Page 2 - Sc Judges

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

Docket explosion preventing quality judgments, timely justice: SC judge

Docket explosion is preventing the delivery of quality judgments as well as timely justice in the country, Supreme Court judge Justice Hrishikesh Roy said on Saturday. Justice Roy made the remarks after inaugurating a two-day zonal conference on 'Court Dockets: Explosion and Exclusion' organised by the Jammu and Kashmir Judicial Academy under the aegis of the National Judicial Academy, Bhopal, at the SKICC here. Several judges from the Supreme Court, Chief Justice of the High Court of J-K and Ladakh, Justice Tashi Rabstan, and ex-Supreme Court judge and Director of National Judicial Academy, Justice Anirudhha Bose, attended the conference, among other legal representatives from the region. Emphasising that docket explosion is preventing the delivery of quality judgments and timely justice, Justice Roy said in his inaugural address, "It is a significant concern in a developing country like India, which is the world's largest democracy, with millions of court cases pending at differen

Supreme Court rechristens summer breaks as 'partial court working days'

The Supreme Court has rechristened its traditional summer vacations as "partial court working days". The change assumes significance in the wake of the recent criticism from various quarters that the top court enjoys long breaks. The development was a part of an amendment in Supreme Court Rules, 2013, which have now become Supreme Court (Second Amendment) Rules, 2024, notified on November 5. "The length of the partial court working days and the number of holidays for the court and the offices of the court shall be such as may be fixed by the Chief Justice and notified in the official gazette so as not to exceed ninety-five days excluding Sundays," read the notification. It further stated that the Chief Justice may appoint one or more judges to hear during partial court working days or holidays, all admissions, after notice, regular matters of urgent nature or such other matters "as the Chief Justice may direct". The existing system had the Supreme Court taking the summer and winte

Govt notifies constitution of 23rd Law Commission for three-year period

The government on Monday notified the constitution of the 23rd Law Commission for a period of three years, with serving Supreme Court and high court judges as its chairperson and members. The term of the 22nd law panel ended on August 31. According to a law ministry order issued late Monday through a gazette notification, the panel will have a full-time chairperson and four full-time members including member-secretary. The secretary of the Department of Legal Affairs and the secretary of the Legislative Department will be its ex-officio members. There cannot be more than five part-time members, according to the order. It said the chairperson/members of the Law Commission "who are serving judges of the Supreme Court/High Court shall perform their functions on a whole-time basis up to the date of retirement from the Supreme Court/High Court or expiry of the term of the Commission, whichever be earlier". The time spent by them in the performance of such functions as chairperson/ Memb

Govt forwards parliamentary panel's report to SC, HCs on judges' vacation

The government has forwarded recommendations of a parliamentary committee on staggered vacation for judges to the secretary general of the Supreme Court and registrars general of 25 high court for "appropriate consideration". In a written reply in Lok Sabha on Friday, Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said the standing committee on law and personnel had referred to the suggestion of former chief justice of India R M Lodha that instead of all judges going on vacations, all at one time, individual judges should take their leave at different times of the year so that the courts are constantly open and they are always present to hear cases. The committee was of the opinion that Justice Lodha's suggestion on court vacations should be considered by the Judiciary. "Accordingly, the recommendation of the Rajya Sabha DRPSC (department-related standing committee) in respect of the aforementioned subject was forwarded by the government to the Secretary General, Supreme Court and all Registrars

21 retired judges write to CJI against attempts to 'undermine' judiciary

Former Supreme Court and high court judges expressed concerns over attempts by certain factions 'to undermine the judiciary through calculated pressure, misinformation, and public disparagement'

SC appoints new judge: Who is Justice Prasanna Bhalachandra Varale?

Justice Varale, who is currently the Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court, was appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday

To Lord or not to Lord: Justice's retort in a recent hearing revives debate

There have been several instances where judges have acknowledged this practice as feudal and not discouraged anyone from using the term "Sir"

Justice Fathima Beevi, India's first woman judge of Supreme Court, dies

Kerala's Health Minister Veena George condoled her death by saying that the demise of Justice Beevi was extremely painful

Govt's opacity in appointing judges through collegium must go: Ex-SC judge

The government is more opaque than the collegium and this opacity of the executive in appointment of judges to higher judiciary has to go, former Supreme Court judge Justice (retd) Madan B Lokur has said. Lokur, who was part of the collegium during his judgeship days, batted for the existing collegium system of judges appointing judges in constitutional courts but acknowledged that it needed some changes for which discussions were necessary. The appointment of judges through the collegium system has often become a flashpoint between the Supreme Court and the Centre, with the mechanism drawing criticism from different quarters. The former judge was responding to a query on non-elevation of worthy high court judges like Justice S Muralidhar, the former Chief Justice of the Orissa High Court, to judgeship in the Supreme Court. I have repeatedly been saying that the collegium system is the best available method of appointment of judges, but it needs some changes. This needs discussion.

SC to pass common order in several nine-judge, seven-judge bench matters

The Supreme Court on Thursday said it will pass a common order in several nine-judge and seven-judge bench matters, including those relating to money bills and the speaker's power to disqualify MLAs, to get them ready for hearing. A seven-judge bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud took up six seven-judge and four nine-judges matters for consideration. One of the seven-judge bench matters pertains to the correctness of the 2016 Nabam Rebia verdict relating to the speaker's power on disqualification of MLAs. It was pronounced by a five-judge Constitution bench. "... The idea is to get these matters ready for hearing. We will pass a common order in all these matters in terms of the circular of August 22, 2023 that the compilation of pleadings, documents and precedents that must be all filed within say... we will give three weeks to everyone," the CJI said. "We will appoint nodal counsel in every matter who will then prepare a common compilation," said the bench, also compris

SC raises issue of pendency of 70 Collegium recommendations with Centre

With 70 collegium recommendations still stuck with the government, the Supreme Court on Tuesday expressed its dismay over the "delay" in the appointment of judges and asked the attorney general to use his office to resolve the issue. After a bench of justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Sudhanshu Dhulia raised the matter, Attorney General R Venkataramani sought a week's time to come back with instructions on the pending recommendations for judges' appointment to the high court. "Today, I am quiet because the attorney general has sought a very short time, next time I will not be quiet. Use your good office to see these issues are resolved," Justice Kaul told Venkataramani during the hearing. The bench said, "There were 80 recommendations pending until last week when 10 names were cleared. Now, the figure is 70, of which 26 recommendations are of transfer of judges, seven are reiterations, nine are pending without being returned to the collegium and one case is of appointment of the Chief

Centre appoints Justices Ujjal Bhuyan, SV Bhatti as Supreme Court judges

The Collegium in its resolution said that it resolves to recommend the appointments of Justice Ujjal Bhuyan, and Justice S Venkatanarayana Bhatti by following the order of seniority

Robust system to address gender-based misconduct imperative: SC judge

It is imperative to establish a robust mechanism to address gender-based misconduct as the creation of an inclusive environment sends the message that women in sports deserve respect and protection from discrimination and harassment, Supreme Court judge Hima Kohli said. Justice Kohli spoke at a national seminar on 'Women Empowerment through Sports' on Friday. She called for policy reforms to promote women's empowerment through sports and said such policies should establish mechanisms to address gender-based violence, discrimination and harassment in the field of sports. "While judicial pronouncements serve as guiding lights, effective policy reforms are equally essential in promoting women's empowerment through sports," she said in her inaugural speech at the event organised by the Campus Law Centre, University of Delhi. "These policies should examine various facets, including ensuring equal opportunities, providing financial backup and establishing mechanisms for reporting and ...

Arun Goel as EC: SC bench recuses from hearing plea challenging appointment

A Supreme Court bench headed by Justice KM Joseph on Monday recused from hearing a plea challenging appointment of Arun Goel as Election Commissioner. A bench of Justices Joseph and BV Nagarathna said, "List the matter before another bench". Before the bench recused from hearing, the top court questioned NGO 'Association for Democratic Reforms' for challenging Goel's appointment and asked it to show which rules were violated. It said after the appointment of a person to a constitutional post, presumptions cannot be made that he will act unfairly, arbitrarily or will be "yes man". The bench said the petition has relied on a March 2 verdict of the apex court which had ruled that the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner and ECs will be done by the President on the recommendation of a committee, comprising the prime minister, Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha and the CJI, to maintain the "purity of election". In the lengthy verdict, the five-judge bench had said it was .

After CEC, will there also be a change in how judges are appointed?

The govt may now come back with a modified version of the NJAC bill whereby the practice of judges appointing themselves is stopped