statement. Another statement said the collegium had approved the proposal for appointment of additional judges -- Justice Laxmi Narayana Alishetty, Justice Anil Kumar Jukanti and Justice Sujana Kalasikam -- as permanent judges in the Telangana High Court.

SC asks HCs to form panel over judges pay commission recommendations

The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked all high courts to expedite setting up a two-judge panel to address grievances of district judicial officers on the implementation of the Second National Judges Pay Commission recommendations. A bench comprising Justices B R Gavai, Augustine George Masih and K Vinod Chandran passed the order after senior advocate K Paremeshwar, who is assisting it as an amicus curiae, said many high courts were yet to form the Committees for Service Conditions of the District Judiciary (CSCDJ) as directed by it earlier. The top court, on January 4 last year, said it recommended setting up the two-judge panel in all high courts to ensure that the orders on pay, pension and other retiral benefits for judicial officers as per the Second National Judicial Pay Commission (SNJPC) were implemented. On Tuesday, the amicus said while some high courts had set up the panels, they did not meet regularly to deal with the grievances, prompting several judicial officers to move t

Year of judicial milestones: Landmark SC verdicts, policy shifts in 2024

From taking a strong stance against 'bulldozer justice' to overruling past judgment on legislative immunity for bribery, the top court set several precedents during the year to uphold the constitution

India must protect integrity of constitutional institutions, says SC Judge

India must protect the integrity of its constitutional institutions from outside interference, including those that are politically motivated, said Justice P S Narasimha, Judge, Supreme Court of India, on Sunday. Justice Narasimha was delivering the Justice E S Ventakaramiah Centennial Memorial Lecture, organised by the National Law School of India University (NLSIU) in Bengaluru. Justice Venkataramiah served as the 19th Chief Justice of India. He previously served as a judge of the Karnataka High Court, as well as the Advocate General of Mysore. According to the Supreme Court Observer, he was a part of benches that pronounced 720 judgments. Of these, he authored 256 judgments during his term at the Supreme Court. In his lecture, Justice Narasimha said integrity of the institutions can be maintained only by putting in place safeguards in the appointment, decision making and removal process of individuals who helm these institutions. He also added that the topic of the memorial ...

Ex-SC judge Madan Lokur named chairperson of UN Internal Justice Council

Former Supreme Court judge Madan B Lokur has been appointed as chairperson of the United Nations Internal Justice Council for a term ending on November 12, 2028. In a communication to Justice Lokur, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the retired top court judge would head the council which also comprises other distinguished jurists. "I have the pleasure to appoint you, with immediate effect, as a member of the Internal Justice Council, in the capacity of chairperson, for a term ending on 12 November 2028," the communication dated December 19 said. "The other members of the Council (in alphabetical order) are: Ms. Carmen Artigas (Uruguay), distinguished external jurist nominated by staff; Ms. Rosalie Balkin (Australia), distinguished external jurist nominated by management; Mr. Stefan Brezina (Austria), staff representative; and Mr. Jay Pozenel (United States of America), management representative," it added. Born in 1953, Justice Lokur was appointed a judge of the Supreme .

Judges should avoid social media, refrain from commenting on rulings: SC

Observing that judges have to live a hermit life and work like a horse, the Supreme Court on Thursday said they should refrain from using social media and should not express any opinion about judgments. The oral remarks were made by a bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and N Kotiswar Singh which was hearing a matter pertaining to the termination of two woman judicial officers by the Madhya Pradesh High Court. The top court remarked that there is no place for flamboyance in judiciary. "Judicial officers should not go to Facebook. They should not comment on judgments because tomorrow if the judgment is cited, judge has already expressed one way or the other. "It is an open platform...You have to live life a hermit, work like a horse. So much sacrifice judicial officers have to do. They should not go into Facebook at all," the bench said in an oral observation. Senior advocate R Basant, appearing for one of the terminated woman judge, echoed the views of the bench and said no judicial